What is the difference between whiskey and whiskey?

It doesn’t make any sense if you love whiskey but don’t like bourbon.

We’ve all heard it before, whether on television or in the movies, at the bar, or among family members. It goes something like this: “I like bourbon, but I really don’t like whisk(e)y all that much.”

It’s time to stop the madness!

In an effort to clarify once and for all why that sentence makes no sense at all, and to lay out in no uncertain terms what exactly constitutes whisk(e)y — and why we’re employing that fairly awkward parenthesis within the word itself — here is a taxonomy of whisky and whiskey, what connects and differentiates them, and how to refer to them properly.

Whisk(e)y is a spirit that’s produced from a distilled mash of fermented grains and then aged in wood. It represents the entire category — an umbrella of sorts — under which reside specific types of whisk(e)y: Scotch, Bourbon, Irish whiskey, Japanese whisky, and more.

Single malt Scotch whisky is spelled without an ‘e,’ must be produced in Scotland, and is based entirely on malted barley. There are huge differences even within single malt categories. The distance from Old Pulteney to Lagavulin, Islay, is almost 300 miles. And there’s a lot more. Single malt Scotch whisky can be varied!

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I can’t count the number of times that I’ve heard some version of the refrain that so-and-so doesn’t like single malt Scotch because “it’s too smoky.” This is painting the category of single malt Scotch with too broad of a brush. For example, whiskies from Islay tend to be smokey because the malted barley has been dried over peat-fueled fires. However, whiskies from the Highlands are known for their lovely dried fruits and caramel notes. Yet there are exceptions: Bruichladdich’s Classic Laddie expression, for example, is unpeated even though it’s from Islay, and Glenmorangie’s new “A Tale of the Forest” is totally unique within the Highlands in that it’s made, as the label says, with “barley kilned with woodland botanicals.”

Single malt Scotch is, therefore, very versatile despite the fact that it is primarily made from barley and not other cereal grains.

Other countries also use the whisky spelling. Japan, India, Australia These are the most prominent. Traditionally, producers in Ireland and the United States use the “whiskey” spelling, but that’s confusingly not universal. Maker’s Mark omits the “e” on their labels, as does George Dickel, in Tennessee. Uncle Nearest is also made in Tennessee but utilizes the “whiskey” spelling. In general, however, “whiskey” is far more common in the United States across all categories and subcategories of the spirit.

Bourbon is the most well-known American whiskey (note the spelling differences between whiskey and whisky). This category includes spirits distilled from a fermented mix of cereal grains consisting of at least 51% corn. They are then aged in charred, new barrels. Bourbon aging is largely done in American white oak. However the law doesn’t specify what kind of oak. Finishing a Bourbon (and other whisk(e)y as well) in a separate barrel has become increasingly popular in recent years; Angel’s Envy led the way, and now many other brands have run with the practice.

A side note: the 51% minimum corn requirement in mash bill does not apply to the remaining 49%. The other 49% could be made up of anything from more corn, rye and wheat. But the important thing is that corn is most common.

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The following are the legal definitions of other categories American whiskey include rye whiskey (a minimum of 51% rye in the mash bill, which is essentially the list of grains used in the production of what’s called distillers beer, the slurry that’s ultimately fermented and then distilled into a spirit); corn whiskey, American single malt whiskey, wheat whiskey, rye malt whiskey, and malt whiskey.

Tennessee whiskey is an interesting category, as it’s essentially produced under the same regulations as Bourbon but with the added step of undergoing the Lincoln County Process, which is filtration through charcoal. Different brands have their own specific riffs on this process, but the charcoal filtering itself is what’s legally required for Tennessee whiskey, in addition to its production in the state. Interestingly, Bourbon is not required to be produced in Kentucky, though the  vast majority of it is. However, there are excellent Bourbons made from Oregon, Texas, New York, Pennsylvania and elsewhere.

This is the point: Whiskey, whisky, are two very different spirits. There are many subsets to each. However, whisk(e)y does have some key attributes that bring them together as an umbrella category. Explore their differences, as well as some similarities, and then have fun. Just don’t ever say you like Bourbon but don’t enjoy whisk(e)y. That makes no sense … which is only acceptable if you’ve had a few drams already.