Quote:Which is it, I've seen it spelled WHISKEY amd WHISKY........ What's the differance?

Quote:American and Irish liquor producers (and copy editors) tend to favor the spelling WHISKEY, while Canadian, Scottish, and Japanese producers (and copy editors) tend to favor (or should I say, favour) WHISKY.

<p style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', DroidSerif, serif;font-size:15px;">The controversy:

So we have two things going on here: copy editing style and actual liquor style. The big question is: Are WHISKEY and WHISKY just two different spellings of the same word, or are they two slightly different words describing two separate groups of spirits? What do you do if you're a resident of Scotland writing about Irish whiskey or an American writing about Canadian whisky?

<p style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', DroidSerif, serif;font-size:15px;">A solution:

Up until quite recently, The New York Times tackled the problem by spelling everything the American way (with an E), regardless of the spirit’s country of origin. From Kentucky bourbon to Islay malts, everything was “whiskey” to The NYTimes. But then, last February, the venerable newspaper made a decisive change.

<p style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', DroidSerif, serif;font-size:15px;">After receiving a raft of complaints from some serious Scotch whisky drinkers, the paper re-tooled its approach to follow that of many specialized spirits publications, spelling each type of spirit according to the way favored by its country of origin. So, while American-produced varieties such as bourbon, rye, and Tennessee - as well as the Irish stuff - kept their previous NYTimes-styled "whiskey” spelling, the stuff from Scotland, Canada, and Japan now would be referred to as “whisky.” Makes a lot of sense, I think.