From Scotch to Single Malts, Bourbons to Blends, whiskey is often considered a man’s drink. So, what’s the difference between whiskey and whisky?
The Irish distillers mostly spell Whiskey with an ’E’ while they’re while their Scottish counterparts leave out the ‘E’. Major whisky producers like India, Canada, and Japan follow the Scottish spelling whereas the Americans follow the Irish example with exceptions like George Dickel, Makers Mark and Old Forester all follow the Scottish spelling.
There are any number of theories to explain the alternative spelling of whiskies, from differing translations of uisge beatha, the original name for whisky, between Irish and Scotch Gaelic.
Often called as a man’s drink, whiskey/ys have many sub-categories which include bourbon, rye, Tennessee, Scotch, Irish and Canadian style whiskies. The manufacture of each of these types of whisky is guided and regulated by the government of the spirit’s country of origin.
As a result, Canadian whisky, for example, is a whole different animal from Scotch whisky, Irish whiskey, and American-style whiskeys such as Tennessee, bourbon, and straight rye.
• Countries that have E’s in their names (UnitEd StatEs and IrEland) tend to spell it whiskEy (plural whiskeys).
• Countries without E’s in their names (Canada, Scotland, Japan and India) spell it whisky (plural whiskies).
Scotch is called so because it is only made is Scotland gets a distinctive smoky flavour from the process in which it is made: the grain, primarily barley, is malted and then heated over a peat fire. .
Bourbon, a whiskey was first produced in Kentucky; U.S. uses at least 51% mash from corn in its production. It also uses a sour mash process—that is, the mash is fermented with yeast and includes a portion from a mash that has already been fermented.
Image Courtesy: @johnniewalker, @jackdaniels_us
