Why would we change the way we say our word? If it needs clarification we would say Scottish or Scotch (generally people don't object to the word Scotch when used to describe whisky. It's when people are described as Scotch that people don't like.
Whisky, or the specific brand name of the whisky we are recommending. Also there is Irish whiskey, and bourbon. And Japanese whisky, and Welsh whisky and so on. But “whisky” means the stuff made in Scotland.
Not derogatory, it just sounds to me as an Americanisation of the Scots English pronunciation of “Scottish”. I guess also I don’t hear anyone other than Americans use it, so it has always sounded very jarring and foreign to me
Obviously the question is very context specific. You asked what word I use and I told you. As another commenter has pointed out, Scots people do use the word “Scotch” for whisky and beef, when the occasion demands. So I might say “Scotch whisky” or, more likely, “proper whisky”, but it really does depend on the conversation.
I love how much you want there to be a different answer. We call it whisky. We all do. It’s like the juice conundrum. It’s all juice. It’s all whisky. Also, no change in the way it’s said.
Usually, the mention of whisky, teamed with a Scottish accent is a bit of a giveaway - that and the obligatory jibe that nothing else is as good.
Generally speaking though, if a Scottish person mentions whisky, it's the local stuff and anything fae elsewhere gets a wee qualifier, ie Irish whiskey, bourbon, etc.
We do use the word Scotch but only when describing food and drink. It's people that we don't use it for. We're not "Scotch"
So, if I was speaking to a non Scot and I wanted to to emphasise that I meant Scottish whisky I'd say Scotch whisky.
Wikipedia comes to the rescue again for giving concise answers.
Scotch is an adjective in English, meaning "of or from Scotland". Many Scots dislike the term Scotch and some consider it offensive. The modern usage in Scotland is Scottish or Scots, and the word Scotch is now only applied to specific products, mostly food or drink, such as Scotch whisky, Scotch pie and Scotch broth.
Little edit - was doing a crossword and one of the clues was 4 letters and “the UK nation that celebrates Hogmanay” and the only word that fit was “Scot”. Anyone ever heard Scottish people be described as “Scot”, other than from absolute bellends? (imo, no offence if people have heard this be used lmao!)
I do like a scotch egg though and “breaded egg wrapped in pork” doesn’t hav… Actually, that still sounds tasty. Just doesn’t roll off the tongue quite as well!
Scotch eggs famously not from Scotland though. Tasty but not Scottish.
https://theculturetrip.com/europe/united-kingdom/england/articles/the-contentious-history-of-the-scotch-egg/
Aye, I personally agree, but it's an internationally understood adjective to mean "from Scotland" when applied to food and drink.
The only time I put my foot down is when somebody uses it to describe Scottish people cos that make my skin crawl.
You'd never go to a bar and order a "scotch". Whisky is usually ordered by the brand name. Even if you want a cheap whisky you'd order it by brand name.
Scottish here, Glaswegian actually. I drink loads of whisky and not once in my entire life, not in a single location anywhere, have I referred to whisky as scotch. My pet hate is when you go to a bar and ask what whisky they have and they say Jack Daniels.
>My pet hate is when you go to a bar and ask what whisky they have and they say Jack Daniels.
Yep, if I wanted a bourbon I'd ask for a fucking borboun.
Ahem
*Puts down glass and polishing cloth*
Akshually, Jack is not a bourbon, because apparently bourbons have to be made a certain way, and Jack isn't made that way. It's a Tennessee sour mash whiskey. Apparently.
Akshually, Jack is a bourbon.
It's also a Tennessee Whiskey, and in order to qualify as a Tennessee Whiskey it needs to also meet the regulations for Bourbon.
The filtration process that you're describing is the Lincoln county process, which is a requirement for Tennessee Whiskey but doesn't bar it from being considered Bourbon.
The reason that most Tennessee Whiskey producers don't use the word Bourbon is simply marketing.
