Did You Know?
- Whisky
The word "whisky" comes from the Gaelic "uisgebeatha" which means "water of life".
Pure malt whisky is produced only from malted barley (barley which has started to germinate and then been dried to stop its germination).
Single malt whisky is identified by the particular distillery from which it comes.
Blended or vatted whisky is produced from various distilleries.
It is possible to get a malt whisky blended with other malt whiskies - but they are then not "single" malts.
There is archaeological evidence that an alcoholic drink was made in Scotland 6,000 years ago.
Tax was first imposed on whisky by the Scots Parliament in 1644.
The first licensed whisky distillery was Glenlivet, in 1823.
The "best" whisky is a matter of personal preference - and lots of arguments have raged between people who have different views.
Whisky experts recommend that single malts should be drunk with a some water - though the experts disagree on whether it should be "just a splash" or 50/50.
At its peak, in 1978, 300 million litres of blended whisky was sold; there has been a slow decline in consumption since then
In Scotland, between 60/70% of the price of a bottle of whisky is due to tax.
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