whiskey

A strong alcoholic beverage made from a fermented mash of various cereals: Scotch whiskey from malted barley; Irish whiskey usually from barley, and North American whiskey and bourbon from rye and corn. Scotch and other whiskeys are usually blended; pure malt whiskeys are more expensive. Whiskey is generally aged in wooden casks for 4 to 12 years.

The earliest written record of whiskey comes from Scotland in 1494 but the art of distillation is thought to have been known before this time.