Whisky Around the World

Scotland set the template, but whisky is now made on every continent except Antarctica — and some of the most exciting bottles come from places you might not expect.

Ireland

In the 1800s Irish whiskey was the most popular in the world. War, the trade war with Britain, US Prohibition and the rise of blended Scotch brought it low; by the 1970s only a couple of distilleries — Midleton and Bushmills — were left. Today it's booming again, with dozens of distilleries. Look for single pot still whiskey (Redbreast, Green Spot), a style unique to Ireland.

United States

Bourbon (mostly from Kentucky), rye (with roots in Pennsylvania and Maryland) and Tennessee whiskey are the classics; new charred oak gives them big vanilla and caramel flavours. A craft-distilling boom has added American single malts and much more. See The styles of whisky for the rules.

Canada

Canadian whisky is mostly smooth, blended and grain-led, and is often called "rye" whatever the recipe. Prohibition-era demand in the US made it famous.

Japan

Shinjiro Torii founded Yamazaki, Japan's first malt distillery, near Kyoto in 1923 (the company became Suntory). His first distiller, Masataka Taketsuru, had studied chemistry and distilling in Scotland; he went on to found Nikka and its Yoichi distillery in Hokkaido in 1934. Japanese whisky is known for precision, blending skill and casks of native mizunara oak. Newer names such as Chichibu have built cult followings.

India

India is the world's largest whisky market by volume, though much local "whisky" is made from molasses and wouldn't qualify as whisky in Europe. Malt producers such as Amrut (Bangalore), Paul John (Goa) and Indri make award-winning single malts that mature quickly in the heat.

Taiwan

Kavalan, first distilling in 2006, showed that a hot, humid climate can produce rich, mature whisky in a few years — at the cost of a very high angel's share.

Europe and beyond

Plan a trip to any of them with the Trips planner — the Atlas includes distilleries beyond Scotland too.