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Whiskey or Whisky? -

Most people have seen both spellings of the word, but few have ever bothered to think of the difference. Whisky, without the 'e,' is used only to describe whisky from Scotland and Canada. Whiskey made anywhere else, from Ireland to Kentucky, is spelled with the 'e.'

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"Whisky" in Gaelic -

Whisky is an ancient drink, and the word has equally ancient origins. In Scots Gaelic, whisky comes from "uisge beathe," which means "the water of life."

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Whiskey or penicillin? -

It's a well-known fact that many factories in the United States were repurposed to fulfill the needs of the war machine during World War II. What first comes to mind is all of the car factories that began to make plane engines, but an oft-forgotten example concerns the many bourbon distilleries that were charged with the task of making penicillin to send overseas.

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A constant flow of scotch -

As of 2019, Scotch whisky accounted for 75% of the country's food and drink exports. On average, 42 bottles of whisky left the country every single second.

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Barrels bear the majority -

Kentucky, a state that is home to around 4.5 million people, is home to more than three times as many bourbon barrels—somewhere around 10 million.

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Casks stretching across the sea -

Scotland, on the other hand, has four times as many casks as it has citizens. Laid end to end, Scotland's 20 million whisky casks would reach across the Atlantic from Edinburgh to New York City six times over.

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The official beverage of Alabama -

While the state of Kentucky is by far the state most associated with whiskey, it doesn't claim the spirit as its official state beverage. That honor is awarded to the southern state of Alabama.

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Old Man Mountain (Dew) -

Mountain Dew, before it became the much-maligned soft drink we know it as today, was originally developed to be nothing more than a whiskey chaser. It even borrows its name from an old nickname for moonshine.

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Sinatra was buried with his most prized possessions -

When the legendary crooner of New York City died on May 14, 1998, he was buried with three simple, but essential, possessions for him to bring into the next life: 10 dimes, a pack of cigarettes, and a bottle of Jack Daniels whiskey.

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Whiskey in space -

Scotch whisky distiller Ardberg sent a sample of unmatured malts to the International Space Station in 2011 to study the effects zero gravity or micro-gravity might have on the development of terpenes, substances that create the flavor profiles of whiskies and many other food and drink products. Three years later, when the sample was returned, Ardberg described the results as "groundbreaking."

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Jack Daniel's county -

Jack Daniel's, the distillery that produces one of the most popular spirits in the entire world, is registered and located in Moore County, Tennessee. Moore County, ever since the prohibition era, has remained a "dry county," meaning the sale of alcohol is prohibited. They've made an exception for Jack Daniel's, and Jack Daniel's only.

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From tea to whisky -

The creator and founder of Johnnie Walker, John Walker, was a grocer in 19th-century Kilmarnock, Scotland. Before building one of the most enduring scotch companies in the world, Walker was a master tea blender.

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Less calories than a banana -

The average recommended dose of whiskey, two ounces (59 milliliters) contains around 64 calories. That means a glass of whiskey has less calories than a banana!

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Tesla's elixir of life -

The genius inventor and polymath Nikola Tesla famously drank whiskey every day of his life, believing that it was the secret to longevity and that a daily intake would help him live to the age of 150. Unfortunately, Tesla was hit by a taxi at the age of 81 and died from consequent complications a few years later before he could prove his theory right or wrong.

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Wild Turkey's secret stashes -

The famous Kentucky bourbon brand Wild Turkey uses a very particular strain of yeast in their process, and just in case anything happens to their main Kentucky distillery's supply, they are rumored to have secret stashes hidden all across the United States.

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Keepers of the Quaich -

If you work in the scotch industry long enough, and you are thought to have done an excellent job, you might be awarded the distinction of Keeper of the Quaich. Further dedication to the industry may even earn you the title of Master of the Quaich.

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Jim Beam's quick setup -

This famous bourbon had gone through a number of name changes before the one we know it by today. Jim Beam wasn't the original founder, but he was the man responsible for setting up a fully-functioning distillery in only 120 days after the end of prohibition. This feat earned him generational respect, and in 1943 the company's name was changed from Old Tub to Jim Beam in his honor.

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Birth of the Irish coffee -

Legend has it that the first Irish coffee was made by Joe Sheridan, a chef in Limerick, Ireland, who made the concoction for a group of weary travelers whose flight was delayed by a particularly rough winter storm. The passengers fell in love with the drink, and the Irish coffee is now one of the most popular hot cocktails in the world.

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Ernest Shackleton's bottle -

Ernest Shackleton was a legendary Irish explorer who lead four British expeditions deeper and deeper into Antarctica at the start of the 20th century. On one such expedition, a few bottles of whiskey were left behind. Some of these, including a scotch from 1896, were recovered in 2006. The spirits hadn't frozen, even after almost 100 years of Antarctic temperatures.

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The Great Dublin Whiskey Fire -

In June, 1875, a whiskey distillery on the outskirts of Dublin, Ireland, caught fire. This caused rivers of burning whiskey to flow through the streets of Dublin, as if a volcano had erupted. Known as the Great Dublin Whiskey Fire, casualties included 13 people and around 1,900 casks of whiskey.

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The oldest distillery in Ireland -

Operating on the same now-hallowed ground since 1608, the Bushmill's distillery in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, is the oldest operating distillery in the world. 

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The most expensive whiskey cocktail in the world -

The most expensive whiskey cocktail in the world is, unsurprisingly, available only from a rooftop bar in Dubai. A modern take on the classic Manhattan cocktail, Skyview Bar's cocktail costs a whopping US$5,521 per drink.

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Icelandic Whiskey -

Iceland has only two whiskey distilleries, and they distinguish themselves apart from every other distillery in the world by their use of sheep manure-fueled fires to kiln their barley, as opposed to coal.

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The largest collection of scotch in the world -

The largest collection of solely Scotch whisky in the world fittingly calls Edinburgh, Scotland, its home. There are nearly 4,000 bottles of scotch in the Diageo Claive Vidiz Collection, which is worth millions of dollars.

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The story of Jasper "Jack" Daniel -

Legend has it that the founder and first distiller of Jack Daniel's Tennessee whiskey, Jasper "Jack" Daniel, ran away from home at a young age and learned the art of distilling from a Lutheran minister in Lynchburg, Tennessee.

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Kikori Rice Whiskey -

Japan has always dominated a small but established corner of the whiskey business, and a number of highly respected distilleries are based there. One such distillery is Kikori, the world's first whiskey made from 100% rice instead of barley.

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Tabasco's secret ingredient -

It's only fair for a hot sauce giant like Tabasco to want to keep the secrets of their process under wraps. One thing we do know is that their pepper mash is aged in Jack Daniel's barrels before being mixed into the famous sauce.

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The oldest whisky in the world -

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the oldest bottle of whisky in the world is a bottle that's known as Glenavon Special Liqueur Whiskey. It was bottled sometime between 1851 and 1858.

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The valley of the deer -

Glenfiddich is one of the most famous names in the world of scotch, and one of the most distinctive names as well. But what does it mean? In Scots Gaelic, "Glenfiddich" means "the valley of the deer."

Sources: (ScoopWhoop) (BBC)

See also: The fascinating history of beloved booze in the US

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