We shall begin with the simple premise that I am “a
bit slow on the draw,” as the saying goes.
I often fail to pay attention to important details. Over the years my friends and family have
learned to advantage my mild form of idiocy by having me open bags of chips and
boxes of whatnots. I am apparently funny
to watch. I tear apart the wrong end or
pretty much dismantle the packaging while ignoring the instructions on “easy
opening.” At the grocery, I have largely
given up on opening the plastic bags dispensed from the rollers at the produce
section. If we further consider that I
pronounced rotisserie as “row-tiss-er-rare-ee” until finally corrected about
ten years ago, everyone will grasp how I skip right through details at all
levels of human pursuit.
Now, just yesterday, I discovered that whiskey is
not the same as whisky. Mind you, this is not one of those snooty
proper English snits that has seen Americans pit color against colour or flavor against flavour.
Whiskey and whisky are not merely separated by a suspiciously missing
“e”. These two beasts are justly
separated by a kind of distilling gulf.
Here we go.
Whiskey is generally distilled in Kentucky or
Tennessee (USA) and is made mostly from corn mash aged in new oak barrels. Whisky, more commonly called Scotch, is
distilled primarily from malted barley in Scotland. Scotch is aged in barrels previously used for
aging American Bourbon whiskey.
Additionally, in my way of thinking, whiskey tastes
like licking the seal of a one-hundred-year-old envelope. Scotch whisky, however, tastes like a day of
lying against a green mountainside while sheep graze in a nearby meadow after
you just finished French-kissing someone you deeply love.
Irish whiskey is yet again another beast…a rifle and
a fistfight may be required for explanation. I will look into the details for you.
--Mitchell
Hegman
Thanks,
Ariel.
Informative! I've been curious about the difference between Whiskey and Scotch. Now I know something.
ReplyDeleteInteresting and humorous intro. I like your ability to make fun of yourself.
Eagerly awaiting what you have to say about Irish Whiskey!
Mahalo!
Thank you, Ariel Murphy. Will need to consider Irish Whiskey for a bit.
ReplyDeleteAlways been a Russian, so Vodka has always been my choice, but have done whisky & whiskey - had a period where I loved Scotch! Thanks for the information :-)
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