Ethanol Vs. Whiskey

[Jack_Bauer]

Bourbon is a whiskey, as is Scotch a whiskey.

Actually Scotch is a whisky, as opposed to a whiskey from Ireland or America. Not much difference in what it actually is, but a Scot I used to work with used to get terribly upset when people misspelled his national drink. They're all a bit peculiar up there anyway, so I wouldn't worry too much about it.

[Matra et Alpine]

Bourbon is a whiskey, as is Scotch a whiskey.

Dictionary definition:

whis·key also whis·ky (hwĭs'kē, wĭs'-) pronunciation
n., pl. -keys also whis·kies.

1. An alcoholic liquor distilled from grain, such as corn, rye, or barley, and containing approximately 37 to 50 percent ethyl alcohol by volume.

Scottish malt and blended alcoholic beverage is WHISKY.

Irish and Americans call it whiskey.
Poor copies of the original

PS you've 23:59 till I hunt you down JB for that comment Huge difference in what it is, how long it's matured for, where it's matured and how it tastes

[digitalcraft]

BE VERY CAREFUL DRINKING ANYTHING MARKED ETHANOL!!!!

Often, ethanol will be 'denatured' in order to make it unfit for human consumption. This usually includes adding in toxic substances, or substances that will make you sick. The reason for this is pure ethanol is heavily taxed in most countries, under alcohol laws, and by making it unfit for human consumption it is not taxed.

Most often if you see ethanol in a school it will be denatured and can make you sick or blind (if its mixed with methanol) This is why I'm highly suspect of anyone saying they drank the ethanol in school to seem cool. Most often it will have very bad effects on you.

[Pando]

Bourbon is a whiskey, as is Scotch a whiskey.

Dictionary definition:

whis·key also whis·ky (hwĭs'kē, wĭs'-) pronunciation
n., pl. -keys also whis·kies.

1. An alcoholic liquor distilled from grain, such as corn, rye, or barley, and containing approximately 37 to 50 percent ethyl alcohol by volume.

And any crap can also be called Vodka, Cognac, Champagne etc... I assume? Bourbon is bourbon. Scotch whisky is Scotch whisky. Irish whiskey is Irish whiskey.

edit: woops seems like there were some replies already

[revetec]

Check out again the definition I posted from the dictonary. Yes you can spell it different ways (Whiskey, Whisky) but the definition is clear.

[revetec]

Wikipedia:

Whisky, or whiskey, refers to a broad category of alcoholic beverages that are distilled from fermented grain mash and aged in oak casks. Different grains are used for different varieties, including barley, malted barley, rye, malted rye, wheat, and maize (or corn).

When or where distilled spirits were first produced is unknown, but most scholars believe that it was between A.D. 800 and A.D. 900 in the Middle East.[1]


Types of whisky

Whisky or whisky-like products are produced in most grain-growing areas. They differ in base product, alcoholic content, and quality.

* Scotch whiskies are generally distilled twice and must be distilled and matured wholly within Scotland for at least three years in oak casks. There are various terms which are fairly common in the spirit (or at least, whisky) world but which have special meaning in the Scotch whisky industry (assume the word "Scotch" in all the types described below).
o Age Statement. Whiskies do not mature in the bottle, only in the cask, so the "age" of a scotch is the time between distillation and bottling. Whiskies which have been in bottle for many years may have a rarity value, but are not "older" and will not necessarily be "better" than a more recently made whisky matured in wood for a similar time. If (as is usual), the whisky is from more than one cask, then the age statement on the bottle must reflect the age of the youngest element. Some well-respected single malts (eg Glenfarclas 105) have no age statement because the youngest element (added for genuine flavouring reasons) would force an age statement which would not reflect the overall character of a final product which contains many much older elements.
o Malt Whisky is whisky made entirely from malted barley and distilled in an onion-shaped pot still.
+ Vatted Malt is blended from malt whiskies from different distilleries. If a whisky is labeled "pure malt" or just "malt" it is almost certain to be a vatted whisky.
+ Single Malt whisky is from a single distillery, but will usually contain whisky from many casks, so the blender can achieve a taste recogniseable as typical of the distillery (unless the whisky is described as "single-cask"). In most cases, the name of the whisky will be that of the distillery (Glenlivet, Glenmorangie, Glenfarclas), with an age statement and perhaps some indication of some special treatments such as maturation in a port cask. Especially expensive malts may have a special name.
o Grain Whisky is made from unmalted barley (and even other grains), usually in a continuous "patent" or "Coffey" still. Until recently it was only used in blends - but there are now some "Single Grain" scotches being marketed.
o Blended Whiskies are the cheaper whiskies made from a mixture of Malt and Grain whiskies. A whisky simply described as Scotch Whisky is most likely to be a blend. A blend is usually from many distilleries so that the blender can produce a flavour consistent with the brand, and the brand name (eg Bells, Chivas Regal) will usually not therefore contain the name of a distillery.

* Irish whiskeys are generally distilled three times and must be aged in wooden casks for a period of not less than three years.

* Canadian whiskies have the regulatory requirement[2] of being aged for at least three years in a barrel. Most Canadian whiskies are blended multi-grain whiskies

* American whiskey includes both straights and blends. To be called "straight" the whiskey must be one of the "named types" listed in the federal regulations and aged in oak casks for at least two years. The most common of the "named types" are Bourbon, which must be at least 51% corn (maize); rye, which must be at least 51% rye, and corn, which must be at least 80% corn. All straight whiskeys except straight corn whiskey must be aged in new casks that have been charred on their inside surface. American blended whiskeys combine straight whiskey with un-aged whiskey, grain neutral spirits, flavorings and colorings. These definitions are part of U.S. law. Not defined by the law but important in the marketplace is Tennessee whiskey, of which Jack Daniel's is the leading example. It is identical to bourbon in every important respect. There are other, minor, variations to the above, but they are not significant in the marketplace.

* Grain whisky differs from malt in that it is usually made from corn, maize, or other grains rather than malted barley. It is distilled in continuous distillation process stills known as Coffey stills instead of the pot still used for malt whisky.

* Pure pot still whiskey refers to Irish whiskey made from a combination of malted and unmalted barley and distilled in a pot still.

Names and spellings

Whisky comes from the Gaelic uisge/uisce beatha (IPA: [ɪʃkʲə bʲahə]) meaning "water of life", possibly modelled on the Latin phrase aqua vitae. The spelling whisky (plural whiskies) is generally used for whiskies distilled in Scotland, Wales, Canada, and Japan, while whiskey is used for the spirits distilled in Ireland. A 1968 directive of the ATF specifies "whisky" as the official U.S. spelling, but allows labeling as "whiskey" in deference to tradition; most U.S. producers still use the latter spelling.

[Pando]

I can also slam a V8 in a Ford Fiesta and call it an American Muscle car, some don't have a problem with the definition but others would.

No real whisky/whiskey enthusiast would call American corn spirits a whiskey.

[Matra et Alpine]

Check out again the definition I posted from the dictonary. Yes you can spell it different ways (Whiskey, Whisky) but the definition is clear.

Wrong.
Check out the LAW of trademark use.

Scottish whisKY is as controlled just as Champagne. You can only call it whisky if it is real whisky.

Hence why the rest are whiskey or allowed by the Scottish Whisky Association to use whisky.

Don't argue falsities about whisky to a malt-loving Scot linving IN Scotland and born 2 miles from a distillery and 100 yards from a bond

Worth remembering what WIKI stands for. It is NOT a definitive source

[fisetdavid26]

Most often if you see ethanol in a school it will be denatured and can make you sick or blind (if its mixed with methanol) This is why I'm highly suspect of anyone saying they drank the ethanol in school to seem cool. Most often it will have very bad effects on you.

My friend is dumb, plain and simple. He didn't do it to look cool, he did it because he knew it could be dangerous. No wonder why I don't hang with him often. I wouldn't drink any alcohol at school anyway, it's just not the place.

[revetec]

The Champagne thing came about when Australia won the major awards. They forced us to use Sparking wine to protect their industry. All that aside....Our sparking wine is Champagne!

Whisky was invented in the Middle East as per Wikipedia. They probably call it something else as the Scots named theirs Whiskey. Again all that aside...If the Scots call theirs Scotch Whisky and the US call their Bourbourn Whiskey, it is still classed under the same general genre of Whiskey.

It is like saying avgas is not petrolium in the same genre as Standard fuels.

Or calling a ball point pen a biro, let's call a Nissan ZX a Fairlady from now on. That's what it was called in it's home country.

My point is that all this hair splitting is stupid because everyone has different countries, background, products and terminology. The Scots call it Whisky, so what? The basic ingredients and methods are similar.

[Matra et Alpine]

The Champagne thing came about when Australia won the major awards. They forced us to use Sparking wine to protect their industry. All that aside....Our sparking wine is Champagne!

Wrong again.
Stick to engines Brad, you're good there
That's a huge chip if you think the CHampagne region of France only protected it's brand image for the Aussies. It was done to prtect them from other regions IN France long before you guys stopped making paint stripper.
Yes, when you started making decent sparkling wines and wanted to call it CHampage they used it to stop you guys.
Remove hip -- keep it for the engien threads

Whisky was invented in the Middle East as per Wikipedia.

