rbutterworth@watmath.waterloo.edu (Ray Butterworth) (01/19/89)
Subject: Re: Scotch Whisky > From derome@neat.ai.toronto.edu Tue Jan 17 17:02:40 1989 > I am learning something. Any reason why the spelling is different? The big Oxford dictionary says: "In modern trade usage, Scotch whisky and Irish whiskey are thus distinguished in spelling." The dictionary was written about a hundred years ago in England, so they probably didn't know (or care) about any other types. Seagram's published a book called "The Spirit of Hospitality", which gives helpful hints about having parties and such things that would require their liquors and wines. It says: "This spelling (whisky) is reserved for Canadian and Scotch whiskies, whereas "whiskey" is used for other whiskeys such as Irish and Bourbon." I really don't know of any real reason for the spellings though, other than tradition. > Is it a matter of content? The contents are different, but one would normally ask for it by specific type (I doubt the bartender can tell whether he heard "whisky" or "whiskey). e.g. Canadian (or American Rye) is mostly rye, Bourbon is mostly corn, Scotch has a lot of malt, and Irish has a lot of malt that has been dried over peat fires giving it a smokey taste. For more confusion, try talking about "Joseph Emm Seagram". People will probably say "you mean Joseph E. Seagram". In fact, the E stands for Emm.
john@hcr.UUCP (John R. MacMillan) (01/22/89)
In article <23152@watmath.waterloo.edu> rbutterworth@watmath.UUCP writes: |> From derome@neat.ai.toronto.edu Tue Jan 17 17:02:40 1989 |> I am learning something. Any reason why the spelling is different? | |I really don't know of any real reason for the spellings though, |other than tradition. For what it's worth, "Spirits and Liqueurs" says: "Scotch whisky (pl. whiskies) is spelled without the e because Scottish exporters want to cleary distinguish their product. Canadian distillers have followed suit. "Irish manufacturers prefer their whiskey (pl. whiskeys) with an e, as do most Americans, although the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms omits it from their standards." I found the last part (particularly the name of the Bureau) interesting. -- John R. MacMillan "These are not gods that you bow down to {utcsri,utzoo}!hcr!john These are only people doing what they do."