Irish whiskies were recently granted geographical indicator status, which means, similar to Champagne in France, drinks can only be called a 'whiskey' if they are distilled in Ireland.
But farmers say Irish-based companies are using grains, such as barley and maize, which are being imported from neighbouring countries. "In the last few weeks the whiskey industry has received geographical indicator status from the EU, that means no one can copy the production of whiskey, but there’s no mention of the grains that have to be used in the process."
Mr Miller admitted that the companies aren't doing anything illegal, but claimed that switching to Irish ingredients would only cost consumers 1 cent per bottle.