To E or not to E?

Whiskey.

Whisky.

Which one looks more correct to your eye?

TRICK QUESTION. They’re both right!

If you passed that sneaky test, you’re probably a whiskey drinker and we’re probably already friends. If you did not, no fear, we can still be buds but you need a bit of a brown liquid education.

A grammatical glitch in the matrix?

It is absolutely true that both of those monikers are correct. The difference derives from  two different translations of Gaelic: Scottish vs Irish.

Whisky is the Scottish translation of usquebaugh (don’t ask me to say it) which translations to “water of life”.

The tale goes that in the 1800s Scottish whisky was of such poor quality, if you can even imagine such a thing, that the Irish wanted to differentiate their spirits from those of the Scots. So, they added an “e” to theirs and apparently that's all it took; they were satisfied.

Nowadays, whisky is the correct spelling in Scotland, Canada, and Japan, while whiskey is correct in Ireland and the U.S.

The whisky vs whiskey differentiation is similar to what we call a “place name”, which is a legally restricted term only allowed on labels of alcohol produced in a specific location. This is where the full the term “Scotch Whisky” really comes into play.

Only whisky that has been produced in Scotland and aged for three years and one day is legally allowed to be dubbed Scotch Whisky.

The very specific addition of "one day" exists because in Ireland, it’s law that whiskey must be aged for three years. So in their own “right back atcha” kinda way, the Scots decided to stick one day onto that, and call it better.

Oh, those pesky Scots!

Well, yes and no. While I do love the Scottish shenanigans, “whisky” is not the only restricted word in the alcohol world.

At this point, many of us know the drama around “champagne”. While most of us use that word in an encompassing way, strictly speaking champagne can only legally refer to sparking wine produced from the Champagne region of France.

This came about more recently that I first thought - in the U.S. any labels submitted for approval after March 10, 2006 cannot use the term “champagne”. At all. For while before that date, the term was still appropriate as long as it appended a place name, example “California Champagne”.

But no longer.

You’ll now only see brut or sparking wine used anywhere outside France. And what I found particularly interesting was that this move was applauded and even taken farther by some producers! (I don’t know why, but I always just assume that people are going to be annoyed, grumble, or protest.) Some wineries are even voluntarily retiring their old grandfathered labels in show of support for protecting the place name.

Anything else I should know?

The whiskey/whisky specificity isn’t the only one in the whiskey world. There’s one last famous place name you should be aware of.

Kentucky Straight Whiskey.

This is a special type of bourbon, and while bourbon can technically be made anywhere in the U.S., only that special brown liquid made in the State of Kentucky can be adorned with the Kentucky Straight Whiskey moniker.

One last fact, because I can’t help it: the only requirement surrounding bourbon is that, in order to be labelled as bourbon, is that it’s mash must contain 51% corn. That’s it.

Weekly adventure

So, everyone’s task this week is to set about trying both a whiskey and a whisky.

Can you taste the “e” or lack thereof?

Cheers!

Molly

References:

https://www.newriffdistilling.com/what-makes-bourbon-bourbon/

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/whisky-or-whiskey-whats-difference