The Differences Between Irish Whiskey and Scotch
by Layne Hendrickson
Pot Still
I told a new friend over the weekend that I was planning on writing a blog entry on the difference between Irish whiskey and Scotch whisky. “That’s easy,” he said “Irish whiskey tastes like whisky and Scotch whisky tastes like Band-Aids.” I liked to have died laughing on the spot despite the fact that I love the peaty, medicinal taste of Scotch just as much as I love the smooth sweetness of Irish whiskey. If you try and force me to choose between the two, I will push you out of the way… and drink both. But they are quite different. The major difference is whether or not peat smoke is used to kill the sprouting barley during the malting process. As a rule, Scotch making involves peat smoke whereas Irish whiskey does not. Irish is also usually distilled three times – Scotch twice. There are exceptions to both these generalities of course. Scotland boasts of somewhere in the neighborhood of 90 distilleries, whereas Ireland can only claim five (although each makes a number of different brands of whiskey). So apparently someone other than myself likes the taste of Band-Aids now and then.
In the Beginning
Where did all this start? No one knows exactly when or where the distillation of alcohol began. It has been theorized that perhaps it was discovered accidentally by the heating of fermented beer in a cave somewhere. The hot, moist alcohol steam condensed on the cold stone ceiling. Perhaps some observant soul noticed a crystal droplet refracting the firelight in the darkness, reached out a finger, captured the liquid and bravely put it to the tip of his tongue. It must have been a religious experience. No one had ever tasted anything remotely like it. Liquid fire perhaps? The “spirit” of the fermented grain escaping in the vapor? A gift from the gods or poison? This last question remains unanswered. But like it or not, distilled beverages have played a central role in our culture for some time now and are likely to continue to do so.
Distillation of liquids for perfumes and medicines was documented by the Greeks, later by the Arabs and then by the Europeans returning from the Crusades. But the earliest definitive records of the distillation of alcohol itself are from 13th century Italy where brandy was distilled from wine. Monks, who had long been involved in the production of wine and beer, took up the process mainly as a means of helping alleviate the sufferings of those afflicted with small pox or colic. The practice spread through the monastic system of Europe and to the British Isles where there were few grapes for wine. As such, barley beer became the ready substitute for wine in the distillation process. “Uisge beatha” is Gaelic for “water of life.” Shortened to “Uisge,” this evolved into the modern word “whiskey.” The first extant record of whisky dates from 1405 Ireland, in which it is reported that a Scottish chieftain had died from “taking a surfeit of aqua vitae” at Christmas time. Perhaps that should have told us something then and there. Of course, the Irish and the Scots both claim to have invented whiskey. I’m just glad someone did.
Irish Nashville Community 