These two areas use the natural limestone shelves found underground and icon-free water to create the famous and very tasty blends of whiskey. Whiskey was originally developed either in Scotland or Ireland, both came to be the birthplace of the popular liquor. It is most likely that it was developed simultaneously in both nations at around the same time period. The word whiskey is derived from the Scottish Gaelic word uisgebeathe and the Irish word usquebaugh . Both of these words mean the water of life in their respective languages.
Stories referring to the drink go back as far as the sixth century.
However, the first official records do show up until 1494 in Scotland where friars used the liquid in a spiritual mixture called aquavitae, Latin for water of life . At this time the drink lauded for the medicinal wonders it seemed to produce. It was thought to relieve colic, small pox, palsy, and any other number of diseases. However, it was not long before it was cherished as a beverage also. By the sixteenth century whiskey had become an intrinsic part of Scottish and Irish life.