Like most foodstuffs, whiskey evolved around local ingredients and customs, and corn made its way into American whiskey as it was readily available. Some compare the taste to a whisky from Scotland’s Highland region.Īmerican bourbon, on the other hand, is distilled from at least 51%, and not usually more than 80%, corn. American rye whiskey is known for its fruity, spicy flavour. Other ingredients in the mash are usually corn and malted barley. Knowing your grains is key to unravelling the complicated world of North American whiskies.īy law, American rye whiskey must be distilled from a mash of at least 51% rye, a grass grown extensively as a grain. It just goes to show it’s always difficult to generalize. With others the grain is dried over a smokeless heat, giving a more smooth finish. Some of these whiskeys are double distilled and peaty, like some Scotch whiskies. It also creates blends, which typically combine whiskeys made from grain and barley. Then there is grain whiskey, which is made from a cereal other than barley. Ireland also produces malt Irish whiskey, which is made from only malted barley. The fresh barley adds a light, delicate, fruity flavour, a characteristic Irish whiskey has now become largely synonymous with. It is also made from both malted and unmalted barley. The traditional style of Irish whiskey, called pot still, is triple distilled, rather than double distilled like it is for Scotch whisky. More than just terminology is involved, however.

Most whisky is spelled, like it is at The Glenlivet, without an “e”, but whiskey distilled in Ireland, and most whiskey from America, is spelled with an “e”.

Ireland has made recognizing whisky from different parts of the world a little easier by making its whiskey clearly distinguishable through its spelling.

Types of whiskey