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WHISKEY (WHISKY). The spelling "whiskey" is common for Irish whiskeys and the vast majority of U.S. whiskeys. The spelling "whisky" is sometimes used for Scotch, Canadian, and other whiskeys and occasionally for some U.S. whiskeys. The word "whisky"/"whiskey" is derived from the Irish and Scottish Gaelic usquebaugh or uisge beatha, meaning 'water of life' (compare the French eau-de-vie). Whiskey is of course a high-alcohol beverage ("spirit") produced by the distillation of grain-based lower-alcohol fermentations.

Origins and Social History

The art of distillation of various fermented brews, most often wine-based, dates back to ancient civilizations, including Chinese, Indian, and Egyptian. Much of the European Middle Ages saw distilled alcohol used medicinally, but undoubtedly a proportion of early distillations was consumed as a warming, mood-uplifting drink. It is likely that whiskey-type distillation originated in Ireland, possibly as early as 500 to 800 B.C.E. and mainly within monastic communities. Irish Gaels emigrated to western Scotland and beyond, and it is likely they took their craft with them. Distilling the brews of grains, usually from their own land, was largely a home-based craft among Highland clans for personal consumption. What is referred to as Scotch whisky was first specifically listed in print around 1500.

Home distilling for personal consumption remained legal until 1784, but long before then whisky was sold or traded illicitly. However, greater problems developed with the introduction of taxes on spirits. Following the "union of the Crowns" in 1603 (King James VI of Scotland inherited the English throne as King James I of England and Scotland), whisky distilled in Scotland became more popular in England. However, England and Scotland maintained separate Parliaments with individual legal systems and laws. The "republican" English government (the Commonwealth years of Oliver Cromwell) imposed the first tax on spirits in 1643. Under duress, the Scottish Parliament followed suit the following year and levied an additional high duty in 1693. The British monarch Charles II also attempted to tax Irish whiskey in 1661 but with little success.

The Act of Union (the union of the Scottish and English Parliaments to become the British government in London) in 1707 brought more serious problems for Scottish (and, to a lesser extent Irish) whisky in the eighteenth century. More duties were levied, but the vast majority of distillers avoided paying taxes. The numerous excisemen found collection difficult as most distilling was still small scale, often in remote Highland glens, and illegal stills were easy to dismantle and relocate. Smuggling, often undertaken during darkness, was widespread. Even when illicit distillers were brought to court, magistrates were often sympathetic and lenient, imposing low fines.

Robert Burns, Scotland's national bard worked as an exciseman for some eight years before his death in 1796. He was a devotee of whisky and its warm, merry, and creative effects. He wrote several poems and songs in praise of whisky, such as "The Deil's Awa' Wi' th' Exciseman" (The devil's away with the exciseman). A few choice lines give the flavor (English equivalents of Scots words are in parentheses).

We'll mak [make] our maut [malt], and we'll brew our drink,

We'll laugh, sing, and rejoice, man, . . .

. . . There's threesome reels, there's foursome reels,

There's hornpipes and strathspeys [dances] man,

But the ae [one] best dance e'er [ever] cam [came] to the land

Was the deil's awa' wi' th' Exciseman.

By 1823 new legislation completely altered the development of Scotch whisky distilling. The change from heavy taxation, calculated by volume, to a reasonable license fee encouraged larger distilleries in more permanent locations.

A somewhat similar history applies to American whiskey. Following the English Pilgrims, further immigrants included Scots and Irish, who spread westward to farm. As their yields of grains increased, many settlers made their own whiskey from barley, rye, and upon further expansion west, corn. British taxes were introduced as early as 1684, with little success in collection. In 1791 Pennsylvania passed a law requiring registration of all distilling equipment. A few years later an outright rebellion erupted in Pennsylvania, including destruction of property and capture of excisemen, that was only quelled by the militia. As in Scotland, larger commercial distilleries, including those in Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Kentucky, began to take over during the nineteenth century.

Raw Materials and Basic Processes

Scotch whisky can be divided into two basic types, malt whisky and blended whisky. The former, original type uses barley exclusively, whereas blended whisky combines malt whisky with spirits from other cereals.

Malt whisky. The harvested and dried barley is first "malted," that is, the grain is allowed to germinate to a certain point. This is achieved by soaking in water for a controlled period (two to three days), draining the water, and airing and turning the germinating grains at a controlled temperature (around 60°F). The last process usually involves large revolving drums. The grains are soft, and germination is stopped. During germination, enzymes convert insoluble starch to soluble. This "green malt" is dried, which in most cases includes various periods of peat-fire smoke (peat originates from the decomposition of vegetable matter). The dried malt is coarsely ground, and hot water is added. This process of "mashing" converts soluble starch to the sugar maltose. The liquid is drawn off, cooled to around 70°F, and run into fermentation vessels along with yeast, mainly from brewers but often including cultures of selected strains. Fermentation is vigorous and rapid, usually thirty-six to forty-eight hours, with the yeast converting sugars to alcohol (7 to 8 percent ).

This liquid is then distilled in pear-shaped copper ("pot") stills, first in large stills to produce crude "low wines" with around 30 percent alcohol. This is redistilled in smaller stills with precise care to minimize impurities (such as alcohols higher than ethanol), producing pure but immature spirits of around 70 percent alcohol. A few Scotch and most Irish spirits are distilled a third time, finishing as lighter whiskeys.

These "rough" spirits require maturation and are transferred to oak barrels, often with water added to reduce the alcohol content to around 63 percent. Various types of oak barrels, such as bourbon, sherry, and Madiera casks, contribute color and flavor from the wood. Although by law the minimum storage is three years, five years is more common (mainly for blending), and most superior malts are matured ten to fifteen years or longer.

Blended whisky. This type added enormously to the amount of Scotch produced in the nineteenth century with the design of a much larger still. The blends are a mixture of a wide variety of malt whiskies with "grain whisky," which is distilled from a range of grains, including corn, rye, wheat, and barley, mainly unmalted. The large stills used are modified versions of the Coffey stills (patented in 1830), which distill continuously and produce a purer 90 percent alcohol. Blending the many types of malt whiskies is a skilled occupation, accomplished by an experienced nose. Generally lighter-to fuller-flavored blends are related to the increasing proportion of malt whiskies used.

Twentieth-Century Developments

Apart from new varieties of barley and other cereals, centralized and mechanical maltings, and novel designs of Coffey stills, whiskey production is essentially traditional. In the twentieth century prohibition in the United States provided opportunities for increased production of Scotch, Irish, and Canadian whiskeys. Whiskey production has spread to many countries, especially Japan, which already had a traditional base and which offers brands that are prized among the world's elite. Larger companies and mergers have also resulted in conglomerates. Surprisingly, given the long tradition, production and marketing of single malt Scotch whiskies increased strongly only since the 1960s. Quite a number of malt whisky distilleries in Scotland are owned by U.S., Canadian, and Japanese companies, for example, Jim Beam, Seagrams, and Suntory respectively.

See also Alcohol; Barley; Cereal Grains and Pseudo-Cereals; Fermentation; Spirits.

John Johnston