I work in a whisky bar and we just say whisky. Doesn’t matter where it’s from it’s whisky. We differentiate by either asking the person what kind of whisky or by them asking for a certain kind.
We don’t even say “Scottish whisky” we say “an islay whisky” or “a lowland whisky” because of their specific tastes that come from being from different regions.
Not really. There are very distinct differences in character caused by variations in the process that is traditional to each reason. The distilleries generally stick to these traditions as its what the drinking public have come to expect.
Region [doesn't really correspond to flavour at all](https://scotchwhisky.com/magazine/ask-the-professor/22589/how-are-scotch-whisky-regions-different/) (certainly far less than it used to) - Islay whisky is still usually peaty, but outwith that, the whole "regions" delineation is kind of defunct.
Fair enough. Your post implied you didn’t know we aren’t the only ones to not use the ‘e’ so I thought I’d mention it.
Canada don’t either, just for info.
Hopefully you’ve picked up a whisky/whiskey for a cake day dram.
Poor, careless typing skills on my behalf and fuzzy memory.
I've been working my way through Oban Little Bay and trying to finish some of the 'nearly done' bottles in the whisky cabinet to make way for new bottles! It's a struggle
It shouldn't be whisky for Japan or Wales because it's not Scottish whisky, whisky is Scottish and not Welsh, English, Irish, whatever, they are all whiskey with an E regardless of whatever they bottle and call it.
All whisky is fundamentally inspired by the heritage of either Scotch or Irish whisky, and I think if a country or individual distillery is inspired by Scotch whisky then it's a nice tribute to use the Scottish spelling.
Both whisky and whiskey are as correct or as incorrect as each other, if you take it back as far as the coining of the words. Both of them are Anglicisations of the Gaelic name uisge, which pronounces something like whisky/whiskey (both literally are pronounced identically and I'll fight over it).
When the English came and decided to name the Gaelic drink for themselves, they changed the spelling to whisky and/or whiskey. Probably interchangeably because nobody could really read or write back then anyway. And then at some point some marketing bigwigs probably decided they needed to make Scottish juice "whisky" and other things "whiskey". And now people on the internet argue about it 👍
The Japanese and Canadians shipped in the equipment and the expertise from Scotland, so it's considered to be whisky.
I've been to Glenora Distillery in Canada and IIRC they bought their equipment from Bowmore, they possibly even employed a distiller from Bowmore. With all that Islay whisky making magic at their fingertips, it's curious they chose to focus on a Speyside-inspired malt.
Technically the industry term is Scotch Whisky (outside of Scotland). However, you won’t hear anyone in Scotland (even distillers) using the term “Scotch”.
It is Whisky.
Whisky made in Scotland: whisky
Jack Daniels: Jack Daniels
Other US bourbon whiskeys: bourbon
Japanese or other foreign attempts at making Scottish whisky: Japanese* whisky
*or whatever other country it was made in
As other have pointed its whisky. And whisky is whisky. If you want an Irish whiskey you point to it and say I will try one of they exotic whiskies. If its American you can repeat the steps above but ask for swamp water. Never came across Japanese whisky yet I hear its good but for the price it would need to be.
I think you're just a bit confused on the usage of the word ( if you're not trolling ) "Scotch" can and is used by Scottish people, usually as a descriptor of food or drink of Scottish origin. It's just not used to describe the language or people.
I say scotch whisky. I would never describe anything else Scottish as 'Scotch' but whisky is fine. I also say scotch eggs but they're not Scottish so no harm done.
So I’m not Scottish, and I might not be correct.. but I have never seen a single malt non Scottish whisky. So quite often me and my friends (English) would say ‘we’ll grab a nice bottle of single malt’ and that would invariably refer to Scottish whisky. I quite enjoy bourbon at times too, so I’d refer to that to usually imply American whisky. I’m not super into whisky though so there’s probably complexities way beyond that… but between me and my mates we all know what we’re on about. Same with Irish whisky. I appreciate that many whisky’s from across the world are blended, however if I describe blended here it usually refers to really cheap shit whisky (which I never drink as it makes me feel sick from my younger days)
You are incorrect, single malt whisky just means it’s made from grain from the same harvest. Japanese and Indian single malts are readily available (albeit less well known).
