A–M

Age Statement
The number on a whisky label indicating the age of the youngest spirit in the bottle, not an average age or the age of its oldest component.
American Oak
The oak species most commonly used for bourbon and much Scotch cask maturation, known for bold vanilla, coconut, and caramel notes compared to European oak.
Angel's Share
The portion of spirit lost to evaporation during cask aging, which varies with climate and can amount to several percent of the barrel's contents each year.
Barrel Proof
A term, largely interchangeable with cask strength, used especially in American whiskey for a spirit bottled without dilution straight from the barrel.
Blended Whisky
Whisky made by combining malt and grain whiskies, or whiskies from multiple distilleries, to achieve a consistent house style that doesn't vary much from bottle to bottle.
Bottled-in-Bond
A U.S. legal category requiring a whiskey to be the product of one distiller in one season, aged at least four years in a bonded warehouse, and bottled at exactly 100 proof.
Bourbon
An American whiskey made from a mash of at least 51% corn and aged in new, charred oak barrels, which by law can only be used once.
Campbeltown
A small Scotch whisky-producing region on Scotland's Kintyre peninsula, once home to dozens of distilleries and known for a distinctively briny, oily style.
Canadian Whisky
Whisky produced in Canada, traditionally blended from separately distilled grain whiskies and often, though not always, noted for a smoother, lighter style.
Cask Strength
A spirit bottled directly from the cask without dilution, typically at a higher-than-standard ABV, often somewhere between 50% and 65%.
Charring
Burning the interior of a new barrel before filling it with spirit, creating a layer of char that filters the spirit and adds color, caramel, and smoky flavor.
Chill Filtration
A process that chills a spirit and removes fatty compounds to prevent cloudiness when the bottle is later stored cold, which some drinkers feel also strips away flavor.
Corn Whiskey
An American whiskey made from a mash of at least 80% corn, which may be sold unaged and, unlike bourbon, does not require new charred oak barrels.
Double Cask
Whisky matured in two different cask types in sequence, similar to a finishing cask but often implying two roughly equal maturation periods rather than a short final finish.
Dunnage Warehouse
A traditional, low-rise stone warehouse with earthen floors used to age whisky casks, prized for its cool, stable, humid conditions compared to modern racked warehouses.
European Oak
The oak species traditionally used for sherry casks and much Continental winemaking, known for imparting more tannin, spice, and dried-fruit character than American oak.
Feints
The tail-end fraction of a whisky distillation run, along with the heads, that is set aside and redistilled with the next batch's low wines rather than bottled.
Finishing Cask
A second cask, often one that previously held sherry, port, rum, or wine, used to mature a whisky for a final, relatively short period after its primary aging.
First Fill
A cask being used to mature spirit for the first time since it previously held sherry, bourbon, or wine, giving it a stronger flavor influence than a refill cask.
Genever
A juniper-flavored Dutch spirit and the historical ancestor of gin, typically made with a malted grain base that gives it a maltier, whiskey-like character.
Grain Whisky
Whisky made primarily from unmalted cereal grains such as corn or wheat, typically distilled in a column still to a lighter, more neutral style than malt whisky.
Highland
A large, geographically diverse Scotch whisky-producing region known for a wide range of styles, from light and floral to full-bodied and coastal.
Independent Bottler
A company that buys casks of whisky from distilleries and bottles it under its own label, often releasing single-cask expressions the distillery itself never offers.
Irish Whiskey
Whiskey produced in Ireland, traditionally triple distilled and often, though not exclusively, made without peat, resulting in a smoother, lighter style than much Scotch.
Islay
A small Scottish island renowned for producing intensely peated, smoky, and often maritime-influenced single malt whiskies.
Lowland
A Scotch whisky-producing region traditionally known for lighter, gentler, more floral malt whiskies, often triple distilled.
Malt Whisky
Whisky made entirely from malted barley, typically distilled in copper pot stills, forming the base of both single malt and blended malt whiskies.
Marrying
Allowing a blended or vatted spirit to rest together in a cask or large vat after blending, so its component whiskies have time to integrate before bottling.
Mash Bill
The recipe of grains used to make a spirit, expressed as percentages (e.g. corn, rye, malted barley), which is one of the biggest drivers of a whiskey's flavor.

