Uisge Beatha
“Uisge beatha” is the original Scots Gaelic term for whisky, meaning “water of life,” derived from the Latin aqua vitae. Only used when the speaker wants to sound pretentious.
Stories and rants from the world of whisky
How Geographic Indications Protect Scotch Whisky
Published 11/12/2025
Whisky benefits from Geographical Indication (GI) protection because a GI legally restricts the use of the term “Scotch whisky” to spirit that is produced, distilled, and matured in Scotland according to defined standards. GI protection prevents misleading use of the name, preserves product authenticity, maintains consumer confidence, and safeguards cultural and economic value linked to Scotland. If you listen on a still Scottish night, ideally with firelight flickering like old stories on the walls and a dram warming your hands, you might notice a whisper of parchment shifting.
How Geographic Indications Protect Scotch Whisky
Why Whisky Comes in Glass Bottles
Published 10/12/2025
Whisky is packaged in glass because glass is chemically inert and suitable for long-term storage of high-proof alcohol without leaching, corrosion, or flavour alteration. High-strength spirits can react with or extract compounds from many metals and plastics, making cans and most plastics unsuitable for preserving flavour stability, especially over years or decades. Aluminum cans are also incompatible with high-proof spirits due to corrosion risks unless coated, and coatings are not designed for long maturation periods.
Why Whisky Comes in Glass Bottles
What’s the Difference Between Bourbon and Rye Whiskey?
Published 26/11/2025
Bourbon and rye whiskey are two major American whiskey styles defined primarily by their grain composition. Bourbon must be made in the United States from a mash of at least 51% corn, aged in new charred-oak containers, distilled below 80% ABV, and entered into the barrel below 62.5% ABV. Rye whiskey must contain at least 51% rye grain and follows the same distillation and barreling limits. Both must be bottled at a minimum of 40% ABV.
What’s the Difference Between Bourbon and Rye Whiskey?
Understanding Maltose, the Sugar That Makes Whisky Possible
Published 19/11/2025
Maltose is a sugar made from two glucose units that forms when enzymes break down the starch in malted barley during mashing. It is the main fermentable sugar in wort and the key fuel for yeast. Yeast consumes maltose and turns it into alcohol and carbon dioxide. If there is not enough maltose the wash will not ferment properly and whisky cannot be made. Human beings have always been peculiarly vulnerable to sugar, especially after it decides to undergo that astonishing biochemical career change and become alcohol.
Understanding Maltose, the Sugar That Makes Whisky Possible
The Unsung Hero of Heavy Whisky: Or, How the Worm Turned
Published 12/11/2025
Worm tubs are the whisky industry’s stubborn survivors: huge, awkward, and gloriously inefficient copper coils that condense vapour into spirit by brute chill rather than refined design. Once common, they’ve all but vanished in favour of modern condensers, yet a devoted few distillers keep them alive, convinced that only a worm tub can give whisky its signature heft, sulphur edge, and old-world soul. Picture it: a massive vat of freezing water, the sort of thing you’d only step into if you’d lost a bet, with a copper coil inside pretending to be a snake that’s recently eaten a distillery apprentice.
The Unsung Hero of Heavy Whisky: Or, How the Worm Turned