Whisky/whiskey-let's call the whole thing off

@Jonathan wish I could do some editing after posting..."stems from that," other details...

And just to add: the reason why I included the tangent about my grandfather is that I think he used "Scotch" to distinguish what he grew up with from what he later came to appreciate (mostly blends, anyway :) If I could edit, I'd probably cut it for the sake of clarity...

@Jonathan I believe in Ireland Whisk(e)y is also spelled Whiskey when referring to Irish Whiskey.

Canada also drops the "e".

I think Japan does too.

@teebone673 You're absolutely right, judging from my bottle of Bushmills :) I hadn't thought about how that complicates Cowdery's argument.

...even Ireland (both North and the Republic) is a very touchy case when it comes to the relationship to the UK. Still, as far as I know, in both countries, whiskey is spelled "whiskey ," which suggests that Cowdery is wrong in limiting the distinction between "whiskey" and "whisky" to the US.

But even in that case: are we talking about a regional spelling issue or a specific technical term? Given the specifications enforced by the SWA, it makes sense to assume that we are talking about more than spelling.

In any case, my question is fairly simple: is the justification for using "Scotch Whisky" in American English more justified than, say, the use of "fromage" when talking about French cheeses? I've had my dram of whisky for the evening, so maybe this line of thought is just way off...

@BlueNote It makes sense that Canada would adopt the British spelling. In Japan, we're talking about a translation anyway. I mentioned "fromage" in the last post, but it may be a bad example since it's not a differently spelled word but a foreign one. And we do use the French word Champagne for the drink. So, I guess that argument could me made that Scotch whisky is unique enough to warrant a different different spelling. Honestly, I was just thinking aloud and wondering what others thought. So far, I think Cowdery is wrong and the New York TImes (which now uses "whisky") is right. I'd be interested in hearing a different opinion.

@Jonathan, while "whiskey" is typical spelling in the US, the individual American distillers spell it however they want to. George Dickel and Maker's Mark, to name two well-known examples, omit the "e".

It only bothers me when people refer to Scotch "whiskey" but then I realise that I'm in a very minority group that gives credence to the difference between "whisky" and "whiskey" and I shrug it off, but I'm always happy to educate.

To me, it's more about respecting the way a certain country / region / distillery wants to spell "whisk(e)y" and then honouring that.

@systemdown I hate when I confuse people on the forum bc my stupid phone autocorrects Whisky to whiskey and then people are like man he is dumb. Its such an easy mistake but totally messes with the reader Haha

@systemdown I hear you.

Here's a link that discusses some of the history behind the spelling of whisky versus whiskey: badlanguage.net/whats-in-a-name-is-it-whisk…

I think, as is the case with many "English" words, that when a foreign language word or phrase (i.e. Scottish Gaelic: uisge beatha = "lively water" or "water of life", Irish Gaelic: uisce beatha) becomes anglicized, the initial spellings are phonetic approximations. As the word(s) become used more widely, a "standard" spelling develops as the accepted way to spell the word. Phonetically, "uisge" was translated as "usky" which eventually became "whisky" in English. I think in Scotland, the Scots typically refer to "uisge" not as Scotch or whisky, but as "malt".

The link above indicates that the Irish took on the "e" as a way of differentiating Irish whiskey as a "superior" product the the Scottish whisky when the Coffey still came into use... which led to the distillation of grain whisky and the production of blended whisky (single malts blended with grain whisky).

Another theory for the geographical spellings in North America - whisky in Canada and whiskey in the United States - indicates that the spellings were derived by the ancestry of the immigrants that started distilling in each country - primarily Scottish immigrants in Canada and Irish immigrants in the USA?

"The Kitchn" blog "Whiskey vs. Whisky: What's the Difference?" (link: thekitchn.com/whiskey-vs-whisky-whats-the-d…) has an interesting discussion, but more interesting is a comment by Davin de Kergommeaux. The link to his Malt Maniac article is not correct, but I found it here: maltmaniacs.net/e-pistle-200810-lets-call-t…

(Jonathon - it was interesting to note that the discussion topic is the same as the title of Davin's article...)

So, after perusing the various discussions available from the links in this thread and googling (another interesting "English" word? but that's another topic ;-> ), my humble opinion is that we should focus on what's inside the bottle, not what's on the label. Like the debate over adding water or ice, whisky tastes best the way you like it, so you might as well spell it the way you like it, too.

Sláinte!

I try to honour the spelling specific to country of origin of the bottle, but the bigger deal for me is using the terms Scotch, Rye, Bourbon, etc. properly.

Whiskey is the standard spelling for American whisk(e)y, and yet the United States' appropriate regulatory agency spells it "whisky" almost all the time. See Chapter 4 of the BAM: www.ttb.gov/spirits/bam.shtml

I just can't get worked up about the spelling. To me that's like choosing my whiskey based on the label. It's what's inside the bottle that counts, and there are no letters floating in my whisky. Spell whiskey anyway that you want to spell whisky, and don't let others rain on your parade.