217 / 272
Part IV
SECTION IV
WfflSKY
BOURBON WHISKEY
A whiskey distilled in the U.S.A. from a fermented mash
of grain of which no less than 51% is maize grain. The
name is due to the fact that the first whiskey distilled in
Kentucky was obtained from ground maize at the miU of
one Elijah Craig, in Georgetown, Bourbon County. It
was called Bourbon County whisky at first, and the name
Bourbon whiskey has been used ever since for whiskey
distilled wholly or chiefly from maize.
IRISH WHISKEY
A grain spirit distilled from malted barley, and in pot
stills. The chief difference between Irish and Scotch
whiskies is one of flavour; it is due to the fact that, in
Ireland, the malt is dried in a kiln which has a solid floor,
so that the smoke from the fuel used does not come in
contact with the grain, whereas in Scotland, the malt is
"smoke-cured ".
RYE WHISKY
A straight whisky distilled from a fermented mash of
grain of which not less than 60% is rye grain.
SCOTCH WHISKY
Scotch whisky is made in Scotland, and cannot be made
anywhere else. You can take all your apparatus from
Scotland to any other part of the world you choose, as
well as the barley and the distillery-workers ; but you will
not be able to produce Scotch Whisky. The experiment
has been tried again and again, but it always fads. And
nobody can tell you why. The soft burn-water from the
peat mosses combined with the Highland air may, and
probably does, account for the difference ; but nobody
knows for certain.
Scotch whisky is a very simple product—originally an
off-shoot from farming. The barley is converted into malt
217