Whiskey Brands

Everybody (well, most everyone) loves a good glass of whiskey. Served neat or on the rocks, it can accompany various food dishes or stand completely on its own. That's the beauty of this ever popular liquor made from fermented grain.

And with so many whiskey brands to choose from, it's hard to figure out where to begin. Which label to choose, what type to drink?

Well, fear not for I've done all the research for you.

I've laid out, clear and simple, the most popular whiskey brands, and provided brief details and summaries about these brands.

Whisky is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage derived from fermented grain mash. Grain mash is the product of mashing, which is a process of breaking down starchy materials from the grain into both fermentable and non-fermentable sugars through steeping in water under controlled temperatures.

All liquor of this kind must be aged in oak barrels for at least three years.

This liquor can be dividied into 5 distinct categories, which are:

• Single Malt
• Single Grain
• Blended Malt
• Blended Grain
• Blended

Single Malt, as its name implies, is whisky brewed usually using malted barley as its only ingredient. Malting is a process that involves germinating seeds by soaking them in water, and halting the germination process by drying the seeds with hot air. This process then allows the malted grains to develop certain enzymes that help modify the grain's starches into sugars.

Single Malt is brewed using the pot still distillation process, which is a method of separting mixtures using differences in the substances' boiling points.

Single Grain refers to whisky made with a single grain other than malted barley. This other variation can be maize, rye, wheat, or unmalted barley.

Blended Malt is a single malt that has been blended in multiple distilleries with the purpose of skillfully selecting the best and unique whisky flavors, which are then married to create a rich, malty flavor.

Blended Grain is a blend made from two or more Single Grain obtained from different distilleries.

And last, but not least, Blended refers to the kind made from a blend of one or more Single Malt and Single Grain.

Now that you know the basics, let's get started.

The most commonly found whiskey brands are Scotch (Scotish), American, Irish, and Canadian. And while these are the most common types you'll find at your liquor store back at home, that's not to say there aren't other countries that distill whisky.

There are plenty of other countries such as Japan (whoa!), Thailand, and Australia that produce the grain-based liquor, but for our intents and purposes, I've focused mostly on the previously mentioned four types of whiskey brands.

Scotch

Why is Scotch Whisky called so? Simply because it's made in Scotland. Hence, the word scotch. It's similar to Champagne, which refers to a bubbly mix of spirits made in Champagne, France.

Only spirits brewed in Scotland can be labeled as Scotch.

Some common Scotch labels are:

• Glenfiddich
• The Glenlivet
• Macallan
• Port Ellen
• Singleton
• Talisker

These are a few out of many, the tip of the iceberg, but it's a good list to get even the novice scotch drinker started.

American

American whisky can be classified into a few well-known sub categories, which are: single malt, bourbon, corn, wheat, rye, blended, and last but not least, Tennessee.

Examples of American single malt and corn whisky include: McCarthy's, Stranahan's, RoughStock Montana, Buffalo Trace, and Copper Run.

American whiskey brands cannot be complete without mentioning Bourbon. Unless otherwise noted, and with a few exceptions, Bourbon cannot be labeled as such unless brewed in Bourbon, Kentucky.

Popular Bourbon brands include:

• Maker's Mark
• Woodford
• Jim Beam
• Wild Turkey

Then there is Tennessee whisky, which is straight bourbon produced in the state of Tennessee.

Most Tennessee whiskies undergo a filgering process called the Lincoln County Process, named after the town where the original Jack Daniel's distillery originated. During this stage, the liquor is filtered through a thick layer of maple charcoal before being placed in oak barrels for the aging process.

Needless to say, this step adds a layer of underlying sweetness to the whisky. Popular brands include, Jack Daniel's, George Dickel, and Prichard's Tennessee Whisky.

Examples of rye and wheat whiskies are:

• High West (Rye)
• Red Hook (Rye)
• Copper Fox (Rye)
• Wild Turkey (Rye)
• Bernheim Original (Wheat)

And last but not least is blended whisky. Popular blended include:

• Brown-Forman
• Fortune (by Jeim Beam)
• Heaven Hill
• Barton Reserve
• Imperial
• Abraham Bowman Virginia

Irish

There is a wide variety of Irish whiskies. The single malt, grain, and blended are the three most popular types.

Examples of Irish whiskies are:

• Bushmill's (single malt)
• Merry's
• Shanahans
• The Irishman
• Shannon Grain Single Malt
• Bailey's (Blended)
• Bushmill's
• O'Brien's
• Paddy
• Wild Geese

Canadian

Most Canadian whiskies are blended multi-grain liquors, containing corn spirits.

And although some consider rye and Canadian whisky to be synonymous, this is not always the case.

While it is true that the majority of Canadian whisky in the past were made from rye, a large percentage of Canadian whisky referred to as rye, are made from a combination of different types of grains.

Thus, when it comes to Canadian whisky, the name doesn't always indicate the sole ingredient.

Some popula brands include:

• Crown Royal
• Glen Breton
• Canadian Cellars Rye
• Canadian Club

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