Whisky or whiskey is a type of liquor made from fermented grain mash. Various grains are used for different varieties, including barley, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky is typically aged in wooden casks, which are typically made of charred white oak. Uncharred white oak casks previously used for the aging of port, rum or sherry are also sometimes used.
Single malt Scotch refers to single malt whisky made in Scotland. To qualify for this category, a whisky must have been distilled at a single distillery using a pot still distillation process and made from a mash of malted barley. Therefore, a single malt means that the whisky has not been blended elsewhere with whisky from other distilleries. As with any Scotch whisky, a single malt Scotch must be distilled in Scotland and matured in oak casks in Scotland for at least three years, although most single malts are matured longer.
Irish whiskey is whiskey made on the island of Ireland. The word 'whiskey' comes from the Irish uisce beatha, meaning water of life. Irish whiskey was once the most popular spirit in the world, though a long period of decline from the late 19th century onwards greatly damaged the industry, so much so that although Ireland boasted at least 28 distilleries in the 1890s, by 1966 this number had fallen to just two, and by 1972 the remaining distilleries, Bushmills Distillery and Old Midleton Distillery, were owned by just one company, Irish Distillers.
Single malt whisky is malt whisky from a single distillery.
Suntory Holdings Limited is a Japanese multinational brewing and distilling company group. Established in 1899, it is one of the oldest companies in the distribution of alcoholic beverages in Japan, and makes Japanese whisky.
The Old Bushmills Distillery is an Irish whiskey distillery in Bushmills, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, established in 1784 and owned by Proximo Spirits. Bushmills Distillery uses water drawn from Saint Columb's Rill, which is a tributary of the River Bush. The distillery is a popular tourist attraction, with around 120,000 visitors per year. It produces the Bushmills brand of Irish whiskey.
Japanese whisky is a style of whisky developed and produced in Japan. Whisky production in Japan began around 1870, but the first commercial production was in 1923 upon the opening of the country's first distillery, Yamazaki. Broadly speaking, the style of Japanese whisky is more similar to that of Scotch whisky than other major styles of whisky.
Kilbeggan Distillery is an Irish whiskey distillery situated on the River Brosna in Kilbeggan, County Westmeath, Ireland established in 1757 and owned by Suntory Global Spirits, a subsidiary of Suntory Holdings of Osaka, Japan.
Auchentoshan distillery is a Lowland single malt Scotch whisky distillery in Dalmuir, Scotland.
The Tyrconnell is a historic brand of Irish whiskey that has been revived by the Kilbeggan Distilling Company's Cooley Distillery owned by Suntory Global Spirits, a subsidiary of Suntory Holdings of Osaka, Japan.
German whisky is a distilled beverage produced in Germany made from grains traditionally associated with the production of whisky. The distillation of German-made whisky is a relatively recent phenomenon having only started in the last 30 years. The styles produced resemble those made in Ireland, Scotland and the United States: single malts, blends, and bourbon styles. There is no standard spelling of German whiskies with distilleries using both "whisky" and "whiskey" and one even using "Whesskey", a play on the word whisky and Hessen, the state in which it is produced. There are currently 23 distilleries in Germany producing whisky.
Suntory Global Spirits, formerly known as Beam Suntory, Inc., is the American subsidiary of the Japanese beverage company Suntory. The company produces alcoholic beverages.
Single pot still whiskey is a style of Irish whiskey made by a single distillery from a mixed mash of malted and unmalted barley distilled in a pot still. Somewhat similar to single malt whiskey, the style is defined by its inclusion of unmalted raw barley in the mash in addition to malt. However, small amounts of raw oats or wheat may have been used at times. This unmalted component is said to give the pot still whiskey a "spicier bristle" and "thicker texture" than the otherwise similar malt whiskeys. If the whiskey is not distilled completely on the site of a single distillery, then it may be termed pot still whiskey but not single pot still whiskey.
Dingle Distillery is an Irish whiskey distillery established in 2012 and owned by the Porterhouse Brewing Company.
Knappogue Castle Irish Whiskey is a brand of premium single malt Irish whiskey produced by the Irish Distillers subsidiary of Pernod Ricard. The brand is named for historic Knappogue Castle in County Clare, Ireland, originally built by Clan MacNamara in 1467. Knappogue Castle is known for bottling one of the oldest and rarest known Irish whiskies, Knappogue Castle 1951, a pot still whiskey produced at the now-defunct B. Daly Distillery.
Teeling Distillery is an Irish whiskey distillery established in Dublin in 2015 by the Teeling Whiskey Company and owned by Bacardi Limited.
Kyrö Distillery Company is a Finnish rye distillery founded in a sauna in 2012. Kyrö uses 100 per cent Finnish rye to produce rye gin and rye whisky. In 2015, Kyrö Napue Gin, formerly known as Napue, won the Best Gin for Gin & Tonic category in the International Wine and Spirit competition. In August 2020 Kyrö launched its rye whisky, Kyrö Malt. To support health care workers during COVID-19, Kyrö started producing hand sanitizer. Through the sales of hand sanitizer, the company managed to avoid layoffs, and they have continued in production.
John James Teeling is an Irish academic and businessperson, notable for the wide range of businesses he has developed or overhauled over several decades. In particular, he broke the Irish Distillers monopoly which existed in the Irish whiskey industry, by launching the Cooley Distillery, and reopened the 1757-founded Kilbeggan Distillery after a 50-year hiatus. He is also notable for having brought ten companies to public listing on the London Stock Exchange, the most of any Irish person. Teeling lectured at University College Dublin's business school for over 20 years. He authored a number of educational texts, for primary school and college.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to whisky:
