Me and Ben (two years ago), ready for some serious Whisky drinking. Well, I am, at least.
With Robbie Burns day fast approaching, it’s time to focus in on that wonderful spirit, whiskey. While it might seem a bit strange for a beer blogger to cover whiskey, bear in mind
- Whiskey is a distillation of alcohol made from various grains, including barley/malted barley, rye/malted rye, wheat and corn. Sound familiar? Whiskey is like hop-less ber that’s been distilled.
- I really really like whiskey.
So all this week, I’m going to be talking whiskey. Reviews, distilleries, good whiskey bars, etc.
Typos
Well now, you’ve got some questions, I’m sure. For one, you might have noticed, I have spelled the word, both as “Whisky” and “whiskey”. And it would be reasonable to wonder why. It’s simply a matter of nomenclature. Scotch Whisky, as in, a distilled grain alcohol made in Scotland, is called “Whisky”, no “E”. All of the others (and there are many), have an “E”, thus “whiskey”. Simple right? Don’t ask about pluralization, as it’s simply a matter of memorization (as in, Canadian Whiskies versus Irish Whiskeys). And actually, I stand somewhat corrected. Canadian whisky actually doesn’t use an “E”. The simple (incomplete) rule is thus: If the country of origin has an “E” in its name, there’s an “E” in whiskey. If not, there’s not. Now here’s an exception: Welsh whisky is from WalEs, yet there’s no “E”. Better not to worry…..
My Great-great-grandfather complied a dictionary
The word whiskey comes from the Gaelic word uisce, which means water. Which is funny, right? “Good morning, William. What’s that your drinking with your breakfast there?” “Oh just the usual, Andrew. Water….” Distilled spirits were also called “Aqua Vitae” in Latin, which any doctor, lawyer or botanist could tell you means “Water of Life”. This sounds much more sexy, though is less humorous. There’s a misconception, that usice means water of life. It doesn’t. Just water. More funny, less sexy.
Still with me?
Who makes this stuff?
Everybody. Well, okay, not quite, but lots of people. In order of countries that make whiskey as they appear in my brain: Scotland, Ireland, Canada, USA, Wales, England, Japan and others. Wikipedia would add to that list: Australia, Denmark, Finland, Germany, India, and also the Isle of Man. In case you’re curious about why the Isle of Man is listed separately from England, well, here you go:
For the sake of this week, I’ll be focusing on Scottish, Irish, Canadian and American whiskey. Or, to me less clear: Scotch, Whiskey, Rye and Whiskey. Got it?
So put on your kilt, pour yourself a wee dram, and pull up a chair; it’s going to be a fun week.
