FOOD NEWS
Where Did The Word 'Whiskey' Actually Come From?
BY BRIAN UDALL
Whiskey doesn’t resemble other English words because it’s the anglicized word of the Gaelic term "uisge beatha," which is "aqua vitae" in Latin. Both translate to "water of life."
The first record of whiskey dates to the Scottish Exchequer Rolls of 1495, in which Friar John Cor ordered eight bolls of malt by order of King James IV to make aqua vitae.
Aqua vitae was a generic term for all distilled spirits, so some earlier references to aqua vitae may be referencing whiskey. The Scottish Exchequer Rolls account is unambiguous.