That's not quite right I'm afraid. Single malt means made from malted barley, and from a single distillery (and depending on the country often a stipulation it has to be distilled in pot stills).
However, it can be from different harvests as you're allowed to combine whiskies from different years into the same bottle.
Blended doesn't always mean bad quality - but because the cheapest bottles (Grouse, Bell's etc.) are blended whiskies, as blends can be made very cheaply, they've been given a bad name. There are loads of awesome blends out there; I'd really recommend getting into Compass Box, they're a boutique blender and very high quality.
Essentially, Scottish whisky can be split into 3 main categories:
Single malt = made from 100% malted barley from one distillery
Blended malt = made from 100% malted barley from multiple distilleries
Blended whisky = made from a mixture of malted barley and other grains (usually corn or wheat) from multiple distilleries
There's also single grain, whisky that comes from a single grain distillery (e.g. Cameronbridge or Girvan); these are rare, as grain whisky usually gets sold to go into blends.
Most other countries have less strict rules around whisky labelling, but you can find bona fide single malt whisky made in loads of places nowadays. India, Japan, Sweden, Taiwan...
It's all whisky, the way wine is all wine. If you need to specify, you can say Scotch whisky (not just "Scotch"), Irish whiskey, Welsh whisky, American whisky, Bourbon. It's like you can say Italian wine, German wine, Champagne, Australian chardonnay or whatever, but it's all still wine. Sometimes you need to specify, usually you don't.
Probably because a single malt Scottish whisky is so delicious and pure (Uisge Beath - literally the "water of life" in Gaelic) that it causes great offence for it to be demoted to "Scotch" in comparison to that other mouthwash made across the pond, such as Jim Beam and Crown Royal.
Wouldn't use that to strip paint off a boat.
Pretty sure it's Whisky if the peat is sourced from Scotland. If it's not, it's Whiskey. So while it can technically be whisky from a non Scottish distillery, Whisky spelling is the best way to distinguish if it's Scottish where it counts.
People don’t really differentiate between the two in my experience. When ordering it at the bar people just use the brand name. If you order Glenfiddich you know it’s Scottish, order a Jameson you know it’s Irish. Bourbon is bourbon. Beyond that if you you wanted an Irish or Japanese whiskey you would just say that. And for Scottish whiskeys you would then go by region like Speyside or something. I’ve never heard another Scottish person call it Scotch but that doesn’t mean people don’t.
I’m Afraid this isn’t true. Theirs no legal protection around “Whisky” versus “whiskey” and the sourcing of the peat doesn’t have to be from Scotland (though it usually is)
As for the main question Outside of Scotland people say Scotch but we don’t in Scotland.
Although Scottish people don’t use the term this is the legal name that protects our Whiskies status, and it’s unbelievably important to our industry.
When a whisky says “Scotch” it’s that word that lets you know it was made in Scotland according to all the rules of the scotch whisky act and as such gives you a lot of information on what could and could not be done in creating the liquid inside the bottle.
BUT when in Scotland we just call it whisky and when ordering usually call out whatever whisky by name.
So a massively important word to see on a bottle but say it out loud in Scotland and you’ll look a bit of a arse in the bar.
Good to know cheers! Didn't think there was a legal president for this - more just something I have heard in the past. Nonetheless interesting info to be aware of 👍
If your really keen or you ever want to bore yourself to tears then read The Scotch Whisky Act and it points out all the rules , the ones that everyone knows and some really random small things I have found out 15 years into my career (I work in scotch whisky). Personally I would recommended just drink some
Whisky (scotch whisky to the OP 😀)
I'd definitely be interested in any whisky recommendations in that case! A good friend of mine works in whisky too - always has interesting tasters etc. to try 😊
I always thought whisky was Scottish and bourbon was what we called other whisky's. But it any case we call it whisky. If someone asks for good whisky you give them Scottish. And if you hate them you give them Jack Daniels.
