Whiskey is a spirit made from the distillation of grains.
- Irish whiskey is a whiskey made in Ireland.
- Scottish whisky (Scotch whisky) is a whisky (without the "e") made in Scotland. Scotch has a slightly smoky taste due to the peat fires used to malt the barley.
- Canadian whisky is a rye whisky made in Canada.
- United States whisky is a corn whisky made in the United States.
- Tennessee Whiskey is a corn whiskey made in Tennessee.
Whiskeys are "Single Malt," or "Blended."
Bourbon
Bourbon is a type of whiskey made from the distillation of corn and other grains. It is a distinctly American spirit. According to the US Government, Bourbon must contain at least 51% corn while the rest may be other grains and it must be aged for some amount of time an a new, charred oak barrel. It was first distilled in the 17th century on the Berkeley Plantation in Virginia, although it is now most often associated with Kentucky.
Rye Whiskey
Rye is a type of whiskey similar to Bourbon. It is made from the distillation of rye and other grains. It, too, is a distinctly American spirit. According to the US Government, Rye must contain at least 51% rye while the rest may be other grains and like Bourbon it also must be aged for some amount of time an a new, charred oak barrel. Before Prohibition, it was mostly made in the Eastern US and was the most popular spirit in the area. Rye has a slightly more spicy taste than Bourbon.
Tennessee Whiskey
Tennessee Whiskey is similar to Bourbon, but has the additional step of charcoal filtering. The best known Tennessee whiskey is Jack Daniel's.
Whiskey Cocktail Recipes
External Links
- Go to Three Sheets to Kentucky and lean more about Bourbon.
- Chuck Cowdery has a very informative Bourbon-specific blog: http://chuckcowdery.blogspot.com/.
- The LA Whiskey Society has a great website with reviews of many whiskeys from all over the world: http://www.lawhiskeysociety.com.
- Whiskey blogs at: http://www.notey.com/blogs/whiskey
- The Old Fashioned Cocktail is the most popular whiskey based drink in the world. TipsyTourGuide has instructions on how to make this drink as well as other essential cocktails: https://www.tipsytourguide.com/