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Note the difference in how the Irish spell "whiskey" (with an "e") and how the Scottish spell it - "whisky". There is no known reason, legal or otherwise why this difference exists. Peat is almost never used in the malting process, resulting in a whiskey with an arguably smoother, sweeter flavour. In most Irish whiskey, the smoky, earthy overtones of Scotch are absent. The word whiskey is a corruption of the Gaelic language term "uisge beatha" which translates as "water of life" and is pronounced "oosh-ki Baah." There are far fewer distilleries of Irish whiskey than there are distillers of , Bushmills , and Cooley . Only Cooley's is Irish-owned. Irish whiskey comes in several forms. Like Scotch, there is Single Malt Whiskey (100% malted barley distilled in a Pot Still ) and grain whiskey (grains distilled in a Column Still ). Grain whiskey is much lighter and more neutral in flavor than single malt and is almost never bottled as a single grain. It is instead used to blend with single malt to produce a lighter blended whiskey. Unique to Irish whiskey, to which there is no Scotch counterpart, is Pure Pot Still Whiskey (100% barley, both malted and unmalted, distilled in a pot still). The "green" unmalted barley gives the pure pot still whiskey a spicy, uniquely Irish quality. Like single malt, pure pot still is sold as such or blended with grain whiskey. Usually no real distinction is made between whether a blended whiskey was made from single malt or pure pot still. Irish whiskey is believed to be one of the earliest distilled beverages in Europe, dating to the mid-12th century (see Distilled Beverage ). The Old Bushmills Distillery also lays claim to being the oldest licensed distillery in the world since gaining a license from James I in 1608 . EXAMPLES
IRISH WHISKEY DISTILLERIES IRISH WHISKEY BRANDS EXTERNAL LINKS SEE ALSO
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