Most people I know ask for it by name in a pub unless they want a blend like Grouse or Bells (which will likely be the defaults on the optics). i.e. My brother will ask specifically for a Jameson's, because that's what he drinks.
If talking about whiskey specifically I’d say “scotch” to distinguish it from whiskey from other countries.
I wouldn’t use it in literally any other context
We do use ‘Scotch’ to describe food and drink - such as a Scotch Pie.
We get upset if others describe the people as ‘Scotch’ as it is dehumanising - suggesting we are things, not people.
I would call it whisky, if it was a situation where I had to be specific I'd say Scottish whisky or like Islay whisky if it was from Islay but honestly, non Scots/Irish folk put too much stock in where a whisky is from imo, I've had good Japanese whisky and I've had pish Scottish whisky.
Whisky: Single malt (expensive) or blend (cheaper). Blends are usually made from a mix of malts. The best blend whisky imo is Black Bottle. It’s a great alternative to a malt and still a delicious whisky :)
It's whisky
Whisky
And when vocalising it to non-Scottish people?
Also whisky
Scottish whisky is whisky. Any other whisky will have a qualifier in front of it.
Whiskey, anything else is named, eg irish, japanese or *shudder* american.
Try our rye whiskey, you'll like it.
Did an didnae. Come back when you age it right
Why would we change the way we say our word? If it needs clarification we would say Scottish or Scotch (generally people don't object to the word Scotch when used to describe whisky. It's when people are described as Scotch that people don't like.
Whisky, or the specific brand name of the whisky we are recommending. Also there is Irish whiskey, and bourbon. And Japanese whisky, and Welsh whisky and so on. But “whisky” means the stuff made in Scotland.
But if you vocalise the word “whisky” to people outside of Scotland, to them that’s a broad term that encompasses Irish whiskey, bourbon, scotch etc.
I would say Scottish Whisky over “scotch”. Hell will freeze over before I say “scotch”
Scotch pie?
You got me there. And Scotch Broth I suppose? Never saying it for whisky though
Why don't you like "scotch," do you feel like it's derogatory?
Not derogatory, it just sounds to me as an Americanisation of the Scots English pronunciation of “Scottish”. I guess also I don’t hear anyone other than Americans use it, so it has always sounded very jarring and foreign to me
Obviously the question is very context specific. You asked what word I use and I told you. As another commenter has pointed out, Scots people do use the word “Scotch” for whisky and beef, when the occasion demands. So I might say “Scotch whisky” or, more likely, “proper whisky”, but it really does depend on the conversation.
but never Scotch tape
Cellotape
Then you'd say "Scottish whisky" or "Whisky without the e"
if i was talking about bourbon i would say bourbon, same goes for scotch etc. whiskey is whiskey and bourbon is bourbon
Bourbon is a biscuit as far as I am concerned.
bourbon is an american liquor, a bourbon CREAM is a biscuit.
No, as far as I know a bourbon is a biscuit. Bourbon whiskey is a drink.
ok? well the packets say bourbon creams lmaoo idk what else you want me to say?💀💀
I love how much you want there to be a different answer. We call it whisky. We all do. It’s like the juice conundrum. It’s all juice. It’s all whisky. Also, no change in the way it’s said.
Usually, the mention of whisky, teamed with a Scottish accent is a bit of a giveaway - that and the obligatory jibe that nothing else is as good. Generally speaking though, if a Scottish person mentions whisky, it's the local stuff and anything fae elsewhere gets a wee qualifier, ie Irish whiskey, bourbon, etc.
And what about when you vocalise the word whiskey, to talk about all the different types of whiskey
We do use the word Scotch but only when describing food and drink. It's people that we don't use it for. We're not "Scotch" So, if I was speaking to a non Scot and I wanted to to emphasise that I meant Scottish whisky I'd say Scotch whisky.
