Whiskey Quiz
Scotch, bourbon, Irish and Japanese: 15 questions on peat, proof, casks and the angels' share.
Which two countries traditionally spell the spirit whiskey, with an e?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Ireland and the United States
Irish and most American distillers use the whiskey spelling, while Scotland, Canada and Japan write whisky. The Irish are thought to have added the e in the 1800s to set their product apart from Scotch.
The word itself comes from the Gaelic uisce beatha, meaning water of life, the same idea behind the Latin aqua vitae and the French eau de vie.
Jack Daniel's is distilled in the town of Lynchburg in which US state?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Tennessee
Jack Daniel's has been made in Lynchburg, Tennessee, since the 1800s, and its square bottle of Old No. 7 is the best known Tennessee whiskey in the world.
Lynchburg sits in Moore County, a dry county, so visitors can tour the distillery but cannot buy a drink in a local bar.
In the United States, a whiskey labeled 80 proof contains how much alcohol by volume?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
40% ABV
American proof is simply double the alcohol by volume, so 80 proof means 40 percent ABV, the standard strength for most whiskey, vodka, gin and rum sold in the United States.
The old British proof system was different: 100 British proof equaled about 57 percent ABV, the strength at which gunpowder soaked in spirit would still ignite.
Laphroaig, Ardbeg and Lagavulin, famous for their heavily peated smoky whiskies, are all made on which Scottish island?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Islay
Islay, off Scotland's west coast, is one of the five official Scotch whisky regions and is home to around ten distilleries, most of them producing the intensely smoky, medicinal style the island is known for.
The smoke comes from drying malted barley over burning peat, and Islay whiskies such as Ardbeg and Laphroaig are among the most heavily peated spirits made anywhere.
Scotch whisky must be matured in oak casks for a minimum of how many years?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Three years
The Scotch Whisky Regulations require at least three years of maturation in oak casks in Scotland, and any age statement on the label must refer to the youngest whisky in the bottle.
Most casks used for Scotch previously held American bourbon or Spanish sherry, which is why bourbon's one-use barrel rule keeps Scotland well supplied.
By US law, the grain mash for bourbon must contain at least how much corn?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
51%
Federal regulations define bourbon as whiskey made in the United States from a mash of at least 51 percent corn, distilled to no more than 160 proof and aged in new charred oak containers.
Rye whiskey follows the same rules with rye in place of corn, and wheat whiskey and malt whiskey each need 51 percent of their namesake grain.
In what kind of container must bourbon be aged?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
New charred oak barrels
Bourbon must be aged in new charred oak containers, which give it the vanilla, caramel and color it is known for. Because the barrels can only be used once for bourbon, they are sold on to Scotch, rum and tequila makers.
There is no minimum age for bourbon, but to be labeled straight bourbon it must spend at least two years in the barrel.
In whisky making, what is meant by the angels' share?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Spirit lost to evaporation during ageing
The angels' share is the portion of whisky that evaporates through the wood of the cask as it matures. In Scotland that is around two percent a year, and in hotter Kentucky warehouses it can be much more.
The evaporating alcohol feeds a black fungus called Baudoinia that stains the walls of warehouses and nearby buildings around distilleries.
The Lincoln County Process, required for a spirit to be called Tennessee whiskey, filters the new spirit through what?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Sugar maple charcoal
Before barreling, Tennessee whiskey is dripped through or steeped in several feet of sugar maple charcoal, a step known as the Lincoln County Process that producers say mellows the spirit.
A Tennessee law signed in 2013 made the process mandatory for whiskey labeled Tennessee whiskey, with a single exemption for Benjamin Prichard's distillery.
Traditional Irish whiskey is usually distilled how many times?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Three times
Most Irish whiskey is triple distilled, which produces a lighter, smoother spirit, while most Scotch malt whisky is distilled twice. The difference is a tradition rather than a legal requirement.
Irish whiskey was the world's best-selling whiskey in the 1800s before Prohibition, trade wars and the rise of blended Scotch nearly wiped the industry out.
In which 2003 film does Bill Murray play a fading actor in Tokyo to shoot a commercial for Suntory whisky?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Lost in Translation
In Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation, Murray's character Bob Harris is paid two million dollars to film a Suntory ad, delivering the line "For relaxing times, make it Suntory time."
The whisky in the film is Hibiki 17, and the scenes were inspired by Coppola's father Francis Ford Coppola, who really did shoot Suntory commercials in the 1970s.
