What is so special about whiskey?

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   The Examiner-1posted 9 years ago

   What is so special about whiskey?
   
   I do not drink. I hear songs most of which sing about whiskey. Even more than beer. I wondered why: Does it have better flavor? Lower price? or something else?

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   Gordon Hamiltonposted 9 years ago

   First of all, being a Scot, we would never use the letter "e" in our whisky. That is vitally important. "Whiskey" is Irish... Whisky is such an integral part of life in rural Scotland. It's hard to describe if you've never experienced it. It affords the taste of the wind, the sea, the people and the life. It brings heat in the Winter and cool comfort in the Summer. It brings peace and pleasure when times are hard or not so good. It unites different factions in Scotland (especially in modern times) and affords hope for the future. Whisky is the uisque beatha - the water of life...

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      The Examiner-1posted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Well since these are country songs by true Georgians I doubt that they are Scot or Irish. I do not think that sounds like it. Thanks.
      Knowing nothing about it though I may be wrong.

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      Gordon Hamiltonposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I'm well aware that perception of whisky in the US is very different. It's a little bit hard to compare. Regardless, I hope you enjoy whatever product you happen to be sampling, take time to figure its origins and make the most of it!

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      The Examiner-1posted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I am not drinking any. I only wondered about the songs. Thanks again.

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   Jodahposted 9 years ago

   Kevin, so many different countries make their own version of whiskey/whisky so it seems quite universally popular. beer is generally the cheapest alcohol and also the worst tasting I think...well next to ouzo and the like, Bourbon is another form of whiskey. Maybe it's popular in song because it is easy to rhyme with.

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      The Examiner-1posted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you John the rhyming seems to makes sense. I will listen closer to the songs and see.

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   Randall Guinnposted 9 years ago

   I have drank a few times in my youth, but in no way condone it. However, whiskey has played a big part in America. There was a time when corn whiskey was one of America's largest exports. The farmer's not only got more money by turning their corn crops into whiskey, but they didn't have to worry about it spoiling on them. As for no Scots or Irish in Georgia, there's a huge number of Irish and Scott  Americans there, and the old countrie's traditions do not die so easily.
   When I was younger, I would often see the adult men gathering together to share a swig, and many folks had a jug of home brew stashed away somewhere. There wasn't much for enterainment back then, and whiskey was one of the things that brought people together for socializing. They would get a bit tipsy and pretend that there was more to life for a while, than what their hard and meager life truly offered.
   Today we complain about 300 channels on TV and nothings on, but back then if you were lucky enough to have a TV, you most likely only had one channel to watch. Of course there were no video games or internet, so people had to find intertainment in any way they could. Todays bar scene is altogether a different experience.
   I believe that George Washington was the largest producer of whiskey for a single individual.
   Again, by no means do I condone it. When I was a teenager I became very ill from drinking moonshine. Some people would use car radiators for the cooling coils on the still, and people would end up getting lead poisoning from it. I don't know if that is what happened to me, or not.

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