If you are whisky lover, you might consider visiting some of the top whisky producing countries in the world. Although the name whisky (or whiskey) comes from Gaelic phrase uisce beatha, which means water of life, British Isles are not the only good producers of this beverage nowadays.
Whisky has a long history. Since it is produced by distillation of various grains accessible anywhere, it is probably one of the oldest alcoholic drinks, which roots can be traced back to Mesopotamia. But true whisky origins as we know it today cannot be easily followed. Since it carries a Celtic name, as we have mentioned, it can be argued that its origins reach ancient times. It is nevertheless surely known that distillation was performed in medieval monasteries of Ireland and Scotland, involving different types of grains, since grapes do not grow enough in the British Isles. The first written record comes only from 1494 Scotland, which mentions certain Friar John Cor who was given some malt to make the water of life. Up to this day the Irish and Scots dispute who was the first to make this famous precious drink.
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There are many types of whisky including Scotch, Bourbon, Rye, Single Pot Still, Tennessee, etc. Scotch is perhaps the most famous of all whiskies and it is originally Scottish whisky made from barley, though today produced in many places. Concerning categories of Scotch, there are Single Malt and Single Grain (further divided into Blended Malt and Grain and Blended Scotch whisky). The interesting fact is that there are over 5000 types of Single Malt. Bourbon is American kind of whiskey made of corn and most famously distilled in Kentucky. If Bourbon is your favorite, check out the Best of Bourbon for the Money: 10 Best Bourbons Under $50. As for Rye, it is made of predominantly rye (it’s usually 9:1 rye corn ratio).
Major resources for our research of top whisky-producing countries were Adventures in Whiskyland, Whisky for Everyone, Flaviar and Whisky Invest Direct.
Now, different regions are famous for different kinds of whisky and are best in producing that special representative kind. You might have guessed where Kentucky or Tennessee whiskies come from, but let’s see which other countries produce some good whisky:
