Glenora Distillers

Glenora Distillers is a distiller based in Glenville, Nova Scotia, Canada, on Cape Breton Island. Their most prominent product is Glen Breton Rare whisky, made in the Scottish-style in that it is a single malt whisky, not a rye, as is traditional in Canada. The distillery also makes several specialty whiskies and rum, and operates the Glenora Inn & Distillery as a tourist attraction and bed and breakfast.

Glen Breton Rare with Collector's Case
Glenora Distillers
The Glenora Distillery
Founded1989
FounderBruce Jardine
Websitehttp://www.glenoradistillery.com/
Glen Breton Rare
TypeSingle Malt
Age(s)10 or 8
Cask type(s)American oak
Glen Breton Rare Ice
TypeSingle Malt
Age(s)10, 15 or 17
Cask type(s)Oak casks used for ice wine

Glenora Distillers is now one of four single malt Scottish-style distilleries in Canada.[1]

Brands

Glen Breton single malts

Glen Breton Rare is the signature whisky brand of Glenora Distillers. The 10-year-old whisky is aged in American oak casks.[2] It was featured in the book, 101 Whiskies to Try Before You Die.[3] In November 2000, an 8-year-old version of the Glen Breton Rare was released. By 2018, it offered a wide range of whiskies up to 25 years old.[2]

Glen Breton Rare Ice

Glenora Distillery produces a single malt whisky aged in oak barrels used for Jost Vineyard's Ortega Ice Wine. The Glen Breton Rare Ice is available in 10, 15 and 17-year-old versions.[2]

Litigation

The "Glen Breton" name was put into question before it had ever sold a bottle. The Scotch Whisky Association (SWA), an organization representing 57 different Scotch whisky companies from Scotland, claimed that the whisky was misleading potential international buyers by using the term "Glen" in its name — a term used almost exclusively on Scotch whisky labels. The trademark name "Scotch" does not appear on the bottle anywhere, and the label states it is a product of Canada and clearly displays a red maple leaf.

On January 24, 2007, CBC News reported that the Canadian Trademarks Opposition Board, an arm of the Canadian Intellectual Property Office rejected the arguments of the Scotch Whisky Association, clearing the way for the distillery to continue to use the Glen Breton Rare label. The SWA responded that the ruling was inconsistent with international case law, and that it would file an appeal.[4]

On April 3, 2008, the Federal Court of Canada ruled in favour of the SWA's demand that the word Glen be dropped from the product's name.[5][6] On December 18, 2008, Glenora Distillers appealed to the Federal Court of Appeal in Ottawa and on January 22, 2009, the court overturned the lower court’s ruling.[7][8]

An application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada, filed by SWA on March 23, 2009, was dismissed with costs on June 11, 2009.[9][10]

In June 2010, a 15-year-old version of the Glen Breton single malt whisky was released. It was named "Battle of the Glen", commemorating the distillery's legal battle over the use of the word "glen".[11]

See also

References
  1. List of Canadian Whisky Distilleries at canadianwhisky.org website (which shows four single malt distilleries in Canada when conducting a search for "single malt").
  2. Glenora Distilleries, Whisky Offerings. Accessed December 18, 2018.
  3. Buxton, Ian (2010). 101 whiskies to try before you die. Edinburgh: Hachette Scotland. ISBN 0755360834.
  4. CBC News, Nova Scotia whisky distiller can keep Glen Breton label, January 24, 2017
  5. CBC News, Cape Breton whisky makers lose round, vow fight, April 7, 2008
  6. Government of Canada, Scotch Whisky Association v. Glenora Distillers International Ltd. 2008 FC 425 (3 April 2009)
  7. Government of Canada, Glenora Distillers International Ltd. v. Scotch Whisky Association] 2009 FCA 16 (22 January 2009)
  8. CBC News, Cape Breton distiller allowed to keep ‘Glen’ in name, April 7, 2008
  9. Cape Breton Post, Glenora wins whisky ‘brew-haha’ Archived 2012-07-20 at Archive.today
  10. Supreme Court of Canada - Judgments in leave applications (June 11, 2009)
  11. http://www.glenoradistillery.com/glen.html
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