Falkirk whisky distillery gets green light for 'Mary Queen of Scotch' brand

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A brand new craft distillery in the Falkirk area has won permission to call the malt it will produce 'Mary Queen of Scotch' after initially being turned down by the Trade Marks Registry.

The copyright watchdog rejected Blackness Bay Distillery's application to use the name as it feared it would not be authentic Scotch whisky while the title would not respect the famous queen.

But a spirited defence from Blackness Bay Distillery's owner, Colm O'Rourke, who assured the trademark office that the name would "not be used in a disrespectful or unauthentic way" led to a change of heart. Read more: Falkirk Council reveals plans for new leisure facilities in Bo'ness In a letter pleading his case, Mr O'Rourke explained that the spirit produced would indeed be genuine Scotch Whisky - and explained the connection with Mary Queen of Scots.The picturesque village of Blackness, on the Firth of Forth, is just five miles from the historic Linlithgow Palace, where the ill-fated monarch was born and lived for several years.Mr O'Rourke, who is also the landlord of the village pub The Lobster Pot, also convinced the trademark office that the distillery is "fully licensed and certified by HMCR" and will be the genuine article.Mr O'Rourke and his wife Sheila have both spent 18 months learning the art of distilling and are now in the process of producing a single malt whisky, made in traditional twin copper pot stills.It will have to mature for three years and a day before it can be called whisky, which means it will be another two years before 'Mary Queen of Scotch' is ready for the shelves.The distillery was recently granted a licence by Falkirk Council to begin tasting tours, which they hope will attract some of the 50,000 visitors who