Barrel for at least two years in new, charred oak containers. Other forms of whisky aged in used barrels cannot be called "straight". International laws require any whisky bearing the label "Scotch" to be distilled and matured in Scotland for a minimum of three years and one day in oak casks. By Canadian law, Canadian whiskies must "be aged in small wood for not less than three years", and "small wood" is defined as a wood barrel not exceeding capacity. Since the U.S. law requires the use of new barrels for several popular types of whisky, which is not typically considered
Scotch Whisky Act 1988 illegal to sell whisky as "Scotch whisky" if it does not conform to the definitions laid out in the Act, or sell whisky with an alcoholic strength of more than 94.8%. The Act was repealed in its entirety by the Scotch Whisky Regulations 2009 which came into effect on 23 November 2009. Scotch Whisky Act 1988 The Scotch Whisky Act 1988 was an Act to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, passed during the reign of Queen Elizabeth II on 28 June 1988, with the long title "An Act to make provision as to the definition of Scotch whisky and