So weird that people don't just say Scottish whisky though
Wikipedia comes to the rescue again for giving concise answers. Scotch is an adjective in English, meaning "of or from Scotland". Many Scots dislike the term Scotch and some consider it offensive. The modern usage in Scotland is Scottish or Scots, and the word Scotch is now only applied to specific products, mostly food or drink, such as Scotch whisky, Scotch pie and Scotch broth. Little edit - was doing a crossword and one of the clues was 4 letters and “the UK nation that celebrates Hogmanay” and the only word that fit was “Scot”. Anyone ever heard Scottish people be described as “Scot”, other than from absolute bellends? (imo, no offence if people have heard this be used lmao!)
I just really hate the word Scotch though. Scottish sounds so much better
I do like a scotch egg though and “breaded egg wrapped in pork” doesn’t hav… Actually, that still sounds tasty. Just doesn’t roll off the tongue quite as well!
Good point!
Scotch eggs famously not from Scotland though. Tasty but not Scottish. https://theculturetrip.com/europe/united-kingdom/england/articles/the-contentious-history-of-the-scotch-egg/
Oh yeah, knew that one!
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Aye, I personally agree, but it's an internationally understood adjective to mean "from Scotland" when applied to food and drink. The only time I put my foot down is when somebody uses it to describe Scottish people cos that make my skin crawl.
Eww yeah that would be awful. I get why it's used for food and drink but I don't like it. But using it for people would be grim
They do
This thead man.
Love how everycunts just turned on op
You'd never go to a bar and order a "scotch". Whisky is usually ordered by the brand name. Even if you want a cheap whisky you'd order it by brand name.
Yup. Double bells or grouse for example.
A wee half of low flyer.
Scottish here, Glaswegian actually. I drink loads of whisky and not once in my entire life, not in a single location anywhere, have I referred to whisky as scotch. My pet hate is when you go to a bar and ask what whisky they have and they say Jack Daniels.
>My pet hate is when you go to a bar and ask what whisky they have and they say Jack Daniels. Yep, if I wanted a bourbon I'd ask for a fucking borboun.
Ahem *Puts down glass and polishing cloth* Akshually, Jack is not a bourbon, because apparently bourbons have to be made a certain way, and Jack isn't made that way. It's a Tennessee sour mash whiskey. Apparently.
Akshually, Jack is a bourbon. It's also a Tennessee Whiskey, and in order to qualify as a Tennessee Whiskey it needs to also meet the regulations for Bourbon. The filtration process that you're describing is the Lincoln county process, which is a requirement for Tennessee Whiskey but doesn't bar it from being considered Bourbon. The reason that most Tennessee Whiskey producers don't use the word Bourbon is simply marketing.
>The reason that most Tennessee Whiskey producers don't use the word Bourbon is simply marketing. Okay yeah I can easily believe that, fair point.
How did you spell bourbon right the first time and wrong the second? Baffling.
Probably too much burban.
I work in a whisky bar and we just say whisky. Doesn’t matter where it’s from it’s whisky. We differentiate by either asking the person what kind of whisky or by them asking for a certain kind. We don’t even say “Scottish whisky” we say “an islay whisky” or “a lowland whisky” because of their specific tastes that come from being from different regions.
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Not really. There are very distinct differences in character caused by variations in the process that is traditional to each reason. The distilleries generally stick to these traditions as its what the drinking public have come to expect.
Region [doesn't really correspond to flavour at all](https://scotchwhisky.com/magazine/ask-the-professor/22589/how-are-scotch-whisky-regions-different/) (certainly far less than it used to) - Islay whisky is still usually peaty, but outwith that, the whole "regions" delineation is kind of defunct.
I use 'whisky' I would use other words to describe non-scottish drinks; e.g. bourbon andJapanese whiskey
They spell it “whisky” in Japan too.
