This can't be right...

[davedove]

Since, by legal definition, to be called Scotch Whisky, the brew must be made from scottish natural waters and be rested in used barrels for at least 3 years ON SCOTTISH SOIL, I wonder just exactly what scottish distillery(ies) are performing the primary distilling, casking and aging, and where. There has to be some kind of paper trail as to where this stuff originates from before being shipped over to Japan for the final aging, tapping and bottling as a Japanese Scotch, be it single malt or blended. To be called single malt, the whisky has to come from a single distillery and a single batch group from that distillery (although multiple barrels from that batch are blended together, usually diluted and then sold as "single malt"---unless bottled at "cask strength", which is straight from the cask un blended and undiluted).

Actually, that's not completely correct. It is true for Scotland and probably the EU, but not other places, because it would be unenforcible. Now, most places in the US won't call the product Scotch out of professional courtesy, but it's not a law. I have no idea about the legalities in Japan, but I suspect it is the same.

It's just like Champagne, or any of the other designated products of Europe (wine, cheese, etc.). Any US producer can call their product champagne and not break the law, but most producers won't out of respect. Of course, they could never sell their product in Europe with that name.