The Origin Of Whiskey
Whiskey is a powerful drink and whiskey is a powerful word—possibly because both are of Irish origin. The English articulation of the word in use today is based upon a word the earliest Gaels applied to the result of their stills, for it appears they were the primary whiskey-makers.
The name they gave the distilled spirit was singularly fitting—they called it “uisgebeatha.” If we scrutinize the word we find that “uisge” (pronounced oosh’gee) means “water,” “beatha” means “life,” and the two combined mean “water of life.” All of which goes to establish that nobody can beat the Irish for suitable naming. In time this intoxicating creation of Ould Ireland’s stills became “whiskbae,” later “whiskie,” and finally just plain “whiskey.”
Similarly, the Scots were distillers of this ancient and respectable liquor. They adopted the original name the Irish gave to the white spirit which flowed from their stills, the word going through a comparable succession of pronunciation until it became “whisky” without the “e”—one can note the spelling on any bottle of Scotch.
We have a lot to thank the Irish for, but whiskey rates a top place on the list. A toast to the Irish—what drink may better serve such a pur
