The word whisky (or whiskey) is an anglicisation of the Gaelic word uisce/uisge meaning water.

Distilled alcohol was known in Latin as aqua vitae ("water of life"). This was translated to
Gaelic as Irish: uisce beatha and Scottish Gaelic: uisge beatha="lively water" or "water of life".
Early forms of the word in English included uskebeaghe (1581), usquebaugh (1610), usquebath
(1621), usquebae (1715).
[2]

Names and spellings
Much is made of the word's two spellings: whisky and whiskey.
[3][4]
There are two schools of
thought on the issue. One is that the spelling difference is simply a matter of regional language
convention for the spelling of a word, indicating that the spelling varies depending on the
intended audience or the background or personal preferences of the writer (like the difference
between color and colour; tire and tyre; or recognize and recognise),
[3][4]
and the other is that the
spelling should depend on the style or origin of the spirit being described. There is general
agreement that when quoting the proper name printed on a label, the spelling on the label should
not be altered.
[3][4]
Some writers refer to "whisk(e)y" or "whisky/whiskey" to acknowledge the
variation.
The spelling whiskey is common in Ireland and the United States while whisky is used in every
other whisky producing country in the world.
[5]
In the US, the usage has not always been
consistent. From the late eighteenth century to the mid twentieth century American writers used
both spellings interchangeably until the introduction of newspaper style guides.
[6]
Since the
1960s, American writers have increasingly used whiskey as the accepted spelling for aged grain
spirits made in the US and whisky for aged grain spirits made outside the US.
[7]
However, some
prominent American brands, such as George Dickel, Maker's Mark, and Old Forester (all made
by different companies), use the 'whisky' spelling on their labels, and the Standards of Identity
for Distilled Spirits, the legal regulations for spirit in the US, also use the 'whisky' spelling
throughout.
[8]

"Scotch" is the internationally recognized term for "Scotch whisky".
History
It is possible that distillation was practised by the Babylonians in Mesopotamia in the 2nd
millennium BC, with perfumes and aromatics being distilled,
[9]
but this is subject to uncertain
and disputed interpretation of evidence.
[10]
The earliest certain chemical distillations were by
Greeks in Alexandria in the 1st century AD,
[11]
but these were not distillations of alcohol. The
medieval Arabs adopted the distillation technique of the Alexandrian Greeks, and written records
in Arabic begin in the 9th century, but again these were not distillations of alcohol.
[10]
Distilling
technology passed from the medieval Arabs to the medieval Latins, with the earliest records in
Latin in the early 12th century.
[10][12]
The earliest records of the distillation of alcohol are in Italy
in the 13th century, where alcohol was distilled from wine.
[10]
An early description of the
technique was given by Ramon Llull (1232 1315).
[10]
Its use spread through medieval
monasteries,
[13]
largely for medicinal purposes, such as the treatment of colic and smallpox.
[14]

The art of distillation spread to Ireland and Scotland no later than the 15th century, as did the
common European practice of distilling 'Aqua Vitae' or spirit alcohol primarily for medicinal
purposes.
[15]
The practice of medicinal distillation eventually passed from a monastic setting to
the secular via professional medical practitioners of the time, The Guild of Surgeon Barbers.
[15]

The first confirmed written record of whisky comes from 1405 in Ireland. In the Irish Annals of
Clonmacnoise in 1405, the first written record of whisky attributes the death of a chieftain to
"taking a surfeit of aqua vitae" at Christmas.
[16]
In Scotland, the first evidence of whisky
production comes from an entry in the Exchequer Rolls for 1494 where malt is sent "To Friar
John Cor, by order of the king, to make aquavitae", enough to make about 500 bottles.
[17]

James IV of Scotland (r. 14881513) reportedly had a great liking for Scotch whisky, and in
1506 the town of Dundee purchased a large amount of whisky from the Guild of Surgeon
Barbers, which held the monopoly on production at the time. Between 1536 and 1541, King
Henry VIII of England dissolved the monasteries, sending their monks out into the general
public. Whisky production moved out of a monastic setting and into personal homes and farms
as newly independent monks needed to find a way to earn money for themselves.
[14]


Old Bushmills Distillery, County Antrim
The distillation process was still in its infancy; whisky itself was not allowed to age, and as a
result tasted very raw and brutal compared to todays versions. Renaissance-era whisky was also
very potent and not diluted. Over time whisky evolved into a much smoother drink.
With a licence to distil Irish whiskey from 1608, the Old Bushmills Distillery in Northern Ireland
is the oldest licenced whiskey distillery in the world.
[18]