{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/scotch-whisky-regulations-2009/regulation-12",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/scotch-whisky-regulations-2009/regulation-12.json",
  "legislation": "uksi/2009/2890",
  "legislation_title": "The Scotch Whisky Regulations 2009",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/scotch-whisky-regulations-2009",
  "path": "regulation/12",
  "kind": "regulation",
  "number": "12",
  "heading": "Maturation, age and distillation statements",
  "text": "(1) Without prejudice to the obligation to comply with the directly applicable requirements of Article 12(3) of Regulation (EC) No 110/2008 (which requires, among other things, that any maturation period or age may only be specified in the description, presentation or labelling of a spirit drink where it refers to the youngest alcoholic component in the drink), a person must not label, package, sell, advertise or promote any Scotch Whisky in a way that includes a reference to its maturation period or age unless the maturation period or age is expressed in years.\n(2) A person must not label, package, sell, advertise or promote any Scotch Whisky in a way that includes a reference relating to when it was distilled unless—\n(a) the reference relates to a single calendar year;\n(b) all of the whisky in the drink was distilled in that year;\n(c) the presentation of the whisky also includes a reference to—\n(i) the year of bottling of the whisky;\n(ii) the maturation period of the whisky; or\n(iii) the age of the whisky; and\n(d) the reference to the year of bottling, the maturation period, or age of the whisky appears in the same field of vision as the reference to the year of distillation.\n(3) A person must not label, package, sell, advertise or promote any Scotch Whisky in a way that includes a reference to any number (however expressed) if the reference to that number may create a likelihood of confusion on the part of the public as to whether the number relates to the maturation period of the whisky, its age or when it was distilled.",
  "extent": "E+W+S+N.I.",
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2009/2890/regulation/12",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T03:03:06.844724+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}