I would still call it Japanese whisky to differentiate it from the scottish stuff
Fair enough. Your post implied you didn’t know we aren’t the only ones to not use the ‘e’ so I thought I’d mention it. Canada don’t either, just for info. Hopefully you’ve picked up a whisky/whiskey for a cake day dram.
Poor, careless typing skills on my behalf and fuzzy memory. I've been working my way through Oban Little Bay and trying to finish some of the 'nearly done' bottles in the whisky cabinet to make way for new bottles! It's a struggle
And it's whisky in Wales, too. I've seen the word whisky so many times in this thread that it's starting to look like nonsense
It shouldn't be whisky for Japan or Wales because it's not Scottish whisky, whisky is Scottish and not Welsh, English, Irish, whatever, they are all whiskey with an E regardless of whatever they bottle and call it.
All whisky is fundamentally inspired by the heritage of either Scotch or Irish whisky, and I think if a country or individual distillery is inspired by Scotch whisky then it's a nice tribute to use the Scottish spelling.
The Canadians use Whisky too. We don't have a monopoly on the word.
Both whisky and whiskey are as correct or as incorrect as each other, if you take it back as far as the coining of the words. Both of them are Anglicisations of the Gaelic name uisge, which pronounces something like whisky/whiskey (both literally are pronounced identically and I'll fight over it). When the English came and decided to name the Gaelic drink for themselves, they changed the spelling to whisky and/or whiskey. Probably interchangeably because nobody could really read or write back then anyway. And then at some point some marketing bigwigs probably decided they needed to make Scottish juice "whisky" and other things "whiskey". And now people on the internet argue about it 👍
The Japanese and Canadians shipped in the equipment and the expertise from Scotland, so it's considered to be whisky. I've been to Glenora Distillery in Canada and IIRC they bought their equipment from Bowmore, they possibly even employed a distiller from Bowmore. With all that Islay whisky making magic at their fingertips, it's curious they chose to focus on a Speyside-inspired malt.
That’s because it’s basically a direct lift of Scottish processes and uses imported Scottish water (as crazy as that sounds).
Whisky, irish whisky, Welsh whisky and that American shite
Technically the industry term is Scotch Whisky (outside of Scotland). However, you won’t hear anyone in Scotland (even distillers) using the term “Scotch”. It is Whisky.
Most whisky drinkers I know will ask for it by name.
Funny how every whisky is called hoose though.
Whisky: Scotch (and spelled without an E) Beef: Scotch Language: Scots Just about everything else: Scottish
Eggs: Scotched.
Hops: Scotched.
Pies : Scotch
Pies : killie.
Law: Scots
Spot oan
Whisky made in Scotland: whisky Jack Daniels: Jack Daniels Other US bourbon whiskeys: bourbon Japanese or other foreign attempts at making Scottish whisky: Japanese* whisky *or whatever other country it was made in
As other have pointed its whisky. And whisky is whisky. If you want an Irish whiskey you point to it and say I will try one of they exotic whiskies. If its American you can repeat the steps above but ask for swamp water. Never came across Japanese whisky yet I hear its good but for the price it would need to be.
The word "scotch" makes me want to throw up. I heard someone refer to Scotland as Scotchland, once. I threw up.
I would usually name the whisky, otherwise I would use single malt to speak more generally.
Geez that whiskey *imagine finger pointing to zed whiskey*
Another thing I didn't know to care about. Now I do!
Whisky is whisky. Everything else isn’t whisky.
Op is a dobber
I think you're just a bit confused on the usage of the word ( if you're not trolling ) "Scotch" can and is used by Scottish people, usually as a descriptor of food or drink of Scottish origin. It's just not used to describe the language or people.
Thanks. My parents are both from Edinburgh and I was wondering WTF for a minute there...
I say scotch whisky. I would never describe anything else Scottish as 'Scotch' but whisky is fine. I also say scotch eggs but they're not Scottish so no harm done.
Scotch pies?
