Whisky

What is whisky?

Whisky is a spirit made from grain that gets its maturity from the cask: barley, corn, rye or wheat form the base, the time in wood makes the character. Without the cask, whisky would just be schnapps, with it, it becomes one of the most diverse spirits in the world.

Whisky or whiskey?

The spelling has a system: Scotland, Canada and Japan write "whisky", Ireland and the USA write "whiskey". Both spellings are correct, which is why we like to write "whisk(e)y" when we mean all of them.

From the water of life

The name comes from the Gaelic "uisge beatha", the water of life, a translation of the Latin "aqua vitae". Not without reason does whisky still count as a drink with character and history.

The big types

• Scotch: from Scotland, at least three years in oak casks
• Bourbon: the US classic, at least 51 percent corn, aged in new charred oak casks
• Rye: with at least 51 percent rye, spicy character
• Irish: usually triple distilled, especially smooth
• Japanese: learned in the Scottish school, matured into its own style

Classics with whisk(e)y

Old Fashioned, Manhattan, whiskey sour and mint julep. The Old Fashioned is built: "The shaker makes texture, the mixing glass makes silk, the built drink stays still." The Manhattan lives on a dash of Angostura, which you already know from our Angostura entry.

Remember this one

"Gin brings the juniper, rum the sugarcane, whisky the cask, vodka the purity, tequila the agave."

At our lounge

Neat or on the rocks: whisk(e)y works in both roles here. Ask us for a recommendation, our menu holds a fine selection.