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'''Welcome to Whiskeypedia.'''

== Wiki dedicated to all kind of Whisk(e)y ==

== Etymology ==
The word ''whisky'' (or whiskey) is an [[anglicisation]] of the [[Gaelic]] word ''uisce''|''uisge'' meaning water. Distilled alcohol was known to the medieval Latins as ''aqua vitae'' = "lively water"; and as ''aqua fortis'' = "strong water". This was translated to Gaelic as {{lang-ga|uisce beatha}} and {{lang-gd|uisge beatha}} = "lively water" or "water of life". Early forms of the word in English included ''uskebeaghe'' (1581), ''usquebaugh'' (1610), ''usquebath'' (1621), ''usquebae'' (1715).<ref>''New English Dictionary on Historical Principles'', entries for [http://archive.org/stream/oedxaarch#page/n1057/mode/1up "usquebaugh"] and [http://archive.org/stream/oedxbarch#page/n752/mode/1up "whisky"].</ref>

==History==
It is possible that distillation was practiced by the [[Babylonia]]ns in [[Mesopotamia]] in the [[2nd millennium BC]], with perfumes and aromatics being distilled<ref>Martin Levey (1956). "Babylonian Chemistry: A Study of Arabic and Second Millennium B.C. Perfumery", ''Osiris'' '''12''', p. 376-389.</ref> but this is subject to uncertain and disputable interpretation of evidence.<ref name=Forbes /> The earliest certain chemical distillations were by Greeks in [[Alexandria]] in about the 3rd century (AD), but these were not distillations of alcohol. The medieval Arabs adopted the distillation technique of the Alexandrian Greeks, and written records in Arabic begin in the 9th century, but again these were not distillations of alcohol.<ref name=Forbes /> Distilling technology passed from the medieval Arabs to the medieval Latins, with the earliest records in Latin in the early 12th century.<ref name=Forbes>Book [http://books.google.com/books?id=XeqWOkKYn28C&printsec=frontcover ''A Short History of the Art of Distillation''], by Robert James Forbes (year 1948). That book covers distillation in general. For the early history of the distillation of alcohol specifically, search for the word "alcohol" in that book [http://books.google.com/books?id=XeqWOkKYn28C&printsec=frontcover&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=alcohol&f=false here].</ref><ref>{{cite book | title = Whisky: technology, production and marketing | isbn = 978-0-12-669202-0 | page = 366 | last = Russell | first = Inge | year = 2003 | page = 14 | publisher = Academic Press}}</ref> The earliest records of the distillation of alcohol are in Italy in the 13th century, where alcohol was distilled from wine.<ref name=Forbes /> An early description of the technique was given by [[Ramon Llull]] (1232 – 1315).<ref name=Forbes /> Its use spread through medieval [[monasteries]],<ref>[http://www.thewhiskyguide.com/Facts/History.html The History of Whisky History], ''The Whisky Guide''.</ref> largely for medicinal purposes, such as the treatment of [[colic]], [[palsy]], and [[smallpox]].<ref name="dotcom">{{cite web|title=History of Scotch Whisky|url=http://whisky.com/history.html|accessdate=6 Jan 2010}}</ref>

Distillation spread to [[Ireland]] and [[Scotland]] from the European continent in the later medieval centuries.<ref name=Forbes /><ref name="ReferenceA">Peggy Trowbridge Filippone, [http://homecooking.about.com/od/foodhistory/a/whiskeyhistory.htm Whiskey History - The history of whisky], ''About.com''.</ref> Because the islands had few grapes to make wine with, [[barley]] beer was used instead, resulting in the development of whisky.<ref name="dotcom" /> In the Irish ''[[Annals of Clonmacnoise]]'' in 1405, the first written record of whisky appears describing the death of a chieftain at Christmas from "taking a surfeit of aqua vitae".<ref name="Annals">[http://archive.org/stream/annalsofkingdomo04ocleuoft#page/784/mode/2up ''Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland''], p.785, footnote for year 1405. This is likewise in the ''[[Annals of Connacht]]'' entry for year 1405: [http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T100011/index.html ''Annals of Connacht''].</ref> In Scotland, the first evidence of whisky production comes from an entry in the ''Exchequer Rolls'' for 1494 where malt is sent "To Friar John Cor, by order of the king, to make aquavitae", enough to make about 500 bottles.<ref name="Exchequer">{{cite book | title = Whisky | isbn = 0-7100-6685-6 | page = 158 | last = Ross | first = James | publisher = [[Routledge]]}}</ref>