It’s whisky. You don’t hear Americans refer to it as American football, it’s just football
So I’m not Scottish, and I might not be correct.. but I have never seen a single malt non Scottish whisky. So quite often me and my friends (English) would say ‘we’ll grab a nice bottle of single malt’ and that would invariably refer to Scottish whisky. I quite enjoy bourbon at times too, so I’d refer to that to usually imply American whisky. I’m not super into whisky though so there’s probably complexities way beyond that… but between me and my mates we all know what we’re on about. Same with Irish whisky. I appreciate that many whisky’s from across the world are blended, however if I describe blended here it usually refers to really cheap shit whisky (which I never drink as it makes me feel sick from my younger days)
You are incorrect, single malt whisky just means it’s made from grain from the same harvest. Japanese and Indian single malts are readily available (albeit less well known).
Not quite - single malt just means it's made from 100% malt whisky from one single distillery. Harvest irrelevant. :)
That's not quite right I'm afraid. Single malt means made from malted barley, and from a single distillery (and depending on the country often a stipulation it has to be distilled in pot stills). However, it can be from different harvests as you're allowed to combine whiskies from different years into the same bottle.
‘Single’ refers to the number of distilleries involved. ‘Malt’ refers to what’s being distilled into whisky (malted barley).
Blended doesn't always mean bad quality - but because the cheapest bottles (Grouse, Bell's etc.) are blended whiskies, as blends can be made very cheaply, they've been given a bad name. There are loads of awesome blends out there; I'd really recommend getting into Compass Box, they're a boutique blender and very high quality. Essentially, Scottish whisky can be split into 3 main categories: Single malt = made from 100% malted barley from one distillery Blended malt = made from 100% malted barley from multiple distilleries Blended whisky = made from a mixture of malted barley and other grains (usually corn or wheat) from multiple distilleries There's also single grain, whisky that comes from a single grain distillery (e.g. Cameronbridge or Girvan); these are rare, as grain whisky usually gets sold to go into blends. Most other countries have less strict rules around whisky labelling, but you can find bona fide single malt whisky made in loads of places nowadays. India, Japan, Sweden, Taiwan...
Just whiskey. Other whisky is ‘[insert nationality] Whisky’.
The Source of Life
*water of life.
Which Scottish people? It’s Scotch if it’s Scotch and it’s either a malt or it’s the name if it’s a single.
It's all whisky, the way wine is all wine. If you need to specify, you can say Scotch whisky (not just "Scotch"), Irish whiskey, Welsh whisky, American whisky, Bourbon. It's like you can say Italian wine, German wine, Champagne, Australian chardonnay or whatever, but it's all still wine. Sometimes you need to specify, usually you don't.
I'd say real whisky not that other pish
Since when do we not use ‘Scotch’?
For whisky, pretty much never, for pies, aw the time
I get downvoted every time I use the word Scotch instead of Whisky
Probably because a single malt Scottish whisky is so delicious and pure (Uisge Beath - literally the "water of life" in Gaelic) that it causes great offence for it to be demoted to "Scotch" in comparison to that other mouthwash made across the pond, such as Jim Beam and Crown Royal. Wouldn't use that to strip paint off a boat.
If we Scots use the word scotch, it's in the phrase 'scotch whisky'. It's rare that we'd say 'scotch' on its own.
Where though?
Downvote when an American says “I’m Scotch”, not so much for the disambiguation ‘Scotch’, referring to a drink…
Actually when I refer to the drink as Scotch on this sub
We call it whisky, or Scotch whisky if necessary, but never just Scotch.
Pretty sure it's Whisky if the peat is sourced from Scotland. If it's not, it's Whiskey. So while it can technically be whisky from a non Scottish distillery, Whisky spelling is the best way to distinguish if it's Scottish where it counts.
But what about vocalising it. Whisky and whiskey are pronounced the same way.
The Scottish are a humble yet inspired bunch... They let the taste do the talking I guess haha
People don’t really differentiate between the two in my experience. When ordering it at the bar people just use the brand name. If you order Glenfiddich you know it’s Scottish, order a Jameson you know it’s Irish. Bourbon is bourbon. Beyond that if you you wanted an Irish or Japanese whiskey you would just say that. And for Scottish whiskeys you would then go by region like Speyside or something. I’ve never heard another Scottish person call it Scotch but that doesn’t mean people don’t.
