Whisky or Whiskey?

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Whisky or Whiskey?

Whisky or Whiskey: What’s the Difference? Whiskey (with an e) refers to grain spirits distilled in Ireland and the United States whereas Whisky (no e) refers to Scottish, Canadian, or Japanese grain spirits.

Whisky goes by many names – some call it Scotch and other names are bourbon, rye or whiskey.

But don’t feel too confused, in the article below, we try to make sense of it all.

Whisky and whiskey are synonyms and both refer to a spirit that is distilled spirit and  made from fermented malted grains. In Scotland it is spelled ‘whisky’ but in Ireland,  the Irish spelling of ‘whiskey’ is used and this has been adopted by the United States. Which is a bit strange as the US usually prefers to favor ( not favour ) dropping a vowel to simplify the spelling. 

Origins of the spelling

To understand the origins of the spelling, it is imperative to dig deep into the history of whisky itself. The history of whisky stretches back centuries to when Irish monks brought knowledge of the distillation of ‘aqua vitae’ ( water of life ) that they obtained by traveling to the Mediterranean as pilgrims. Seeking knowledge of the spirit, they also gained spiritual knowledge of a different kind.

The descendants of these moons settled on the Scottish Island of Islay according to legend. The knowledge spread and the “water of life” was translated  into Gaelic as ‘uisge beatha’. The first  evidence of whisky production  In Scotland,comes from an entry in the Exchequer Rolls in  1494. According to this.malt wassent “To Friar John Cor, by order of the king, to make aquavitae”. Thus it seems production of the first whisky started.

Uisge beatha (pronounced wish-ga bah-ha) became anglicised as whisky during this period  and this was the generally accepted spelling. However in the 19th century, the English Malt laws were imposed after the Acts of Union which led to a sharp decrease in the quality of Scotch Whisky and the Irish product was considered superior.

In order to differentiate the quality of their product,  Irish distillers added  the ‘e’ in their spelling. Large quantities of Irish whiskey were exported to America, who then preferred using the spelling whiskey  to infer a higher quality. Even after the  the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms decreed the official US spelling to be ‘whisky’ in 1968, most distilleries kept their traditional spelling and do so until this day.

The Scots had their day in the sun however as the Scotch whisky industry thankfully recovered after the invention of the Coffey still which led to the creation of Scotch blends that went on to become household names all over the world. These took the Scottish spelling with them and are now synonymous with quality.

It is also fitting that the best and most popular pub in Scotland, The Malt Room, is a bar with their roots in Scotland but with a great global selection of whisky, whiskey, bourbon and rye!.

The most well known Irish whiskey is probably Jameson and if you ever visit Ireland, you should definitely go to the Old Jameson Distellery for a great experience.

Ready to start planning that trip to Scotland? Start here!

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