[[James IV of Scotland]] (r. 1488–1513) reportedly had a great liking for [[Scotch whisky]], and in 1506 the town of [[Dundee]] purchased a large amount of whisky from the Guild of Surgeon Barbers, which held the monopoly on production at the time. Between 1536 and 1541, King [[Henry VIII of England]] [[Dissolution of the Monasteries|dissolved the monasteries]], sending their monks out into the general public. Whisky production moved out of a monastic setting and into personal homes and farms as newly independent monks needed to find a way to earn money for themselves.<ref name="dotcom" />
[[File:Distillerie OldBushmills.jpg|thumb|[[Old Bushmills Distillery]], [[County Antrim]]]]
The distillation process at the time was still in its infancy; whisky itself was imbibed at a very young age, and as a result tasted very raw and brutal compared to today’s versions.  Renaissance-era whisky was also very potent and not diluted.  Over time, and with the happy accident of someone daring to drink from a cask that had been forgotten for several years, whisky evolved into a much smoother drink.<ref name="guide">{{cite web|title=The History of Whisky|url=http://www.thewhiskyguide.com/Facts/History.html}}</ref>

With a licence to distil [[Irish whiskey]] from 1608, the [[Old Bushmills Distillery]] in the north coast of Ireland is often regarded as being the oldest licenced whiskey distillery in the world.<ref>Ciaran Brady (2000). Encyclopedia of Ireland: an A-Z guide to its people, places, history, and culture. Oxford University Press, p.11</ref>

In 1707, the [[Acts of Union 1707|Acts of Union]] merged [[England]] and Scotland, and thereafter taxes on it rose dramatically.<ref name="guide" />

[[File:Erskine Nicol.jpg|thumb|left|upright|A man pours some whisky into a flask in this 1869 oil painting by Scottish artist [[Erskine Nicol]].]]After the English Malt Tax of 1725, most of Scotland’s distillation was either shut down or forced underground. Scotch whisky was hidden under altars, in coffins, and in any available space to avoid the governmental [[tax collector|Excisemen]].<ref name="dotcom" /> Scottish distillers, operating out of homemade stills, took to distilling their whisky at night, when the darkness would hide the smoke rising from the stills. For this reason, the drink was known as [[moonshine]].<ref name="ReferenceA"/> At one point, it was estimated that over half of Scotland’s whisky output was illegal.<ref name="guide" />

In America, whisky was used as currency during the [[American Revolution]]. It also was a highly coveted sundry and when an additional excise tax was levied against it, the [[Whiskey Rebellion]] erupted in 1791.<ref>[http://alcoholreviews.com/wp/?p=1237 Kevin R. Kosar, "What the Tea Party Could Learn from the Whiskey Rebellion," adapted from Kevin R. Kosar, Whiskey: A Global History (London: Reaktion Books, 2010)]</ref>

In 1823, the UK passed the Excise Act, legalizing the distillation (for a fee), and this put a practical end to the large-scale production of Scottish moonshine.<ref name="dotcom" />

In 1826 Robert Stein invented an effective [[column still|continuous still]], and in 1831, [[Aeneas Coffey]] refined it to create the [[column still|Coffey still]], allowing for cheaper and more efficient distillation of whisky. In 1850, Andrew Usher began producing a [[blended whisky]] that mixed traditional [[pot still]] whisky with that from the new Coffey still. The new distillation method was scoffed at by some Irish distillers, who clung to their traditional [[pot still]]s. Many Irish contended that the new product was, in fact, not whisky at all.<ref name="Irish 1000">{{cite book | title = Irish Whiskey - A 1000 year tradition | isbn = 0-86278-228-7 | page = 144 | last = Magee | first = Malachy | year=1980 | publisher = [[O'Brien press]]}}</ref>

By  the 1880s, the French [[brandy]] industry was devastated by the [[phylloxera]] pest that ruined much of the grape crop; as a result, whisky became the primary liquor in many markets.<ref name="dotcom" />

During the [[Prohibition in the United States|Prohibition]] era lasting from 1920 to 1933 in the United States, all alcohol sales were banned in the country. The federal government made an exemption for whisky prescribed by a doctor and sold through licensed pharmacies. During this time, the [[Walgreens]] pharmacy chain grew from 20 retail stores to almost 400.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/27/business/27pot.html When Capitalism Meets Cannabis]</ref>

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