N–Z

Navy Strength
A spirit, most often gin, bottled at 57% ABV or higher, a strength historically associated with British Royal Navy rations.
Non-Chill-Filtered
A spirit bottled without chill filtration, sometimes marketed as retaining more flavor and mouthfeel, though it may turn slightly cloudy when chilled or mixed with water.
Oloroso Cask
A cask that previously held oloroso sherry, often used to finish or fully mature whisky, adding notes of dried fruit, walnut, and baking spice.
Peat
Partially decayed vegetation, traditionally cut, dried, and burned to dry malted barley, giving some Scotch whiskies, especially from Islay, their characteristic smoky, medicinal flavor.
Port Cask
A cask that previously held port wine, often used to finish whisky and add notes of red and black fruit, chocolate, and spice.
Proof
A strength measurement; in the U.S., double the ABV percentage, so a spirit labeled 100 proof is 50% alcohol by volume.
Reposado
A tequila or mezcal aged in oak for a period between two months and one year, giving it a color and softness between unaged blanco and longer-aged añejo styles.
Rye Whiskey
An American whiskey made from a mash of at least 51% rye, typically spicier, drier, and more peppery than corn-forward bourbon.
Scotch
Whisky made in Scotland according to strict legal rules, including mandatory aging for a minimum of three years in oak casks.
Sherried
A tasting term for a whisky with pronounced dried-fruit, nutty, and spice character from maturation in ex-sherry casks.
Sherry Bomb
An informal, affectionate term for a whisky finished or aged extensively in sherry casks, producing intense dried-fruit, nutty, and baking-spice character.
Single Barrel
A spirit bottled from one individual cask rather than blended with others, meaning each bottling can vary slightly in flavor from the next.
Single Malt
Whisky made at one distillery from a single malted grain, typically barley, though it may still be a blend of many different casks from that one distillery.
Small Batch
A spirit blended from a limited, relatively small number of casks selected for a particular release, though the term has no fixed legal definition.
Sour Mash
A whiskey production method using a portion of a previous batch's fermented mash to start the next, common in bourbon and helping keep flavor consistent between batches.
Speyside
A Scotch whisky-producing region within the Highlands, home to the highest concentration of distilleries in Scotland, known for elegant, often fruity and honeyed single malts.
Straight Whiskey
A U.S. legal category requiring whiskey to be aged at least two years in new charred oak with no added coloring, flavoring, or blending spirits.
Tennessee Whiskey
A style of American whiskey made much like bourbon but additionally filtered through a thick layer of sugar maple charcoal before barreling, known as the Lincoln County Process.
Toast Level
The degree to which a barrel's interior is gently heated before use, distinct from full charring, affecting the sweetness, spice, and wood character it later imparts.
Triple Distillation
Distilling a spirit three times rather than the more common two, typically producing an especially light, smooth character, traditional in much Irish whiskey.
Uisge Beatha
The Scottish and Irish Gaelic phrase meaning 'water of life,' from which the word 'whisky' itself is derived.
Vatted Malt
A whisky blended entirely from single malts sourced from more than one distillery, containing no grain whisky — also called a blended malt whisky.
Vintage Whisky
Whisky labeled with the specific year it was distilled, as opposed to an age statement, allowing drinkers to trace it to a particular distillation season.
Virgin Oak
A brand-new, previously unused oak barrel, required by law for bourbon and prized for the strong vanilla and spice character it imparts.
Wheated
A bourbon that uses wheat rather than rye as its secondary grain, generally producing a softer, gentler, less spicy flavor profile.
White Dog
An informal American term for unaged whiskey straight off the still, equivalent to new make spirit in Scotland.
XO
A cognac age classification meaning 'Extra Old,' legally requiring a minimum aging period for the blend's youngest component spirit.
Yeast Strain
The specific variety of yeast used in fermentation, which can meaningfully influence a whisky's fruity or spicy character before it ever reaches the still.
Young Whisky
Whisky bottled after a relatively short maturation period, often prized for bright, spirit-forward character rather than the deep complexity of longer-aged expressions.
  • Glossary
  • Whisky
  • Spirits

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