Aberfeldy
How to say it ab-er-FEL-dee
Perthshire distillery that is the home of Dewar's.
Whiskey Glossary
How to say the names and what the words mean.
The capital letters show where the stress goes. The Say it button uses your device's own voice, which is a good guess and not a recording.
81 entries
A
Aberlour
How to say it ab-er-LOW-er
Speyside distillery at Aberlour, founded in 1879.
Age statement
The age of the youngest whiskey in the bottle. A 12 year old contains nothing younger than 12 years.
Amrut
How to say it AM-root
Indian single malt distillery in Bangalore.
Angel's share
The part of the whiskey that evaporates from the cask while it matures, typically around 2 percent a year.
Ardbeg
How to say it ard-BEG
Islay distillery on the south coast, known for powerful peaty whisky.
Arran
How to say it AR-an
Distillery on the Isle of Arran, opened in 1995.
Auchentoshan
How to say it ock-en-TOSH-an
Lowland distillery near Glasgow that triple distils its whisky.
B
Benriach
How to say it ben-REE-ak
Speyside distillery near Elgin.
Benromach
How to say it ben-ROH-mak
Speyside distillery in Forres.
Blend
A mix of different whiskeys, often malt and grain, made to give a consistent, balanced taste.
Bowmore
How to say it boh-MOR
Islay distillery in the town of Bowmore, founded in 1779.
Bruichladdich
How to say it brook-LAD-ee
Islay distillery on Loch Indaal, famous for experimental bottlings.
Bunnahabhain
How to say it boo-na-HAH-ven
Islay distillery on the north east coast, known for mostly unpeated malts.
Bushmills
How to say it BUSH-mills
The distillery in County Antrim, licensed to distil since 1608.
C
Campbeltown
How to say it CAM-bell-town
A small whisky region on the Kintyre peninsula.
Caol Ila
How to say it kool EE-la
Islay distillery at Port Askaig, the largest on the island. The name means Sound of Islay.
Cask strength
Bottled without adding water, so it keeps the strength it had in the cask, usually well above 50 percent.
Chill filtering
Cooling the whiskey and filtering out the fats that make it cloudy. Many whiskeys are bottled without it.
Clonakilty
How to say it klon-a-KIL-tee
A town in West Cork with a family distillery.
Column still
A tall continuous still, used for grain whiskey. It makes a lighter spirit than a pot still.
Connemara
How to say it kon-neh-MAR-a
A wild region in the west of Ireland, and a peated Irish whiskey.
Cragganmore
How to say it KRAG-an-more
Speyside distillery at Ballindalloch, founded in 1869.
Craigellachie
How to say it craig-EL-a-key
A Speyside village with a distillery and the home of the Macallan.
D
Dalmore
How to say it dal-MORE
Highland distillery at Alness with a stag on its label.
Dalwhinnie
How to say it dal-WHIN-ee
One of the highest distilleries in Scotland.
Dram
A small measure of whiskey. In Scotland you hear a wee dram.
Drumshanbo
How to say it drum-SHAN-bo
A village in County Leitrim with the Shed distillery.
F
Finish
Extra time in a second cask, for example sherry, port, wine or rum, at the end of maturation to add flavour.
Flóki
How to say it FLOH-kee
Icelandic whisky, named after the Viking Hrafna-Flóki.
G
Gaelic
How to say it GAY-lik
The Celtic languages of Scotland and Ireland. In Ireland it is usually called Irish.
Glenfarclas
How to say it glen-FAR-klass
Family owned Speyside distillery at Ballindalloch.
Glenfiddich
How to say it glen-FID-ik
Speyside distillery in Dufftown, founded in 1887 by William Grant.
Glenglassaugh
How to say it glen-GLASS-ock
Distillery at Portsoy on the Moray coast.
Glenlivet
How to say it glen-LIV-et
Speyside distillery licensed in 1824.
Glenmorangie
How to say it glen-MOR-an-jee
Highland distillery at Tain with the tallest stills in Scotland. The stress is on MOR.
Glenrothes
How to say it glen-ROTH-iss
Speyside distillery in the town of Rothes.
