So why do you see the name of the liquor spelled both as “whiskey” and as “whisky?

It is generally spelled “whiskey”—with an e—in the United States and Ireland. It is spelled “whisky”—without the e—in Scotland and Canada, which are both well known for their whisky, and in several other countries. Vineyards may be the main attraction in the rolling hills north of San Francisco, but whiskey lovers have plenty of reasons to visit too.

Most sweetened rums are sugared at the bottling phase, but sometimes sugar has been added already into the cask and some of that sugar is bound to get into a ex-rum refill Scotch. Up to 40 g/l sugar contents are commonly reported in rum (100 g/l in spiced rums), but the amount of sugar added directly to cask is likely to be in the range of 5-20 g/l. © itor/Shutterstock.comHave you ever heard the traditional folk song “Whiskey in the Jar”? And while we are at it, how do Scotch, bourbon, and rye figure in all of this? First of all, they are all types of whiskey (or twomoreglasses—more on that later).

Whiskey

We have joined forces with acclaimed botanical artist Azuma Makoto for a delicious celebration of Glenmorangie 18 Years Old. The well-balanced palate features pretty notes of dried apple and honey leading to a baking-spice finish, and all at an approachable 80 proof. This Kentucky bourbon ticks all the right boxes—it’s affordable, has a variety of different expressions to choose from, and it tastes great on its own or mixed in a cocktail. Jesse has worked as a sommelier, a bartender, and a spirits rep. He’s available to have a drink with you next week or the week after, but this week is a little crazy. Jonah Flicker is a freelance journalist based in Brooklyn whose work focuses on spirits, food and travel.

Playful notes of plum and cherry segue into a malty, toasty, and tannic palate that might just be the perfect stepping-stone for that wine drinker who thinks they don’t like the hard stuff. It's the only extra-aged, bottled-in-bond, single barrel bourbon currently available today. However, Irish whiskey has seen a great resurgence in popularity since the late twentieth century, and has been the fastest growing spirit in the world every year since 1990.

American

To increase the control of the distillation reflux they used rotating rectifier plates, which could be turned to vertical or horizontal position for less or more reflux. The first such still was installed at Inverleven malt distillery situated inside the grain distillery Dumbarton in 1956. The resulting spirit was called Lomond whisky, hence the name Lomond still used later to describe all the Scottish reflux still whiskies. The experiment was successful, and the Canadians went on to install Lomond stills at Glenburgie , Miltonduff and Scapa. Scapa was different from the others, as it used a Lomond still in the wash distillation to render the spirit "sweeter and cleaner". Among an abundance of single malt scotch to choose from, with various regions showcasing different styles and flavors, The Balvenie stands out as one of the best.

On the other hand an American ammonia-treated cask without a previous fermentation use would extract 770 mg/l (154 mg/l/year) sugars from a fino-seasoned cask and even less 655 mg/l (133g/l/year) from a similar oloroso cask. According to the table below, the previous use as a fermentation cask is very significant in the terms of sugar extraction. Shipping casks were mostly Spanish coopered lightly toasted American oak butts or puncheons . In the 19th century and the early 20th century they were often used for fermentation prior to shipping.

Jonah Flicker is an experienced writer who has been covering spirits and traveling the world visiting distilleries to taste and discover for years. His work has appeared in many different national outlets, covering trends, new releases, and the stories and innovators behind the spirits. His first love remains whiskey, but he is partial to tequila, rum, gin, cognac and all things distilled. The result is an 82-proof whisky with a fruitier, jammier nose than anything found in Scotland .