I believe the
Irish taught the
Scots to make
usequebagh or
whisky. Scots renamed it
scotch. Other varieties of scotch are
Islay named because it comes from the small islands off the north of
Scotland. There is also a difference in
lowland and
highland scotch usually varying by the amount of
peat in the water used for
distilling,
Laphroig having a high peat content, and
Oban a lower peat content. Aging in
sherry casks also. see also
scotches
contrary to what Webster 1913 says, the Scots (being the people of Scotland), do not like being referred to as scotch. They prefer the appellation Scots.