What's the difference between scotch and bourbon?
 

As far as I know, they are both types of whiskey, but what's the difference?

Are there any other "types" of whiskey?
Is there a such a thing as "just whiskey" or does it have to be of a particular type?

Mmmmmm J.D. .....

There are many big divides in the world of whisky. One is marked by the Atlantic Ocean, with Irish and Scotch on one side and American and Canadian on the other. Another is the tradition of Irish and Scotch versus the contemporary appeal of American and Canadian whiskies.

Scotch whisky is usually a blend of malt and grain whiskies, the latter made from unmalted barley or, more, often corn. Irish Whiskey is distilled three times, and contains barley, malted barley and grain spirit.

American whiskies like Bourbon have an intense colour and a strong flavour which come from their predominantly corn ingredient. Ordinary Canadian whiskies have a light taste and appearance, produced by the blend of rye, corn and barley.


JD pure gut rot, A Jem is by far a nicer whiskey.
Grants scotch is a good one to try, Scottish whiskey is alot hotter to taste

homerhop, you took the 145 words right out of my mouth. ;)

To add just a little more info:

According to the Irish whiskey distillers (based on a tour of one of their distilleries), the drying process is different between Scotch and Irish whiskeys. When the various ingredients are dried, in Ireland the source of heat is separated by a metal wall - the heat comes through the wall and dries everything. It Scotland the heat source is in the same room - therefore the "smokey" taste of Scotch. Additionally, they indicated that bourbons have sugar added, and therefore are sweeter.

This tour eventually led to taste test - comparing the various Irish whiskeys and eventually a comparison to Scotch and bourbon. Needless to say, the Scotch tasted like an ashtray and the bourbon was like syrup - all the more reason why Irish was better than the rest - at least in their opinion.

Great info, boys. Nice job.

single malt wiskey :
supposedly the best (& the most expensive)
just one malt, no blending whatsoever

vatted malt:
Blend of different single malts example: century from Chivas Brothers LTD. contains 100 different single malts.

Blended whisky
A blended whisky contains different malts and more or less 40 % grain whisky. easier to control the taste and cheaper production process.

Premium blended whisky:
premium indicates the whisky has aged in barrels for at least 12 years.

Grain whisky
whisky made only from grains, rarely used for consumption, but rather used in the production of blended whisky


my favourite whiskies : jameson (irish) , glenlivet (no idea) & house of lords (cheap and tasty)

I always wondered that too.

rye whiskey
 

mainly Canadian, made with rye (obviously 51% or greater)
most famous kind would be crown royal.
it's also the biggestr selling spirit in canada
(rye and coke has got to be the best mixed drink ever 1/4 rye, 3/4 coke.. mmm)

whiskEy=u.s., ireland
whisky=scottland, canada
irish=100% malted barley, aged at least 5-8 years by law
american= orginally from Bourban county kentucky, by law must be 51% corn aged 2 years in new white oak barrels
tennesssee- jack daniels, filters through maple charcoal for about 10 days-sweet smokey flavor
kentucky-jim beam
canadian=all blended, no more than 50% of rye, corn wheat or barley, aged minimum 2 years
scotch= aged in used barrelsblended up to 30 different malts
single malt scotch= best,from north part of the highland malts, spayside malts, smokey flavor comes from burning of peat, they need 5 years of aging and are fully mature at 20 years. Glenlivet or Glennfiddich are excellent. expensive because of aging, takes up space also a barel will loose 2% of its contents a year. 20 years= 40% loss and 60% available for sale
thats a few of the differences

Hi there,

I'm new here. I found this forum by way of a search via ask.com. In the past year, I've become a great fan of strong alchohol since losing my health insurance and prescription coverage when my last job was outsourced to fucking India! (Yes, I'm mad!) I am now pretty much disabled with severe chronic pain issues, and I can't find a job or buy insurance!

Anyway, after many years of being frustrated by pain killers that don't work and then not being able to afford them anyway, I have discovered the wonders of whiskey and scotch and Tennessee whiskey, Kentucky bourbon, Canadian blends, etc. and was just wondering what the difference is among them all.

They will take the edge off my pain and let me sleep when nothing else will, so I am now a devoted fan.

Thanks for the info you all have posted.

Damn. Sorry to hear the chronic pain. There are WAAYY better alternatives than drinking my friend. It will only compound your present issues, and create new ones. I think these guys were just talking about a wee dram now and then, not a lifestyle.

I know it's an old thread, but I just have to chime in).

My favorite single-malt: 30-year-old Laphroaig.

But then I've never had the 40-year-old ...

As a youngster (!!) my go-to whisky was rye (usually Crown royal or Seagrams). As stated earlier, it made a good blend with coke (the iconic rye & coke) or ginger ale (rye & ginger).
-----Added 10/11/2008 at 02 : 29 : 15-----


damn. That's what I was doing wrong... It's only 1/4 rye!!! :thumbsup:



As I aged though, I started to appreciate my mother's collection of scotch. First it was Johnny Walker (red), Cutty Sark or Pinch. But the time I reached my teens, my tastes began to mature somewhat, and I preferred the less sweet drinks of the single malt variety.

My current favourite whisky is a very strong and peaty Lagavulin an Islay of distinction ( http://www.scotchwhisky.com/focus/lagavulin.htm ) but I have been known to quaf a Highland Park or MacCallan as well.

I drink mine neat, no ice.

As for rye, I now find it too sweet. Does that make me a bad Canadian? I think not....

Actually, rye and Canadian are on the opposite ends of the whiskey spectrum. Canada has almost no whiskey regulation, so they can add almost anything they want to whiskey. "Canadian rye whiskey" means nothing, since it doesn't have to be 51% rye. "American rye whiskey", on the other hand, is the original American whiskey. George Washington himself made rye whiskey. Rye whiskey is very spicy and much less sweet than bourbon or Canadian whiskey.

Rye is good when drunk by itself, and also makes fantastic Manhattans. Bourbon wasn't popular until after prohibition, so Manhattans and Old Fashioneds were originally made with rye...

Scotch is destilled in Scotland, Bourbon is distilled only in Kentucky.

Is it me or has Jim Beam gone really ghetto lately?

Bought my usual 750ml bottle recently and I was a little confused when I realized it was a Listerine-like container described as a "Lightweight Traveler (R)."

Makes me feel like I've got a problem when I drink cheap bourbon out of a twist top plastic bottle.

I've been on this earth for over 25 years and Jim Beam has always been bottom shelf.

Crompsin: The Lightweight Travel (R) :crazy:

Huh. thanks StephenE, I had no idea there was such a thing as American rye. I like the concept of spicy versus sweet. Are there any brand names? I'll have to check out the liquor store. I could be the first on my block with a 'different' take on whisky.