Now that you are enjoying a few whiskies, maybe learning a few interesting facts of whiskey-lore, maybe you want to speak with authority on the topic, well here is our glossary of terms which will help you sound like an expert!
Term: Meaning
A Stiff Dram: A larger pour that will be a little harder to handle than a regular dram.
A Wee Dram: A small easy to handle measure of the above.
Barley: The only grain used in making Scotch, Irish, Japanese and almost all non-American whiskies.
Barrel: A large cylindrical container used to mature whisky, made from staves of oak.
Blend: A whisky which is a mixture or blend of single malt and grain whiskies which come from more than one distillery.
Blended Malt: A whisky which is made up of a mixture of single malt whiskies from more than one distillery.
Bonded Whiskey A whiskey produced by bringing your own barrel to a distillery, filling it with new spirit then maturing it elsewhere and bottling under your own label.
Bourbon: Bourbon is a style of American whiskey - there are several strict rules to make it legally called "Bourbon"; see our article on this or more detail.
Campbeltown: Whisky produced in the Campbeltown Region of Scotland.
Cask: Another name for whisky barrel.
Charcoal Filtering: Raw spirit is trickled through charcoal, before being poured into the barrels for aging.
Charcoal Mellowing: The practice of charcoal filtering is said to mellow the raw spirit, so it’s sometimes called charcoal mellowing.
Charred Barrels: Oak Barrels which have been burnt on the inside.
Cooper: The name given to the profession of barrel making.
Corn: A type of cereal grain.
Distillation: The process of heating a liquid to separate its components which evaporate and boil at different temperatures, as far as we are concerned - alcohol and water.
Distillery: A building in which whisky is distilled.
Double Distillation/Distilled: The process of passing fermented liquid through a series of two separate distillations to create the neat spirit which will become whisky.
Dram: A single drink of neat whisky, used mostly in Scotland. It is not a defined measurement and is very subjective.
Ex-Bourbon Casks: Casks/Barrels which were used for Bourbon production before being used for whisky production
Ex-Sherry Casks: Casks/Barrels which were used for sherry production before being used for whisky production
First Fill Barrels: Barrels which have not been used to mature any alcohol before being used to mature whisky
First Fill Cask: Barrels which have not been used to mature any alcohol before being used to mature whisky
Grain: Refers to the cereal plant used in fermentation.
Grain whisky: Grain Whisky is produced using un-malted barley
Highland Whisky: Whisky produced in the Highland Region of Scotland
Islands Whisky: produced on any of the Islands off the coast Scotland - except Islay
Islay Whisky: produced on the Isle of Islay, a Whisky Region of Scotland.
Kentucky Straight Bourbon: A Straight Bourbon (aged for at least 2 years in the barrel), made in the State of Kentucky.
Kentucky Straight Whiskey: A Straight Whiskey made in the state of Kentucky.
Kentucky Whiskey: Whiskey made in the state of Kentucky, USA.
Lost distilleries: Distilleries which have closed down.
Lowland Whisky: Whisky produced in the Lowland Region of Scotland.
Malted Barley: Barley which has been allowed to germinate before being fermented.
Mash Bill: A Mash Bill is the mixture of grain used in American Whiskey production.
Oak: Wood from the oak tree. Oak is the only wood suitable for whisky barrels, because it is watertight but breathable –i.e. it lets some air in to interact with the whisky.
Pure Malt: A whisky which is made up of a mixture of single malt whiskies from more than one distillery.
Rye: A type of grain.
Rye Whiskey: A Whiskey made from a mash bill which is at least 51% Rye Grain.
Single Malt Whisky/whiskey which is made from malted barley and comes from one distillery only.
Single Pot Still: A style of whiskey, unique to Ireland, where a mixture of malted and un-malted barley is fermented and distilled.
Sour Mash: The term used to describe where a portion of a previously used mash bill (grain mixture used in fermentation) is added to the next new mash bill.
Speyside Whisky: Whisky produced in the Speyside Region of Scotland.
Staves: The beams of oak cut by the cooper which will be used to make a barrel.
Straight Rye Whiskey A Rye Whiskey which has been aged for at least 2 years in the barrel.
Straight Whiskey: An American Whiskey which has been aged for at least 2 years in the barrel.
Suntory Whisky: Whisky made by the Suntory owned distilleries, in Japan.
The Lincoln County Process: Neat Spirit is trickled through no less than 10 feet of hard sugar maple charcoal. It is this process which separates a Tennessee whiskey from a Bourbon.
Triple Distilled/Distillation: The process of passing fermented liquid through a series of three separate distillations to create the neat spirit which will become whisky.
Un-Malted Barley: Barley which has not being allowed to germinate before being fermented.
Vatted Malt: A whisky which is made up of a mixture of single malt whiskies from more than one distillery-a much older term for this and is rarely used now.
Whiskey: Whiskey spelt with an "e" is traditionally Irish Pot Still, however now is used on all Irish whiskey labels, most American and many other countries’ whiskies.
Whiskey Bonders: Whiskey Bonders gives their own barrel to the distillery, fills it with new spirit and ages the whisky in his own warehouse and bottles under.
Whisky: Whisky spelt this way is typical of Scotch and several other countries whiskies.
Whisky Still: The piece of equipment used to distill whisky.