Page 39 - Thirst Magazine Issue 1 (Feb 2017)

Whisk(e)y of all types has experienced a tremendous

surge in popularity over the last decade, but which

is the correct way to spell this wondrous spirit?

By Matthew Fergusson-Stewart

hisky or Whiskey; that is the spirit. In Ireland it became Uisce Beatha and
question. Whisk(e)y of all types in Scotland it became Uisge Beatha, both of
has experienced a tremendous which mean, you guessed it, ‘Water of Life’.
surge in popularity over the This was then shortened to Uisce or Uisge, and
Wlast decade, but which is the eventually became anglicised as whisk(e)y.
correct way to spell this wondrous spirit? All this happened in times when people were
Today this depends largely on where your generally less literate than they are today, so
whisky is from, and to a smaller extent on it is no surprise that the Irish (whiskey) and
personal preference. Let’s see how it all began. the Scots (whisky) ended up with different
The first known historical reference to spellings, although there is an apocryphal
whisk(e)y of any kind dates back to the early story about the Irish deliberately choosing a
15th century. In 1405 it was recorded in different spelling to set their spirit apart from
Ireland’s ‘Annals of Clonmacnoise’ that an Scotland’s.
Irish chieftain had died from “taking a surfeit Later, in the 1700s, there was a large Irish
of aqua vitae at Christmas”. Sadly, the original immigrant population in America and the
Gaelic documents were lost Americans, by and large,
and we must rely upon a naturally followed the Irish
17th century translation to spelling: ‘whiskey’. Although
Elizabethan English for this it is widely believed that
account. The first reference AQUA VITAE? Americans consistently
in Scotland comes from the favour that spelling, the
Exchequer Rolls in 1494, I THOUGHT WE truth is more complicated.
where provision was made The legislation that governs
for “Eight bolls of malt to WERE TALKING spirits production in the US
Friar John Cor, by order of actually uses both spellings,
the king, to make aquavitae”. ABOUT WHISKY? and some American
This order, for King James distilleries still choose to use
IV of Scotland, is today the spelling ‘whisky’.
estimated to have been The Japanese whisky
enough to make 500 bottles. industry, on the other hand, was influenced
Aqua vitae? I thought we were talking not by Irish immigrants, but by a Japanese
about whisky? scholar named Masataka Taketsuru. Taketsuru
We are, but look at who was making the studied Organic Chemistry in Glasgow
stuff. As his title indicates, Friar John Cor was starting in 1919, and after graduation worked
a religious man. Friars are similar to monks, in two Scottish single malt whisky distilleries
with the difference being that monks are before returning to Japan, where he was
cloistered in monasteries whereas Friar lived pivotal in founding the Japanese whisky
among the community. And of course we are industry. Heavily influenced by his time in
talking about Roman Catholic monks and Scotland, he followed the Scottish spelling
friars, who spoke Latin. In the 15th Century, ‘whisky’, as has almost every other whisky
it was primarily these Latin-speaking men of producer around the world.
religion who distilled spirits, and aqua vitae is If you ever have trouble remembering the
Latin for ‘Water of Life’. correct spelling, consider this: There’s an E in
Whisky production was later taken up America and in Ireland, so put an E in their
outside of these religious roots and a new whiskey. There’s no E in Scotland or Japan, so
Gaelic translation was used for this ardent treat their whisky accordingly.

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