No .... it's beleived that SPIRITS were first distilled in the Middle East.
Whisky is a specific spirit made from specific grains and coudl NOT be made in teh Middle East

They probably call it something else as the Scots named theirs Whiskey.

Let me repeat. Scotland never HAS called it whiskEy and never will.

it is still classed under the same general genre of Whiskey.

It is like saying avgas is not petrolium in the same genre as Standard fuels.

Bad analogy. Whisky and whiskey are in the same genre as spirits.
Petroleum from BP is different from petroleum from Shell.
SO to some it makes a difference.

The Scots call it Whisky, so what? The basic ingredients and methods are similar.

Scotch WHISKY is very specific.
"basic ingredients" as far as saying some kind of grain ? DEFINATELY NOT.
"methods" as in how long in a cask ? DEFINATELY NOT.

[revetec]

Wrong again.
Stick to engines Brad, you're good there

Bad analogy. Whisky and whiskey are in the same genre as spirits.
Petroleum from BP is different from petroleum from Shell.
SO to some it makes a difference.

Scotch WHISKY is very specific.
"basic ingredients" as far as saying some kind of grain ? DEFINATELY NOT.
"methods" as in how long in a cask ? DEFINATELY NOT.

So what your saying is that the process and ingredients to make petroleum is different at Shell than BP?

I quoted from the dictonary...where are you quoting from? .....The Scottish Whisky Bible?

Oh....have you noticed that when you type Whisky on here it wants to spell check it?

I checked several Whisky and bourbon distillers websites. They all state that the age quoted is the time spent in the barrel. It is recommended that Bourbon is best at 7-10 years, but states that Whisky drinkers prefer a bourbon to be left in a barrel for 15 years. This gives a stronger, hasher taste which is preferred by Whisky drinkers.

Most Good Whiskies are aged 12-18 years although Top range Whiskies such as Johnny Walker Blue is reported to be around 50-60 years old.

I suppose the Bourbon has an earlier age due to the Corn in the grain blend.

Either way I drink them both. I drink Jim Beam Special blend and Johnny Walker Green (because I like pure malt)

I found this article from a legal website in New Zealand:

CHAMPAGNE CASE
One of the first New Zealand cases to deal with the issue was the 1992 Champagne Case.

The factual background to the case was that wines produced in the Champagne district of France labelled and promoted as Champagne had been marketed in New Zealand from as early as 1845. It was established in the evidence that as at 1958 the New Zealand market had had long use of the name Champagne only as an appellation of origin. There had been isolated incidents in which Australian and New Zealand manufacturers had used Champagne on locally made sparkling wine but the French Champagne growers had been quick to challenge that use.

The case involved use of the word Champagne by the Australian manufacturer, Seaview. The fact that the French wine growers had vigorously protected the use of the word in New Zealand enabled the Court to decide that the word had not become generic despite the fact that there was evidence that New Zealand consumers were relatively ignorant of the word as a term to designate wine of a particular region in France.

That situation is however going to change when the new Trade Marks Act comes into force. The new Act will make it easier for competitors to revoke a trade mark registration where it is used generically by the public, notwithstanding the fact that it is used and recognised in trade as a trade mark.
-------------------------------------------------
By the way......I love French Champagne myself.

[The_Canuck]

I'd just like to throw in a cool fact: All Tequila is made in Mexico and it is illegal to make it anywhere else.

I shall exit now.

[revetec]

I also would like to appologize if I have made any mistakes. I'm stating now that I am neither an expert on Whisky or Whiskey or Champagne.

I'm only posting info found on the web.

BTW: Australian wine is not paint stripper? It is paint thinner.....

Just kidding...Our wines are very good so I think you are a bit harsh describing our wine products.

[Matra et Alpine]

Brad, it's never a good idea to just trawl the web to "Prove" anything.
I remember teh EC back in the 80s takign up the fight to strengthen the protection of "Champagne" beyond the agreements in place for a long time in Europe. Champagnoise had always been traditionally used to indicate a sparkiling wine made in the tradiition of Champagne -- turned bottles, vented cork stage etc.


Sorry I also have to tell you that Johnny Walker is pish !
It's what we export at great profit and sell on it's "name" rather than quality.
It's the Porsche Cayenne of the whiskies.

I can give you a list of excellent REAL single malts to expose your palette to the full range of the best

oh and diffenet petrols have different additives and methods employed to get to the required RON ratings. THIS one I expected you woudl have known given your current acitivies So you will find different aromatics and mix of light and heavy petroleum. In general it only requres a small percentage of final-stage additives to create these alternatives. ( BP Grangemouth is our local and produces petrol for MANY companies .... the difference being the additives Mate worked there for 20 years and I've had "the tour" !!
#


and yes apologies to those who didnt' realise the humour in calling southern wines "stripper" THere are plenty of damn good wines and more each year.