Whisky Or Whiskey?

Discussion in 'Whisky Forum' started by Summertime, Jan 25, 2016.

  1. Summertime

    Summertime New Member

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    Is the way people spell whiskey/whisky an American English vs United Kingdom kinda thing or is the spelling related to US regions? I'm from the Northeast and most everybody I knew spelled it whiskey, but once I came down south a little the opposite held true. What do you guys think?
     
  2. FuZyOn

    FuZyOn Active Member

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    I'm not really sure, here in Europe we call it whisky so whiskey might just be a US thing. :p "whisky" sounds better though.
     
  3. Sue

    Sue Active Member

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    I am not really sure of the difference as I seen it spelled both ways. For the most part though it is usually spelled whisky. I never really thought about it as a region thing. Interesting. I will have to check that out now and see what I can find.
     
  4. Summertime

    Summertime New Member

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    Cool Sue, thanks. And FuZyOn, how does whisky sound better than whiskey if it's pronounced the same way? XD
     
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  5. crimsonghost747

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    The Scots spell it whisky. The Irish spell it whiskey. That is where the different spelling comes from.

    In the USA it's spelled whiskey of course since the Irish were a strong influence due to immigration. That covers the three big producers, I'm not sure what the proper spelling is when the particular brand originates from outside of these countries.
     
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  6. artyarson

    artyarson Member

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    Both are correct, depending on the region you're in. I prefer the American version.

     
  7. SirJoe

    SirJoe Active Member

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    It's all a bit confusing, so if both Scotland and Ireland use commonwealth English, it really comes down to personal taste. I guess.
     
  8. sillylucy

    sillylucy Member

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    I'm from the USA and I always spell it whisky. It could be that I am from the Los Angeles are and I would go to the Whisky a Go Go when I was a teen.
     
  9. crimsonghost747

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    But the English is not exactly the same in Scotland, Ireland, England etc. Of course these areas have their own little twists... or a big twists if you are talking about Scotland. :D
     
  10. SirJoe

    SirJoe Active Member

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    This is very true, I actually heard that there are people that speak English in Scotland. I don't know if it's true, probably English tourists. :p
     
  11. Destiny

    Destiny Member

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    I think my spelling changes to whatever the last spelling I saw of it was. If in replying to post here and it's spelled with an "e" then I'll spell it that way too.
     
  12. Stephens

    Stephens Member

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    Mоstly аn indiсаtiоn оf thе соuntry thе spirit wаs сrеаtеd in.
    Sсоtlаnd аnd саnаdа gеnеrаlly spеll it аs whisky (p. whiskiеs) аnd US аnd Irеlаnd hаvе histоriсаlly аlwаys fаvоrеd whiskеy (p. whiskеys).
    аny соpy оr imitаtiоn оf thоsе соuntriеs' typiсаl whisk(е)y will оftеn саrry thе spеlling thаt mаtсhеs thе stylе thеy try tо соpy оr imitаtе.
     
    #12 Stephens, Sep 18, 2016
    Last edited: Sep 19, 2016
  13. larryl332

    larryl332 New Member

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    Well I never even really gave it a second thought before just now, but I am pretty sure that I put the "e" in there every time that I spell it. Whiskey, oh yeah, it feels natural like that on the keyboard so that is what I will go with here. Interesting stuff, though.
     
  14. Daddy-O

    Daddy-O Active Member

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    I live in the States and I've seen it printed both ways. The version "whiskey" looks "right" to my eyes, though I honestly have no idea why. As far as I know, both are correct, and the spelling the US has varied depending upon the time period and region.
     
  15. kgord

    kgord Active Member

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    It seems like it is used and spelled both ways. I would imagine Websters has it as Whiskey, but certianly, everybody knows what whisky is so I don't think it is that big of a deal.
     
  16. Daddy-O

    Daddy-O Active Member

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    Out of curiosity, I looked it up just now in my desk edition of Websters and the first spelling is "Whiskey" followed later in the same entry as "Whisky". Curiously, the latter is followed by "Scotch or Canadian whiskey". :confused:
     
  17. Stephens

    Stephens Member

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    аs а rеsult, thеrе аrе sеvеrаl whiskiеs mаdе аrоund thе wоrld thаt аrе nоt mаdе in Sсоtlаnd, but whо dо fоllоw а similаr stylе / rесipе, i.е., dоublе pоt distillеd fеrmеntеd mаltеd bаrlеy, аnd аs а rеsult fаvоr thе Sсоttish spеlling аs wеll.
     
  18. FolkArtist

    FolkArtist Member

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    Yeah,just don't call it whiskey or spell it like that in Scotland,but I like the way they distill whiskey 3 times in Ireland though to make a very smooth and tasty product. The countries that spell it whisky- are Great Britain,Canada,and Japan but they drink Whiskey in Ireland and the United States.
     
  19. thisnthat

    thisnthat Active Member

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    I'm from the USA, but I've always spelled it whiskey, ha ha. It feels weird when I type it the other way. I do sometimes, if that's the way it's being written by most.

    I guess it doesn't matter too much. Well, as long as it's good whiskey, that is.
     
  20. rz3300

    rz3300 Member

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    I guess there is probably a difference in whether they pronounce it differently and emphasize that "h". I know a lot of those people, but not sure how they spell it.
     

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