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All The Whisky Questions You're Too Embarrassed to Ask

We've got you. Here's the whisky questions you’ve been too embarrassed to ask, answered.

You’ve just entered a safe zone. A zone with no judging, no sniggering and no funny looks. A zone to address any whisky questions you’ve been a little bit sheepish to ask. Why? Because knowledge is power, and we want to give you the power to make the best choices about your next drop. So sit back, relax and enjoy this learning journey.

Why is whisky sometimes spelt with an e and sometimes not? 

American and Irish liquor producers tend to prefer the spelling as WHISKEY while Scottish, Japanese and Canadian producers tend to prefer WHISKY.

Toast tip: Ireland and the United States – names with e’s in them, spell it whiskey while countries without e’s in their names – Scotland, Canada and Japan spell it whisky.

What is peat?

Peat is a landmass formed by the breakdown of plants, moss and grasses. It produces a heavy, sooty smoke when burnt. Scotch whisky is produced from grain that has been malted over a peat fire so the smoke infuses the grain, giving it a smoky flavour. This flavour is considered essential in Scotch whisky. Check out our "For Peat’s Sake" article for more about this fascinating process.

What does “blend” and “single malt” mean?

Single malt whisky is whisky from a single distillery with malted barley as the only grain ingredient. Blended whisky is a combination of single malt and grain whiskies blended together.

What’s the deal with the age of whisky? 

Whisky doesn’t age in the bottle, only in the barrel. Therefore, the age of a whisky is actually the time it spent between distillation and bottling. The chemical make-up and taste of whisky is affected by the interaction it has with the barrel.

Want more intel? Check out these articles:
Find a Whisky That Rocks Your World. 
The Reinvention of Whisky

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