Naperville Locations
- 119 S Main Street (Downtown)
- 88 West Gartner Road
- 87th Street & Route 59
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1274 E. Chicago Ave
- (630) 848-1445
- (630) 527-1501
- (630) 904-1500
- (630) 420-1502
Whiskey
What is Whiskey?
Whisky (Scottish Gaelic: uisge-beatha), or whiskey (Irish: uisce beatha or fuisce), refers to a broad category of alcoholic beverages that are distilled from fermented grain mash and aged in wooden casks (generally oak). Different grains are used for different varieties, including: barley, malted barley, rye, malted rye, wheat, and maize (corn).
Whisky derives from the Gaelic word for "water" (uisce or uisge), and is called in full uisge-beatha (in Scotland) or uisce beatha (Ireland), meaning "Water of Life". It is related to the Latin aqua vitae, also meaning "water of life".[1] It is always Scotch whisky (plural: whiskies), and Irish whiskey (whiskeys).
Types of Whiskey
Whisky or whisky-like products are produced in most grain-growing areas. They differ in base product, alcoholic content, and quality:
- Malt is whisky made entirely from malted barley and distilled in an onion-shaped pot still.
- Grain is made from malted and unmalted barley along with other grains, usually in a continuous "patent" or "Coffey" still. Until recently it was only used in blends, but there are now some "Single Grain" scotches being marketed.
Malts and Grains are combined in various ways:
- Vatted malt is blended from malt whiskies from different distilleries. If a whisky is labelled "pure malt" or just "malt" it is almost certain to be a vatted whisky. This is also sometimes labelled as "Blended Malt" whisky.
- Single malt whisky is malt whisky from a single distillery. However, unless the whisky is described as "single-cask" it will contain whisky from many casks, and different years, so the blender can achieve a taste recognisable as typical of the distillery. In most cases, the name of a single malt will be that of the distillery (The Glenlivet, Bushmills, Yoichi), with an age statement and perhaps some indication of some special treatments such as maturation in a port wine cask.
- Pure pot still whiskey refers to a whiskey distilled in a pot-still (like single malt) from a mash of mixed malted and unmalted barley. It is exclusive to Ireland.
- Blended whiskies are normally cheaper whiskies made from a mixture of Malt and Grain whiskies. A whisky simply described as Scotch Whisky or Irish Whiskey is most likely to be a blend in this sense. A blend is usually from many distilleries so that the blender can produce a flavour consistent with the brand, and the brand name (e.g. Chivas Regal, Jameson Irish Whiskey, Canadian Club) will usually not therefore contain the name of a distillery. However, "Blend" can (less frequently) have other meanings. A mixture of malts (with no grain) from different distilleries (more usually called a vatted malt) may sometimes be referred to as a "Blended Malt", and a mixtures of grain whiskies with no malts will sometimes carry the designation "Blended Grain".
- Cask strength whiskies are rare and usually only the very best whiskies are bottled in this way. They are bottled from the cask undiluted. Rather than diluting, the distiller is inviting the drinker to dilute to the level of potency most palatable.
Whiskies do not mature in the bottle, only in the cask, so the "age" of a whisky is the time between distillation and bottling. This reflects how much the cask has interacted with the whisky, changing its chemical makeup and taste. Whiskies which have been in bottle for many years may have a rarity value, but are not "older" and will not necessarily be "better" than a more recently made whisky matured in wood for a similar time. Most whiskies are sold at or near an alcoholic strength of 40% abv.
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1792 Ridgemont Reserve
kentucky bourbon whiskey Item Origin:Whiskey |
baker's 7 years
kentucky bourbon whiskey Item Origin:Whiskey |
basil hayden's
kentucky bourbon whiskey Item Origin:Whiskey |
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bookers
kentucky bourbon whiskey Item Origin:Whiskey |
bushmills 10 yr.
irish whiskey Item Origin:Whiskey |
canadian club
canada whiskey Item Origin:Whiskey |
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cedar ridge
iowa bourbon Item Origin:Whiskey |
crown royal
canada whiskey Item Origin:Whiskey |
crown royal reserve
canada whiskey Item Origin:Whiskey |
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early times
kentucky whisky Item Origin:Whiskey |
evan williams blk
bourbon whiskey Item Origin:Whiskey |
jack daniel's
tennessee whiskey Item Origin:Whiskey |
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jack daniel's gentleman jack
tennessee whiskey Item Origin:Whiskey |
jack daniel's single barrel
tennessee whiskey Item Origin:Whiskey |
jameson
irish whiskey Item Origin:Whiskey |
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jameson 12yr
irish whiskey Item Origin:Whiskey |
jameson 18 year
ireland whiskey Item Origin:Whiskey |
jim beam
kentucky bourbon whiskey Item Origin:Whiskey |
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knob creek
kentucky bourbon whiskey Item Origin:Whiskey |
makers mark
kentucky bourbon whiskey Item Origin:Whiskey |
michael collins
irish whiskey Item Origin:Whiskey |
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ri one
kentucky straight rye whiskey Item Origin:Whiskey |
seagram's 7
american whiskey Item Origin:Whiskey |
seagram's vo
canadian whiskey Item Origin:Whiskey |
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southern comfort
kentucky whiskey Item Origin:Whiskey |
southern comfort lime
kentucky perfectly mixed soco and lime Item Origin:Whiskey |
templeton rye
iowa rye whiskey Item Origin:Whiskey |
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woodford reserve
kentucky whiskey Item Origin:Whiskey |
