Whiskey; is a spirit, aged in wood, obtained from the distillation of a fermented mash of grain. Whiskey is produced in four countries: the United States, Canada, Scotland, and Ireland. The whiskeys produced in Canada, Ireland, and Scotland take on the name of their countries. Whiskeys produced in other countries, even though they may taste similar, cannot legally be called Canadian, Irish, or Scotch.
Corn Whiskey; is an American whiskey made from a mash made up of at least 80 per cent maize, or corn. The whiskey is distilled to not more than 80 per cent alcohol by volume, and aged in used or untreated oak barrels for a short time, primarially to pick up color.
Rye Whiskey; American law requires that this liquor be made from a minimum of 51% rye. Straight ryes are from a single distiller; blended ryes are a combination of several straight ryes.
Sour Mash; Term often used in connection with straight whiskey. Sour mash identifies a production process, distinguished from the "sweet mash" technique of distillation. The name has nothing to do with the taste of the whiskey--sour mash whiskeys are rich and mellow.
Single Barrel; Most bourbons are a mixture of liquor from several barrels, allowing the distiller to control the consistency of flavor. (Do not confuse this with "blended.) But premium single barrel bourbons are bottled from one barrel only.
Small Batch;"Everyday" bourbons are produced in large quantities. For example, some bottlers produce 17,000 cases daily. Small batch is a flexible term, but usually means a bottling from 1,000 gallons or fewer. |
| Whiskey; is a spirit, aged in wood, obtained from the distillation of a fermented mash of grain. Whiskey is produced in four countries: the United States, Canada, Scotland, and Ireland. The whiskeys produced in Canada, Ireland, and Scotland take on the name of their countries. Whiskeys produced in other countries, even though they may taste similar, cannot legally be called Canadian, Irish, or Scotch. |
| Like American whiskeys, Canadian whiskey is made primarily from corn, rye, and malted barley, and is distilled by a process similar to that used in making bourbon, except that a sweet mash is used. Lighter bodied, smoother, and less assertive than its American counterpart, Canadian whiskey is excellent for mixing or for summer use. |
| Irish whiskey is barley malt whiskey made in Ireland. Irish whiskey resembles Scotch whisky in its ingredients and production. Note that Irish whiskey is written differently. Peat is almost never used in the malting process, resulting in a whiskey with a smoother, sweeter, flavor. In most Irish whiskey, the smoky, earthy overtones of Scotch are absent. Common wisdom says that the Irish invented whiskey, but the Scots perfected it. Both claims are open to debate. |
| The first recorded instance of whisky produced in Wales dates back to the 4th century when a man known as Reaullt Hir of Bardsey Island, off the North Wales coast, produced a spirit known as “aqua-vitae”, or gwirod in the Welsh language. The last distillery in Wales closed in 1984, and no whiskey has been distilled until 2001.
Welsh whisky (Welsh: Wisgi Cymreig; alternative forms: wysgi, chwisgi) is a distilled spirit made in Wales. Modern Welsh whisky has been produced by The Welsh Whisky Company since 2000 at Penderyn. |