H
Hakushu
How to say it HA-koo-shoo
Japanese distillery in the Southern Alps, owned by Suntory.
I
Independent bottler
A company that buys casks or spirit from distilleries and bottles it under its own label.
Islay
How to say it EYE-la
The whisky island in the Hebrides, home to peated malts.
J
Jura
How to say it JOO-ra
An island in the Inner Hebrides with a single distillery.
K
Kilbeggan
How to say it kil-BEG-an
The old distillery in County Westmeath.
Kilchoman
How to say it kil-HO-man
A farm distillery on Islay, opened in 2005.
L
Lagavulin
How to say it la-ga-VOO-lin
Islay distillery on the south coast, known for rich, deeply smoky malts.
Laphroaig
How to say it la-FROYG
Islay distillery on the south coast, famous for its medicinal peat smoke.
Ledaig
How to say it LET-chig
The peated malt made at the Tobermory distillery on Mull.
M
Mash bill
The recipe of grains used to make a whiskey, for example malted and unmalted barley.
Midleton
How to say it MID-el-ton
The big distillery in County Cork where Jameson and Redbreast are made.
Mortlach
How to say it MORT-lakh
Dufftown distillery with an unusual distillation style.
N
NAS
No age statement. The bottle does not say how old the whiskey is.
Neat
Served without water or ice.
New make
The clear spirit straight from the still, before it has matured in a cask.
Nosing
Smelling the whiskey before you taste it. A few drops of water can open up the aromas.
O
Oban
How to say it OH-ban
Small west coast distillery in the town of Oban.
P
Peat
Compressed plant matter that is burnt to dry the malted barley. It gives the smoky, earthy flavour of whiskeys from Islay.
Penderyn
How to say it pen-DER-in
The Welsh distillery in the Brecon Beacons.
Phenols
The smoky compounds that come from peat. They are measured in parts per million, ppm.
Poitín
How to say it po-CHEEN
Traditional Irish clear spirit, once made illegally, now legal and made by several distilleries.
Pot still
A copper still that works in batches. It makes a richer, heavier spirit than a column still.
Q
Quaich
A traditional Scottish drinking cup with two handles, used for sharing a dram.
S
Single cask
Bottled from one single cask only, so every bottle is slightly different from the next cask.
Single grain
Grain whiskey from one distillery, made from grains such as wheat or maize, usually in a column still.
Single malt
Whiskey made at one distillery from malted barley in pot stills.
Single pot still
The classic Irish style: one distillery, a mash of malted and unmalted barley, distilled in copper pot stills.
Sláinte
How to say it SLAWN-cha
Irish for cheers, literally health.
Speyside
How to say it SPAY-side
The region around the River Spey with the most distilleries in Scotland.
Springbank
How to say it SPRING-bank
Family owned distillery in Campbeltown.
Stauning
How to say it STOW-ning
Danish whisky distillery in Western Jutland.
Strathisla
How to say it strath-EYE-la
Speyside distillery in Keith, one of the oldest in Scotland.
T
Talisker
How to say it TAL-is-ker
The distillery at Carbost on the Isle of Skye, founded in 1830.
Tamdhu
How to say it tam-DOO
Speyside distillery at Knockando.
Teeling
How to say it TEE-ling
The Dublin whiskey family and their distillery.
Tobermory
How to say it toe-ber-MOR-ee
Distillery on the Isle of Mull. Its peated malt is called Ledaig.
Toki
How to say it TOH-kee
A Suntory blended whisky from Japan.
Tomatin
How to say it toh-MAH-tin
Highland distillery near Inverness.
Triple distillation
Distilling the spirit three times instead of two. It is typical in Ireland and gives a smooth, light spirit.
Tullamore
How to say it tull-a-MORE
The town in County Offaly where Tullamore D.E.W. was made.
U
Uisce beatha
How to say it ISH-ka BA-ha
Irish for water of life, the origin of the word whiskey.
W
Wash
The fermented, beer-like liquid that goes into the first still.
Whisky or whiskey
Scotch, Canadian and Japanese usually spell it whisky. Irish and American usually spell it whiskey.
Wolfburn
How to say it WOOLF-burn
Distillery at Thurso on the north coast of the Scottish mainland.
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