Whisky or Whiskey

[fergusa]

Pure and simple.

How should we spell it and why?

[Elagabalus]

I believe for scotch you spell it whisky and for irish whiskey, bourbon, rye etc etc you spell it with an E.

I have no idea why.

[Rory B Bellows]

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tire-tyre

It's just regional differences in the English language. Canadian whisky is spelled so because of the high number of Scottish immigrants in our past; therefore, I would suspect that Bourbon is a whiskey because of the number of Irish immigrants to the US.

So there is no right way: I think we should just mind the spelling when we refer to the country it came from.

[sku]

Spell it like it sounds:

wiss-key

After a few drinks:

ersky

After a few more:

iskee

and after a few more:

gimme the damn bottle.

[TheLaddie]

Doesn't matter. I never order a dram on paper.

[Deactivated Member]

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tire-tyre

It's just regional differences in the English language.

I'll quibble with that (surprise!). Unlike the other examples you cite, the spelling of whisky/whiskey is dependent on the origin of the drink, not that of the typist.

[Elagabalus]

This poll makes no sense.

Scotch is whisky

Bourbon, Irish etc etc is whiskey.

So does that mean I you ONLY drink SCOTCH and nothing else you vote whisky?

[Thesh]

If it is from Scotland or Canada, it is spelled whisky. If it is from the US or Ireland, it is spelled whiskey. If I am referring to bottles from different regions I spell it whisk(e)y. In the end, they are all whiskies. No matter how you spell itt.

[vitara7]

i agree with Elagabalus...

[Deactivated Member]

I can only agree with Mr. T. & Elagabalus,

it all depends upon the origin of the whisk(e)y

[Muskrat Portage]

Neither...

Usquebach!

Muskrat

[Aidan]

Slightly off the point, but did the name whisk(e)y come from the mispronunciation of uisce beatha (Irish) or Usquebach (scottish)?

[Deactivated Member]

Yes.

[Deactivated Member]

I have never come across usquebach in any context other than the origin of the word whisky. The Gaidhlig for whisky is uisge beatha - betraying the language's obvious roots in Irish.

Jim Murray has a section on whisky or whiskey near the front of his book which suggests that the usage of the two spellings is more interchangable than most folks think.

[Admiral]

HANG ON!!!!!

Don't make the mistake of saying that it must be whiskey if it comes from the United States.

George Dickel, the other Tennessee distillery, has chosen to spell its spirit whisky, i.e. no "e", and so the reality is that the US / Canada employs both variations of the spelling.

Cheers,
AD

[Deactivated Member]

Do you know of a Canadian whiskey, AD?

[Admiral]

Hmmm...I might have tripped on my own words there. I was going to say "US", then I changed my mind to "North America", then I ended up writing both countries. Now that I think of it, both Glenora and Forty Creek spell it whisky, although wind the clock back to when a lot of Canadian whisky was simply called "rye", and I'm sure it was referred to and/or spelled as whiskey.

No matter...my point about the U.S. remains valid.

Cheers,
ADmiral

[Deactivated Member]

Leave it to us Yanks to muddle it up.

I think that, if I were in charge of the world, I'd spell Forty Creek's products "whiskey", since they are more similar to bourbon. Then again, I'm not the person to judge that. And if I had such power, I think I'd make everyone spell it the same, anyway.

[Aidan]

The Old Midleton Distillery used to call its product "whisky".