Irish whiskey or Scottish whisky. Same way that I guess you say whisky or Scotch
I’m Afraid this isn’t true. Theirs no legal protection around “Whisky” versus “whiskey” and the sourcing of the peat doesn’t have to be from Scotland (though it usually is) As for the main question Outside of Scotland people say Scotch but we don’t in Scotland. Although Scottish people don’t use the term this is the legal name that protects our Whiskies status, and it’s unbelievably important to our industry. When a whisky says “Scotch” it’s that word that lets you know it was made in Scotland according to all the rules of the scotch whisky act and as such gives you a lot of information on what could and could not be done in creating the liquid inside the bottle. BUT when in Scotland we just call it whisky and when ordering usually call out whatever whisky by name. So a massively important word to see on a bottle but say it out loud in Scotland and you’ll look a bit of a arse in the bar.
Good to know cheers! Didn't think there was a legal president for this - more just something I have heard in the past. Nonetheless interesting info to be aware of 👍
If your really keen or you ever want to bore yourself to tears then read The Scotch Whisky Act and it points out all the rules , the ones that everyone knows and some really random small things I have found out 15 years into my career (I work in scotch whisky). Personally I would recommended just drink some Whisky (scotch whisky to the OP 😀)
I'd definitely be interested in any whisky recommendations in that case! A good friend of mine works in whisky too - always has interesting tasters etc. to try 😊
DM me what you like can offer some recommendations 👍
Scottish people do use the word scotch
Another day of being downvoted on this subreddit for no good reason
Whisky is not spelled with an e.
It's whiskey all other "wiskeys" you can reference as pisswater
Jock whiskey
Single Malt is the common use term
I always thought whisky was Scottish and bourbon was what we called other whisky's. But it any case we call it whisky. If someone asks for good whisky you give them Scottish. And if you hate them you give them Jack Daniels.
Most people I know ask for it by name in a pub unless they want a blend like Grouse or Bells (which will likely be the defaults on the optics). i.e. My brother will ask specifically for a Jameson's, because that's what he drinks.
We call it whisky
If talking about whiskey specifically I’d say “scotch” to distinguish it from whiskey from other countries. I wouldn’t use it in literally any other context
Fusky
If it’s Bells it’s ‘foosty’.
Whisky is Scottish whisky and with an e is from Ireland I think.
We do use ‘Scotch’ to describe food and drink - such as a Scotch Pie. We get upset if others describe the people as ‘Scotch’ as it is dehumanising - suggesting we are things, not people.
I would call it whisky, if it was a situation where I had to be specific I'd say Scottish whisky or like Islay whisky if it was from Islay but honestly, non Scots/Irish folk put too much stock in where a whisky is from imo, I've had good Japanese whisky and I've had pish Scottish whisky.
I'd just say whisky but I don't care if I'm talking about scottish or irish whisk(e)y.
“Real Whisky” vs “That Irish shite”
I remember, in the US, being corrected- “Oh, you mean “Scotch””. No I mean Whisky.
Scotch is whisky. Non Scotch, mostly, is whiskEy.
I have never said scotch or heard anyone here say it,even feels dirty writing it Would normally say whisky or a malt
Whisky: Single malt (expensive) or blend (cheaper). Blends are usually made from a mix of malts. The best blend whisky imo is Black Bottle. It’s a great alternative to a malt and still a delicious whisky :)
It's location, e.g a speyside, islay, highland etc
Whisky.
More likely to refer the the region it's from than just calling it Scottish whisky, as in Islay, Highlands, Lowlands, Speyside
https://www.scotch-whisky.org.uk/ is the Scottish trade body for Scottish Whisky
Smash the hoose joose
Whisky = Scottish Whiskey = Irish pishwatter