What is Scotch whisky?

Answer 1

Scotch whisky is whisky made in Scotland. In the English-speaking world, it is often referred to as "Scotch", except in Scotland, where the term whisky is most often sufficient.

Scotch whisky is divided into four distinct categories: single malt, vatted malt (also called "pure malt"), blended, and single grain.

Answer 2

Scotch whisky is whisky made in Scotland. The name whisky come from the Gaelic words meaning "Water of Life" (uisge beatha). The word Uisge is pronounced Ushga, (short U). Notice the simularity between that word and the Russian word for water, Vodka.

And by the way, the same stuff in made in America is spelled Whiskey, adding an "E"

If you need a better explaination, Whisky is made by fermenting and distilling corn or barley. It is then aged in charred oak barrels for a period of time, usually years to mellow the flavour.

Answer 3

Whisky (Whiskey) was first made in Ireland. During a later period of the 800 year old English occupation of Ireland, the making of potcheen (a kind of potato whisky) and whisky were made illegal, partly to ensure that workers were labouring properly on the English landowners properties, not just too drunk to do anything, and partly to stop a source of mostly untaxed income for the Irish population, part of many measures to repress the occupied, colonised native Irish.
Now of course there were many Irish migrants to the US, and as it grew richer in the 1800s it became a big market for exports of whisky. After the distilling whisky was made illegal in Ireland, makers in Scotland took over the British-US export trade in whiskey. Many Irish lived in Scotland, or moved there to be part of this industry boom, but of course the Scots had be distilling whisky for hundreds of year as well. In Scotland whiskey was made more simply than in Ireland, more often than not only once distilled, without any blendings, and fired with bog peat, giving the whiskies distinctive and usually smoky, earthy flavours.
Incidentally Irish whiskys are much smoother and more drinkable the Scotch whiskys in my opinion, how Scotch whiskies often have more complex flavours.
During the temperance period in the US, prohibition laws stopped the importing of whisky from the Britain. 'Mash' moonshine was made by moonshiners in the US, from corn mash and barley, and this was run by bootleggers to illict bars and joo joints (sp?) in the cities.
Btw, this was what have the gangs and the mafia in the US their foothold in society. Running booze was a huge money-earner, and of course a lot of the cops weren't for prohibition (especially the Irish cops I guess) and were happy to take a cut from the runnings and let the bootleggers go it.
During this time mash or bourbon (the name is of French origin, St Louis or somewhere I'm guessing, anyone know??) came to be known as whisky. What most of English speaking countries call whisky, in the US started being called Scotch. Sometimes it was also called Irish, I guess when the good moonshine from Ireland got through.
Nowadays most English speaking countries call Scottish or Irish whiskies 'Whisky', and American whiskies 'Bourbon'.
In the US, and I think in Canada too, corn and barley mash whiskies are call 'Whiskey' and Irish and Scottish whiskies are called 'Scotch.

Answer 4

A distilled alcohol beverage flavored with peat. The main ingredients are barley which has been malted, water and yeast. The mash must contain at least 51% malted barley. Often only barley and no corn or other grain is used.

The peat is used in the fires of the furnace during manufacture and this is what gives Scotch its unique flavor.

By law, the spirit produced cannot legally be termed Scotch Whisky until it has been matured in oak casks for at least three years. Often aging 10 to 20 years is common practice.

Answer 5

Bourbon is an American form of whiskey made from (pursuant to U.S. law) at least 51% corn, or maize — typically about 70% — with the remainder being wheat and/or rye, and malted barley. It is distilled to no more than 160 (U.S.) proof, and aged in new charred oak barrels for at least two years. The two years maturation process is not a legal requirement for a whiskey to be called "bourbon," but it is a legal requirement for "straight bourbon." However, in practice, most bourbon whiskeys are aged for at least four years.

Bourbon must be put into the barrels at no more than 125 U.S. proof. Generally, it is then adjusted to 80–100 proof and bottled. Some (mostly non-U.S.) jurisdictions do not allow alcoholic beverages with over 40% alcohol content to be sold. However, the recent trend among distillers has been to return to higher proofs, and even “cask strength” bottlings.

Scotch whisky is whisky made in Scotland. In the English-speaking world, it is often referred to as "Scotch", except in Scotland, where the term whisky is most often sufficient.