Which distillery in Northern Ireland points to a royal licence granted in 1608 as proof that it is the world's oldest licensed whiskey distillery?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Bushmills
In 1608 King James I granted Sir Thomas Phillips a licence to distil in the County Antrim area that includes Bushmills, and the Old Bushmills Distillery still prints that date on its labels.
The Bushmills company itself was not registered until 1784, which is why some historians dispute its claim to be the oldest.
Shinjiro Torii opened Yamazaki, Japan's first malt whisky distillery, in 1923 for which company?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Suntory
Torii's company Kotobukiya, the predecessor of Suntory, built the Yamazaki distillery between Kyoto and Osaka in 1923, choosing the site for its soft water and misty climate.
Yamazaki's single malt won top honors in Jim Murray's Whisky Bible in 2015, helping trigger a global shortage of aged Japanese whisky.
Masataka Taketsuru, who studied whisky making in Scotland and married a Scottish woman, founded which Japanese whisky company in 1934?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Nikka
After managing Yamazaki for Suntory's founder, Taketsuru left and in 1934 founded the company that became Nikka at Yoichi in Hokkaido, a site he chose for its resemblance to Scotland.
His wife Rita Cowan, from Kirkintilloch near Glasgow, became the subject of a hugely popular Japanese television drama, Massan, in 2014.
In Scotch whisky production, what is the name for the fermented, beer-like liquid that goes into the still?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Wash
Milled malt, or grist, is mixed with hot water to make sugary wort. Yeast ferments the wort into wash, a cloudy liquid of around eight percent alcohol that is then distilled in the wash still.
Feints are the weak, oily tail end of the second distillation, which the stillman cuts off and recycles into the next batch.
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All Food and Drink quizzes →About the Whiskey Quiz
Whiskey is a simple idea with a thousand rules. Scotch must sleep in oak for at least three years, bourbon must start from a mash that is mostly corn, and Tennessee whiskey has to drip through maple charcoal before it ever sees a barrel. Along the way a couple of percent evaporates each year, the share the Scots cheerfully hand to the angels.
These 15 questions start with the basics any bar-goer should know, such as proof, Islay smoke and where Jack Daniel's is made, then move into production terms and the stories of Bushmills, Yamazaki and the Scottish-trained founder of Nikka. It suits casual drinkers who want to understand the label and enthusiasts who already have a favorite distillery.
You will find 15 multiple choice questions here, each with four options. Difficulty: Hard. Most people finish in about 6 minutes, and every answer comes with a short explanation and one extra fact worth keeping.
How to play
Read the question and pick one of the four answers. The correct answer is revealed straight away with a short explanation, then press Next question to keep going. At the end you get your score out of 15 and a full review of your round. Play again any time and the questions arrive in a fresh order. There is no timer and no account.
Good to know before you play
What is the difference between whisky and whiskey?
They are the same spirit spelled two ways. Scotland, Canada and Japan generally write whisky, while Ireland and the United States usually write whiskey, though a few American brands such as Maker's Mark use the Scottish spelling.
What makes bourbon different from Scotch?
Bourbon is American, made from at least 51 percent corn and aged in new charred oak barrels. Scotch is made in Scotland, usually from malted barley, aged at least three years in used casks.
Does whiskey improve in the bottle?
No. Unlike wine, whiskey stops maturing once it leaves the cask, so a 12 year old bottled in 1990 is still a 12 year old today.
Answer key: all 15 questions with explanations
- Which two countries traditionally spell the spirit whiskey, with an e?
Ireland and the United States Irish and most American distillers use the whiskey spelling, while Scotland, Canada and Japan write whisky. The Irish are thought to have added the e in the 1800s to set their product apart from Scotch. The word itself comes from the Gaelic uisce beatha, meaning water of life, the same idea behind the Latin aqua vitae and the French eau de vie. - Jack Daniel's is distilled in the town of Lynchburg in which US state?
Tennessee Jack Daniel's has been made in Lynchburg, Tennessee, since the 1800s, and its square bottle of Old No. 7 is the best known Tennessee whiskey in the world. Lynchburg sits in Moore County, a dry county, so visitors can tour the distillery but cannot buy a drink in a local bar. - In the United States, a whiskey labeled 80 proof contains how much alcohol by volume?
40% ABV American proof is simply double the alcohol by volume, so 80 proof means 40 percent ABV, the standard strength for most whiskey, vodka, gin and rum sold in the United States. The old British proof system was different: 100 British proof equaled about 57 percent ABV, the strength at which gunpowder soaked in spirit would still ignite. - Laphroaig, Ardbeg and Lagavulin, famous for their heavily peated smoky whiskies, are all made on which Scottish island?
