Tag: whisky origin

Forget the easy answer you often hear about Scotland; the actual origin of whisky is more nuanced and, by most historical accounts, points to Ireland for the earliest documented production of a grain spirit. While the art of distillation itself is far older and traveled from the Middle East, the specific evolution into what we […]

The very first unambiguous written record detailing the production of “aqua vitae” – the Latin for “water of life” and the clear precursor to modern whisky – for a king’s consumption dates back to Scotland in 1494. This record, from the Scottish Exchequer Rolls, notes that Friar John Cor was supplied with malt to make […]