by Carrie Burrows

Created on: March 26, 2008

Whiskey is considered a fermented alcoholic beverage. In broad terms, it is an alcoholic liquor distilled from a fermented grain mash. The grain is made from harvested barley, rye, wheat or corn and stored in wooden (usually oak) casks so that it can ferment or "age". Once the grain mash has aged it is then distilled; meaning that the mash's liquid form is heated in to a vapor and then allowed to condense back in to liquid form. Distillation increases the mash's alcoholic content.

Some whiskey producers use malted barley or malted rye. Malting is a process where the grains are germinated and dried. The fermented mash is usually between 43 and 50 percent alcohol, meaning that some whiskies are up to 100 percent proof. The term "proof" describes the strength of the whiskey's alcohol content. In the United States alcohol exists on a volume scale of 0.5 percent with a maximum of 200 degrees. A 100 proof bottle of whiskey is 50 percent alcohol. A 200 proof bottle of whiskey would be 100 percent alcohol, not to mention illegal and also lethal.

Whiskey does not mature in its bottle like other alcoholic beverages will. Therefore the "age" of a whiskey refers to the time between distillation and bottling. "Age" indicates how long the whiskey was left in the producers' casks, which affects its taste and chemical makeup. An unopened bottle of whiskey can be stored indefinitely.

Scotch and Irish whiskey producers have been debating about who first distilled whiskey since medieval times. It is unknown where whiskey was first distilled in the ancient world. Records show that when Henry II of England visited Ireland in 1174 he noticed Ireland's use of whiskey. Historians have pointed out that it is possible that different groups discovered alcoholic fermentation and distillation processes independently of one another. Some scholars believe that distillation methods were brought to Ireland and Britain by Christian monks.

The most common types of whiskey are Irish whiskey, Scotch whiskey, and American/Canadian whiskey. It should be noted that Scotch and North American versions are referred to as "whisky" in most writings.

Irish whiskey originates from barley mash that has been aged at least five to ten years and then triple distilled with coal. Some Irish whiskey producers age their mash in casks that formerly aged sherry, rum, or bourbon for added flavor. The Irish are famous for distilling their whiskey in copper pots. An opened bottle of Irish whiskey has a shelf life of approximately

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