Islay Islay, off Scotland's west coast, is one of the five official Scotch whisky regions and is home to around ten distilleries, most of them producing the intensely smoky, medicinal style the island is known for. The smoke comes from drying malted barley over burning peat, and Islay whiskies such as Ardbeg and Laphroaig are among the most heavily peated spirits made anywhere. - Scotch whisky must be matured in oak casks for a minimum of how many years?
Three years The Scotch Whisky Regulations require at least three years of maturation in oak casks in Scotland, and any age statement on the label must refer to the youngest whisky in the bottle. Most casks used for Scotch previously held American bourbon or Spanish sherry, which is why bourbon's one-use barrel rule keeps Scotland well supplied. - By US law, the grain mash for bourbon must contain at least how much corn?
51% Federal regulations define bourbon as whiskey made in the United States from a mash of at least 51 percent corn, distilled to no more than 160 proof and aged in new charred oak containers. Rye whiskey follows the same rules with rye in place of corn, and wheat whiskey and malt whiskey each need 51 percent of their namesake grain. - In what kind of container must bourbon be aged?
New charred oak barrels Bourbon must be aged in new charred oak containers, which give it the vanilla, caramel and color it is known for. Because the barrels can only be used once for bourbon, they are sold on to Scotch, rum and tequila makers. There is no minimum age for bourbon, but to be labeled straight bourbon it must spend at least two years in the barrel. - In whisky making, what is meant by the angels' share?
Spirit lost to evaporation during ageing The angels' share is the portion of whisky that evaporates through the wood of the cask as it matures. In Scotland that is around two percent a year, and in hotter Kentucky warehouses it can be much more. The evaporating alcohol feeds a black fungus called Baudoinia that stains the walls of warehouses and nearby buildings around distilleries. - The Lincoln County Process, required for a spirit to be called Tennessee whiskey, filters the new spirit through what?
Sugar maple charcoal Before barreling, Tennessee whiskey is dripped through or steeped in several feet of sugar maple charcoal, a step known as the Lincoln County Process that producers say mellows the spirit. A Tennessee law signed in 2013 made the process mandatory for whiskey labeled Tennessee whiskey, with a single exemption for Benjamin Prichard's distillery. - Traditional Irish whiskey is usually distilled how many times?
Three times Most Irish whiskey is triple distilled, which produces a lighter, smoother spirit, while most Scotch malt whisky is distilled twice. The difference is a tradition rather than a legal requirement. Irish whiskey was the world's best-selling whiskey in the 1800s before Prohibition, trade wars and the rise of blended Scotch nearly wiped the industry out. - In which 2003 film does Bill Murray play a fading actor in Tokyo to shoot a commercial for Suntory whisky?
Lost in Translation In Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation, Murray's character Bob Harris is paid two million dollars to film a Suntory ad, delivering the line "For relaxing times, make it Suntory time." The whisky in the film is Hibiki 17, and the scenes were inspired by Coppola's father Francis Ford Coppola, who really did shoot Suntory commercials in the 1970s. - Which distillery in Northern Ireland points to a royal licence granted in 1608 as proof that it is the world's oldest licensed whiskey distillery?
Bushmills In 1608 King James I granted Sir Thomas Phillips a licence to distil in the County Antrim area that includes Bushmills, and the Old Bushmills Distillery still prints that date on its labels. The Bushmills company itself was not registered until 1784, which is why some historians dispute its claim to be the oldest. - Shinjiro Torii opened Yamazaki, Japan's first malt whisky distillery, in 1923 for which company?
Suntory Torii's company Kotobukiya, the predecessor of Suntory, built the Yamazaki distillery between Kyoto and Osaka in 1923, choosing the site for its soft water and misty climate. Yamazaki's single malt won top honors in Jim Murray's Whisky Bible in 2015, helping trigger a global shortage of aged Japanese whisky. - Masataka Taketsuru, who studied whisky making in Scotland and married a Scottish woman, founded which Japanese whisky company in 1934?
Nikka After managing Yamazaki for Suntory's founder, Taketsuru left and in 1934 founded the company that became Nikka at Yoichi in Hokkaido, a site he chose for its resemblance to Scotland. His wife Rita Cowan, from Kirkintilloch near Glasgow, became the subject of a hugely popular Japanese television drama, Massan, in 2014. - In Scotch whisky production, what is the name for the fermented, beer-like liquid that goes into the still?
Wash Milled malt, or grist, is mixed with hot water to make sugary wort. Yeast ferments the wort into wash, a cloudy liquid of around eight percent alcohol that is then distilled in the wash still. Feints are the weak, oily tail end of the second distillation, which the stillman cuts off and recycles into the next batch.
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