[sionnsar]

The oldest reference to Scotch is in a document of 1494 stating that Friar John Cor was given eight bolls of malt to transform into aqua vitae.

Hmmm... better do some research into the origins of the work "whisk(e)y" -- 'e' added for our Irish friends. Comes from (in Scots Gaelic) "Uisge bheatha" (American: OOSHka vay-ha) which means...

drum roll...

"water of life". Akvavit. Aqea vitae. Hm...

[King Prout]

THANKS!

I never made the connection between "akvavit" and "aqua vitae"

seems SO bloody obvious, now ;)

[Temple Owl]

The Spaniard Raymond Lully, a student of Arabic alchemy, wrote a work Opera Alchima, in which he described making "the true water of life.' He called the product of his labors aqua vitae ("water of life") from which derive aquavit, usquebaugh, whiskey and eau de vie.