Whisky, Whiskey or Bourbon???

Whiskey with -ey or with one -y. The difference in spelling is geographically determined.

In Ireland they write whiskey with -ey and in Scotland whiskey with -y. This came about because de Ieren clearly wanted to show distinction in whiskeys;

The Irish felt that their high-quality whiskey had to be distinguished from what they believed to be Scotch bend. And that's why they added the -e in the word whiskey.

From the 19th century, more and more Scottish started using a new distilling device, the Coffey still. Unlike the pot still, this multi-column distiller could distill non-stop, increasing production. However, the quality of the alcohol from a column still is not as high as that of alcohol from a pot still. The Irish therefore continued to distill with the traditional pot still, of which they believed that the quality was better.

And to make things even easier: Bourbon is certainly one whiskey, but not all whiskey is bourbon!

Bourbon is American whiskey made from corn. Written with -ey therefore. The corn gives the bourbon a sweeter taste compared to other whiskeys. Because of this, bourbon has a smoky and caramel rich taste. Bourbon is subject to a number of strict rules. The following 5 points are important when you may call whiskey bourbon. Bourbon is:

• Made in America

• Contains a minimum of 51% corn

• Bourbon has no aging minimum. Before straight bourbon is aged two years.

• Contains no other beverages or colorings

• Has an alcohol percentage below 80% in the second distillation of the production process. Bourbon contains 60-70% alcohol.

This is all nice to know, but let's go back to the core of whiskey: Het is there to be drunk. So whether you like Whiskey, Whiskey or Bourbon: Gather your family around you and enjoy a wonderful day with a wonderful drink!