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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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whisky
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Strong alcoholic drink, originally local to Scotland and Ireland, distilled from a mash of fermented grain, traditionally malted barley. Whisky derives from the first word of uisge beatha, Gaelic for 'water of life'. Other spirits are known by the same phrase in different languages (eau de vie, akvavit); the reason is that aqua vitae (Latin for 'water of life') was the Roman term for any distilled alcohol. The Scots spell the word 'whisky' and the Irish 'whiskey', the latter being the version that has travelled to the USA.
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It was not until the early 19C that whisky began to be distilled commercially in Scotland, instead of just for local use. The best-known Scottish distilleries are in the northeast, in the Grampian region. They provide the unblended Highland malts which are considered the finest of all whiskies, the normal commercial varieties being blended from several sources.
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