SCOTS MPs have put aside political differences and come together after House of Commons staff committed the cardinal sin of calling Scotch whisky “whiskey”.
On the daily Commons order paper, which is put together by Westminster staff, the body representing Scots distillers was referred to as the “Scottish Whiskey Association” (SWA) – sparking a bit of backlash from our nation’s MPs.
The body spoke to the Scottish Affairs Committee this afternoon on the subject of coronavirus and Scotland.
The SNP’s Westminster leader Ian Blackford told MPs: “To paraphrase the line from the iconic film Local Hero in a different context, there is no e in whisky.”
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And Tory MP for Moray, Douglas Ross, said: “I know we’ve not been able to have a dram in the House of Commons bar for some time while the current restrictions have been in place, but that’s no reason to confuse whisky with whiskey!
“I’m sure when the witnesses appear at the committee they will set the record straight and remind everyone that Moray is home to the largest number of Scotch whisky distilleries, producing a favourite drink for many people across the globe.”
Meanwhile LibDem MP for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, Jamie Stone (below), also mocked Commons staff for the error.
“I was brought up on a small farm next door to the Glenmorangie distillery – and I have spent my entire life teaching people how to properly pronounce it,” he said.
“Now we have ‘whiskey’ – oh dear, oh dear – I’ll have to pour myself a large one and roll up my sleeves – very fine single malt WHISKY is distilled in my constituency!”
The reason Scotch whisky has a different spelling to its Irish counterpart is due to translations from the word’s Scottish and Irish Gaelic forms.
But beyond that the spelling indicates a lot to the buyer about how the drink is distilled, how grains are used and whether it’s likely to have a peat flavour.
A spokesperson for the Scottish WHISKY Association said: ‘’Point of order, Mr Speaker! We welcomed the chance to participate in the committee session, an opportunity to highlight the impacts of tariffs on whiskies on both side of the Atlantic – both with an e and without.’’
And a House of Commons spokesperson said they were aware of the misspelling and that it has now been corrected.
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