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What’s the difference between whiskey and whisky?


Add a little whisky to your Quarantini for World Whisky Day 2020 (Picture: Getty)

Be it neat or on the rocks, mixed with a splash of water or served up in a Manhattan, whisky knows how to hit the spot.

Today, 16 May, is World Whisky Day and it’s the perfect excuse to treat yourself to your favourite whisky.

Never mind arguing over whether it should be served with ice or room temperature, mixed with a soft drink or kept clean, one of the biggest debates over the spirit is why some people spell it with an e.

Is it whiskey or whisky, and is there a difference?

Whiskey or whisky: what’s the difference?

From Scottish Gaelic, it is spelled whisky, but the Irish spell it whiskey.

Whether it should be whisky or whiskey has been a difference of opinion for generations now, and it goes back to the translation of the word from its Gaelic forms – but the extra letter whiskies could also have a different distilling process.

Whiskey with the extra ‘e’ is also used when referring to American whiskies. This ‘e’ was taken to the United States by the Irish people immigrating there in the 1700s and has kept its spot in the spelling ever since.  

Generally whisky is used for blends distilled in Scotland, Canada, Australia, Japan and Europe, while whiskey is used for whiskies distilled in Ireland and America.

This is where the actual spirit itself could differ in taste – and how the spelling of the drink can hint at its flavour.

A whiskey with the extra e might have a lighter taste because whiskies distilled in Ireland and America are generally distilled three times.

Distilling three times is thought to produce a smoother spirit.

America was introduced to whiskey by the Irish settlers in the 1700s – and have since developed their own iconic brands (Picture: Getty)

Historically, a whiskey from Ireland or America would also use a blend of other grains, whereas a whisky would just use malt barley.

As time has gone on, American whiskies have taken to using a whole combination of grain blends meaning that an American whiskey doesn’t have too much in common with a traditional Scots whisky.

MORE: Rare whisky collection expected to sell for £8,000,000 at auction

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