I Love Whisky, Who else?

[flowerysong]

But that's not the way it's supposed to be. That's just others ripping off the scots.

Not really. In the early to mid 1800s 'whisky' beat out 'whiskey', 'whiskee' and 'whiskie' and was close to being the preferred spelling everywhere. But then around the 1880s Irish distillers began adding the 'e' to better distinguish their products from the inferior Scotch whiskies (a process which wasn't completed until around 1960, by which time Scotch whiskies weren't particularly inferior).

'"Whiskey" is Irish or American and "whisky" is everything else' is much closer to the truth. Sure, a lot of those places have borrowed from the highly influential Scottish distilling tradition, but (particularly in the case of Canadian whisky) they still produce distinct products.

India was the ringer on my list, as while I believe they do prefer the 'whisky' spelling most of what that label is applied to could more correctly be called 'rum'.

I also neglected to mention Sweden, though their sole whisky thus far (Mackmyra) is indeed very reminiscent of Scotch.

Oh, and even in the US the government has decided that the official spelling is 'whisky', but out of respect for tradition distillers are still allowed to label their products with the variant spelling. Personally, I think it's high time we stop enshrining historical peculiarities and embrace the modern age of standardised spelling.

 

[nostalgia]

Scotch - Glenfiddich, (I don't know much about fine Scotch's)

Try what I do: walk into the liquor store, amble over to the single malt section, find your price range and pick out something you've never tried.

My favorite thing about single malt Scotches is the wide variation in flavors. Sometimes even within the same product. It makes every drink a fun experience; what am I going to taste this time?

If you were to hand a non-Scotch drinker a glass of Lagavulin, a glass of The Dalmore Cigar Malt and a glass of Dalwhinnie, that person might have a hard time believing they're all Scotch. "But I don't like whisky! This one tastes like caramel, yum."

-Joe

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

Not really. In the early to mid 1800s 'whisky' beat out 'whiskey', 'whiskee' and 'whiskie' and was close to being the preferred spelling everywhere. But then around the 1880s Irish distillers began adding the 'e' to better distinguish their products from the inferior Scotch whiskies (a process which wasn't completed until around 1960, by which time Scotch whiskies weren't particularly inferior).

'"Whiskey" is Irish or American and "whisky" is everything else' is much closer to the truth. Sure, a lot of those places have borrowed from the highly influential Scottish distilling tradition, but (particularly in the case of Canadian whisky) they still produce distinct products.

India was the ringer on my list, as while I believe they do prefer the 'whisky' spelling most of what that label is applied to could more correctly be called 'rum'.

I also neglected to mention Sweden, though their sole whisky thus far (Mackmyra) is indeed very reminiscent of Scotch.

Oh, and even in the US the government has decided that the official spelling is 'whisky', but out of respect for tradition distillers are still allowed to label their products with the variant spelling. Personally, I think it's high time we stop enshrining historical peculiarities and embrace the modern age of standardised spelling.

Well, my spellchecker keeps telling me I can't even say whisky without it reprimanding me!

 

[jpsloan]

Technically, Jack Daniels is classified as a "Tennessee Sour Mash"... which is to say that it meets the four criteria for a spirit to be classified as a "bourbon", plus an added fifth criterion that it be refiltered through charcoaled logs.

Though admittedly, Jack Daniels distillery is the one who invented this classification of spirit, specifically to compete with Jim Beam, so take that for what it's worth.

All of this I learned from Jimmy Bedford, former master distiller at JD, when he did a seminar on the three kinds of spirits they sell. The man signed my single barrel bottle... he was a good guy. Alas, he's retired now, but still a good memory for me.

 

[TheJadedDog]

I grew up in a Jameson household so yeah, I like me the whiskey. I am partial to Irish and Scotch.

 

[bottleopener]

Bushmill's 16yo is my favorite... far beyond delicious.

 

[Evan!]

If I'm going the scotch whisky direction, I've been liking some Bunnahabhain lately. Not quite as overly peaty-smoky as some, but still pretty strong peat character.

As for Bourbon, well, what's my name? That'd be my rail bourbon, the gold-cap stuff. For the higher end, I alternate, but for my money, you can't beat Evan Williams Single Barrel for like $25/750mL.

 

[skinfiddler]

Not really. In the early to mid 1800s 'whisky' beat out 'whiskey', 'whiskee' and 'whiskie' and was close to being the preferred spelling everywhere. But then around the 1880s Irish distillers began adding the 'e' to better distinguish their products from the inferior Scotch whiskies (a process which wasn't completed until around 1960, by which time Scotch whiskies weren't particularly inferior).

'"Whiskey" is Irish or American and "whisky" is everything else' is much closer to the truth. Sure, a lot of those places have borrowed from the highly influential Scottish distilling tradition, but (particularly in the case of Canadian whisky) they still produce distinct products.

India was the ringer on my list, as while I believe they do prefer the 'whisky' spelling most of what that label is applied to could more correctly be called 'rum'.

I also neglected to mention Sweden, though their sole whisky thus far (Mackmyra) is indeed very reminiscent of Scotch.

Oh, and even in the US the government has decided that the official spelling is 'whisky', but out of respect for tradition distillers are still allowed to label their products with the variant spelling. Personally, I think it's high time we stop enshrining historical peculiarities and embrace the modern age of standardised spelling.

"whisky" is the accepted variant. I'm sure anyone will know what you are writing about.