Transparency ( what is all the fuss )

Over the last few months there has been a lot of fuss over Compass box declaring just what had gone into 2 of their latest releases.  What’s wrong with that I hear you say..  Well someone didn’t like it, a complaint went in to the SWA,  and of course it was anonymous, this is the world we live in today.. Now correct me if I’m wrong but the food industry enforces transaperency,  the list of ingredients on some things are never ending,  E numbers, here, there and everywhere,  the amount of sugar in our coffee has been another sore point and someone has the nerve to complain about another company telling us just how they made up the blend they are selling us ( the customer) am i missing something here ?   So there is a complaint,  compass box are given a slap on the wrist, ( I know probably more than a slap )   I myself was asked to remove some information from my blog on 2 occasions,  really !!  So I am pretty sure most people buying whisky from the likes of supermarkets and the local off license won’t give a second thought to what is in the blend,  I say blend because we all know what’s in our single barrel scotch whisky or single barrel bourbon and so on,  no one cares that we know this,  but the people making SOME blends don’t want us to know what is going in..  There are some great blends out there boasting some great whisky is going into their blend.. But we don’t know how much !   Do we want to know ?   Well I would like to know just what might be in.   Should we as consumers not have the right to know ?   should the blenders, bottlers not have the right to tell us ?  I know some might just say what whisky is actually in, some won’t tell us anything and some might even go the distance and tell us what is in and what % is in too, we should be told about colouring  that has been added, and so on,  I know this is a long battle but it needs to start somewhere and some time,  so come on SWA,  give the go ahead for transparency.. Give us what we want..  

Was there any fuss about when balvenie told us what was in the first releases of the Tun series ?  Ok I know there was not a % given but ages were given, there is information out there on some Glenrothes vintages, how much fuss is there about these..  I and many others understand these laws are there for a reason but if a company wants to release the information about the make up then surely this is only for the good, If the unscrupulous company’s want to try rip us off by stating they have put whisky A in a blend plus B and E then there must be some proof.. Now there is a campaign currently running and believe me it is gathering pace, some of the big companies are joining in with Compass box, the likes of Tomatin, Glenrothes, Bruichladdich and Arran distilleries have thrown their support into the hat, ( well done to these first ones) i for one will give my support to this campaign and will support the other distilleries that join in by buying their products, so don’t be shy, join in and sign the campaign here..

http://www.compassboxwhisky.com/transparency/

This is what compass box has to say on the matter..

” We were recently informed that the way we’ve been communicating information about the age of the components in our whiskies is illegal. By sharing the entire recipe – by offering complete transparency around the age of each component whisky – we have been breaking EU regulations governing the marketing and promotion of spirits

It turns out that Scotch whisky is one of the few products where it is prohibited by law to be fully open with consumers. This is an issue that affects every corner of the Scotch world (from Single Malt distillers to blenders) and limits the ability of the producer to share pertinent information with their customers.
We believe the current regulations should change. That Scotch whisky producers should have the freedom to offer their customers complete, unbiased and clear information on the age of every component used in their whiskies. That those customers have the right to know exactly what it is they’re drinking.
Please read through the information below and – if you agree with what you see – take a moment to sign our Statement of Beliefs. Your support will help lobby UK and EU authorities to change the current regulations for the better.
Whiskymaker JOHN GLASER “