Whisky, or whiskey, refers to a broad category of alcoholic beverages that are distilled from fermented grain mash and aged in oak casks. Different grains are used for different varieties, including barley, malted barley, rye, malted rye, wheat, and maize (or corn).
A blended Scotch whisky
The first written record of whisky comes from 1405 in Ireland it is also mentioned in Scotland in 1496. However it is thought that whisky had already been around for at least several hundred years prior. When or where whisky was first distilled is unknown and the localised, undocumented nature of beverage production during the period makes identification of the drinks origin difficult. Additionally, it is possible that different groups discovered processes of distillation completely independent of one another.
Some scholars believe distilled spirits first starting being produced between the 8th century AD and 9th century AD in the Middle East with the art of distillation being brought to the British Isles by Christian monks. A popular legend (which has yet to be confirmed or dis-proven) is that St. Patrick himself introduced distillation to the British Isles, however it is likely he lived around the 5th century AD. It is also possible that the distillation process was discovered in the British Isles either independently or in precursor to Arabian distillation by farmers as a way of making use of excess grain after harvest
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