How did whiskey, the indispensable friend of tranquility, come about?

Yes, we were born into a world in which whiskey is already present, but once such a thing was not read. So how was whiskey invented? What is the release story?

The word origin of whiskey comes from the Uisge Beatha in Celtic, which means “aqua vitae” in Latin; In Arabic, it means “water of life”, which corresponds to “ab-i life”. In making this nomenclature, the distillation of the whiskey by the priests in the Irish monasteries in the first 12th century has a great share. Whiskey later spread to the Scottish monasteries and remained a drink unique to the monasteries until the 16th century.

So, what happened to a tough drink made like whiskey? Like every question underlying civilization, the answer to this water question is geography and climate. The popular drink of the 12th century was wine, as you can imagine. However, wine was a drink that loved the heat of the Mediterranean. For this, wine production for the north of the Alps was rather troublesome. The sugar content in the grapes grown in these regions is low; Since it has high acid content, both low alcohol and very bad wines could be made in terms of taste.

At this point, the use of that golden yellow plant, which loves the cold climate of Ireland and Scotland, in the distillation of whiskey was a challenge of the geography rather than a creative discovery. Later cold-resistant cereals were added to the equation: wheat, rye, oats, etc. However, unlike wine and beer making, the fermentation process was not enough for whiskey making, whiskey making required distillation knowledge. So where did this distillation information come from?

Although there are different debates about how this information is obtained, the dominant view is that the Catholic priests, who carried out missionary activities, learned during their interaction with Muslim Arabs. Already, alcohol was getting from the word “al-kuhul” origin in Arabic. Alcohol obtained by distillation was used mostly in perfume production during this period. The Arabs got this alcohol distillation information from the Egyptians.

Missionary priests, on the other hand, added their own creativity to the issue and started using it to obtain a much more intense alcohol-containing drinking water than wine and beer. After the distillation process, whiskeys were rested in the dark and damp cellars of the monasteries for years in oak barrels and then offered to the consumption of priests.

But as of the 16th century, when the establishment of the Anglican church was added to the acceleration of sectarian wars, many Catholic priests became unemployed. After that, they began to make their living from the whiskey distillery. And so, the whiskey in the position of church drink began to spread to the public. Hundreds of small distilleries began to be built in Ireland and Scotland. Whiskeys produced in this period were mostly cheap and of low quality. However, due to its intense alcohol content, taste richness and reasonable price, whiskey started to spread rapidly in England.

On the other hand, health reasons lay under the rapid spread of whiskey consumption. Because during this period, whiskey systems were not developed yet and drinking water carried infection, whiskey served as an easily accessible antiseptic at some point with the intense alcohol content.

Nowadays, it is preferred to make pleasant moments even more enjoyable. Jameson Cold Brew is one of the most preferred whiskeys. If we examine other important whiskey brands;

Scotch whisky is a type of whiskey produced from malt barley. Scotch whiskey is a type of whiskey identified with Scotland, which also has different varieties. In Scotland, they can only be legally produced under the laws that define its definition and mode of production.

Fireball whiskey is a Canadian whiskey produced by Sazerac Company. It is a mixture of cinnamon flavors and sweeteners. As of 2018, Fireball is among the bestselling whiskey brands in the United States.

Produced by Beam Suntory by Basil Hayden, Jim Beam is the lightest bodied bourbon whiskey in the small batch bourbons family.

Source: eksisozluk.com