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What’s the Difference?

Whiskeys & Whiskies: Meet the cousins

Yes, it’s true. There are other members of the whiskey family out there in the world besides Irish. Here’s a handy summary for you to print out and keep.

Type of whiskey	Irish	Scotch	American
Country of Origin	Ireland	Scotland	USA
Grain	Malted & unmalted barley & maize	Mated barley maize & wheat	Corn (maize), barley, wheat & rye
Distillations	3 (although there are a couple of exceptions to this)	2	1 or 2
Style of Whiskey	Production pot still & grain whiskey	Malt whiskey & grain whiskey	Mixed cereal/grain whiskeys
Stills Used	Pot still & column still	Pot still & column still	Column still & pot still
Maturation	3 years minimum	3 years minimum	2 years minimum
Barrels	Seasoned bourbon, sherry & port	Seasoned bourbon, sherry & port	New charred American oak barrels
Colour	Varies on style	Varies on style	Darker
Aroma	Floral/fruity/vanilla	Smokey/peaty/fruit	Sharp/sweet/wood/vanilla
Taste	Roundness, creamy, fruit/spice	Smokey/dry/fruit	Sharp/wood/bitter/vanilla