Chasing down fake ‘Irish whiskey’ and protecting the spirit’s global reputation

The growth of Irish whiskey sales internationally in recent years has been little short of spectacular. That success is firmly based on its reputation as a high quality, premium product backed by a unique heritage. But that hard-won reputation can easily be damaged by low quality products being passed off as Irish whiskey in other markets.

Protecting that global reputation is a key part of the work of the Irish Whiskey Association (IWA), the representative voice within Drinks Ireland established to promote, protect and represent the Irish whiskey category globally. Drinks Ireland is the Ibec industry association which represents a broad range of firms in the alcohol beverage sector.

“The ongoing success of the industry and continued growth of the category depends on Irish whiskey remaining a regulated and protected term internationally,” explains IWA legal adviser Miriam Mooney. “Integral to this is the protection and defence of the Irish whiskey geographical indication or GI.”

A geographical indication (GI) is a sign used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are intrinsically connected to that origin. Just as champagne can’t be made anywhere but the Champagne region of France, Irish whiskey can’t be made anywhere but Ireland.

The association has adopted a two-stranded global protection strategy which sees it increasing the level of legal protection enjoyed by Irish whiskey around the world as well as taking action against infringers.

“Having legal protection in place enables us to take swift and effective action against transgressors,” Mooney says. “Over the last three years IWA members have trebled their investment in this activity, bringing it up to €1 million. This protection activity benefits the whole category, not just IWA members.”

To date, IWA has secured Irish whiskey as a GI in Belarus, India, Malaysia and Mozambique and as a certification trademark in Australia, South Africa and Taiwan. “These are really positive wins for the category,” says Mooney. “Currently, over 90 per cent of Irish whiskey global sales are now subject to legal protection.”

That high level of protection is not enough, however. “Legal recognition is only of value if it has been secured in all markets where Irish whiskey is likely to be sold in future,” she adds. “That will ensure Irish whiskey will not become a generic product and that others can’t damage its reputation.”

If a product becomes known as a generic product it is not entitled to legal protection, explains Mooney’s fellow legal adviser Carleen Madigan.

“Legal protection also gives producers the confidence to invest in a market by knowing their brands are protected from unfair competition and that there is legal recourse to addressing infringements unfairly trading on the reputation of the Irish whiskey brand,” she continues.

One such example is India. The IWA successfully registered Irish whiskey as a geographic indication in India in 2019. Prior to that Irish whiskey sales in India were negligible despite that country being the world’s largest whiskey market.

“Since then, sales of Irish whiskey have skyrocketed with India set to be the category’s fastest-growing market in 2021,” says Mooney. “The latest figures from the CSO show that the value of Irish whiskey exports to India for the first 10 months of 2021 are up 106 per cent compared to the whole of 2020.”

On the enforcement side, the IWA proactively monitors export markets for infringements. “If an infringement is allowed to continue in one market, it could spread to others,” says Madigan. “Misleading brands can appear unimportant but can still be very damaging. They can encourage others to follow suit. They are not just undermining sales of Irish whiskey but poor quality products damage its reputation around the world. We carried out more than 55 investigations last year.”

The association uses a variety of information sources to track potential infringements. These include a trade mark scanning service. “This is a very useful source of intel,” says Madigan. “It gives us early warning of the intention to use the mark, and a mark associated with Ireland should not be used for any whiskey product. An example could be something like a whiskey called Royal Ireland made in India.”

But it is more than just about sales, according to Mooney. “GI helps to protect culture, heritage and employment in regional Ireland. Most employment in the industry is in the regions. It also supports the premiumisation of Irish whiskey. Consumers are ready to pay a price for a product guaranteed by a GI but the quid pro quo is that they want to know more about the backstory. Premiumisation is about authenticity. They go hand in hand. GI is an invaluable marketing tool in that regard.”