Fun & Interesting Facts about Whisky There are two legitimate spellings of whisky.

One is whisky - as spelled by Scotts and Canadians and the second is whiskey - as spelled by the Irish and Americans. There is a dispute between the Irish and the Scotts, as to who were the first to make whisky. Scotch and Irish whisky are made the same way, with the exception of malting and distillation process. There are five basic classifications of whisky - Irish Whisky, Scotch Whisky, Bourbon, Canadian Whisky and American Whisky. The dark color of whisky comes from the wooden barrels in which it is aged. The wood expands and contracts with the change in temperature, making the movie in and out of the wood. The compounds from wood give whisky its dark color. The barrels made from American White Oak have been claimed to produce the tastiest whisky. Tennessee whiskey gets its distinct flavor and aroma characteristics from a unique process called "mellowing". There are more than 5000 types of Single Malt Whisky. Whisky can be called Whisky only when it matured for a minimum of 3 years in oak casks. Single Malt Whisky comes from a single distillery and a single grain. However, it is possible that it underwent maturing in multiple casks. Blended Whisky is called Blended Whisky because of the mixture of Grain Whisky and multiple Single Malt Whiskies. Around 90 percent of Single Malt Whisky comes from Scotland. A whisky stops maturing after it is bottled. A closed bottle of whisky can be kept for more than 100 years and it will still be good to drink. After opening, a half-full bottle of whisky will remain good for five years. Pure malt whisky is produced only from malted barley. Difference Between Irish Whisky and Scotch Whisky Whiskeys are usually labeled after the region they are produced in. Irish whisky is the one made in Ireland, while Scotch whisky is the one made in Scotland. In fact, Scotch can only be labeled Scottish whiskey, if it has been distilled and matured in Scotland. Irish whiskey has a softer, more rounded flavor, when compared to Scotch whisky. Irish whiskey goes through triple distillation process, while Scotch whisky is distilled only two times. Due to it being distilled thrice, Irish whiskey is lighter than the Scottish one. The pot stills used for making Irish whisky are larger than the stills used for making Scotch. Three times larger than normal copper pot stills are used for the distillation of Irish whiskey, which accounts for its uniquely delicate flavor. In the process of making Scottish whiskey, the barley is first sprouted and then dried. Raw and malted barley is used to make Irish whiskey, while the Scottish whiskey is entirely made up of malted barley. While making Irish whisky, more emphasis is laid on the process and the casks, while Scots give more importance to the skills of the master blender. Irish whisky can be divided into Single Malt, Single Grain, Pure Pot Still and Blended Whiskey, while Scotch includes Single Malt, Vatted Malt (also called "Pure Malt"), Blended and Single Grain. In case of Scotch, only malted barley is used, while it is not necessary for an Irish whisky to have all malted barley only. The latter usually has both raw and malted barley. Irish malt generally is dried without using peat or any other smoke, unlike Scotch whisky, in which malt is first sprout and then dried as mentioned earlier. The making of Irish whisky is such that more natural flavors of barley rise in it, as compared to Scotch whisky. The aging time of both the whiskeys also differs. Scotch is aged in the cask for a period of at least 2 years. On the other hand, the Irish whiskey is aged for 3 years

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Vodka Facts In the 15th century a type of vodka was used for making gunpowder in Sweden. Vodka is fermented from grain, and is normally colorless. In Russia, the home of vodka, the first uses for the drink was for medical purposes. In Poland it Vodka was sometimes scented and used as aftershaves. The exact origin of where Vodka comes come is contested from the following countries Western Russia Poland Ukraine Belarus Drinking vodka has been a long time tradition of the Scandinavian countries (Finland/Sweeden/Norway) The main reason why vodka became so popular in Russia was because the spirit never froze in the hard Russian winters. This is due to the high alcoholic content. Today vodka is produced from the following grains Sorghum Rye Corn Wheat Rye and Wheat is the choice of most vodka manufacturers In the Ukraine they call vodka, horilka, and the word for vodka comes from the Russian word voda, which means water. This is attributed to the water like appearance of vodka. GIN FACTS GIN gets its predominant flavour from juniper berries (Juniperus communis). The name gin itself could have been taken from the French or Dutch words for juniper (genivre in French or jenever in Dutch). There are two main types of gin: traditionally distilled ones that are produced by re-distilling a neutral grain spirit with juniper berries and other botanicals; or compound gins that dont re-distil the spirit, but merely flavour the neutral spirit with the said flavours. One of the most well-known gin is London dry gin, which, apart from the usual juniper, is also distilled together with citrus botanicals such as lemon and orange peel, and other combinations of spices. During the US Prohibition period (1920-1933) when the sale of alcohol was banned, gin soared in popularity due to its transparent colour and the lack of alcohol breath after drinking it, compared to whiskey or bourbon. The gin-and-tonic cocktail was invented in 1870, strangely enough, as a cure for malaria when the British were in Asia. Quinine (the cure for malaria) is an ingredient in tonic water, but it still tasted rather nasty. So the British mixed gin with it to make it easier to drink, and viola a classic cocktail was born. A standard Martini consists of six parts gin and one part vermouth stirred with ice, then strained and served in a cocktail glass with an olive or lemon peel as garnish.

Tequila Facts Tequila is sometimes been known to be created when a boot of lightening struck a blue agave field. It immediately fermented and cooked the plant and established a nectar that an individual drank and became intoxicated with. There are about five hundred million crops of the blue agave plant harvested to make tequila annually. For an agave plant to mature the process lasts for more than eight years. The plant used for tequila- agave, weighs from 80lbs to 175lbs. Many people are under the misconception that tequila is derived from a cactus plant, but this is entirely false. The famous worm that people think come in tequila bottles are actually placed in Mezcal not tequila. The worms that come in Mezcal (tequila) is called gusanos. The United States was introduced to tequila when the imported spirit came in 1873. Tequila gets its color from being aged in wooden barrels or by other colored sugars and additives. Although there is no worm present in tequila, the worm that is placed in Mezcal is put there to prove that the worm can be preserved by the genuine alcohol content. Lemons and limes are used as a neutralizer of taste when shots of tequila are taken. After the leaves are cut out and removed from the agave plant, the plant core that is left is referred to as a pina. The pina of the blue agave weighs from 25-50lbs total. In ancient eras in Mexico the Aztecs drank pulque the nectar from agave for religious purposes.