What are the differences between Scotch, Whiskey and Bourbon?

There are 4 major types of whiskey:

American whiskey

Canadian whisky

Irish whiskey

Scotch whisky

(Note that only American and Irish whiskeys include the 'e')

There are some other styles from around the world, but these are the four most prominent.

All whiskies are made from a mash of grains including barley, malted barley, rye, malted rye, wheat, and maize (corn). They are then aged in oak barrels which is what lends the color.

American whiskey has several forms - Bourbon is the most popular and, by law, typically can only be made in Kentucky and is at least 51% corn (Maker's Mark, Knob Creek). Jack Daniel's is made like Bourbon, but is distilled in Tennessee so it cannot be legally called bourbon - instead it labels itself as Tennessee whiskey which means it was filtered through a charred oak barrel for smoothness. Rye whiskey is made with at least 51% rye and corn whiskey with 80% corn.

Canadian whiskies are typically lighter and smoother than than American whiskeys and is made with malted rye.

Irish whiskeys (Jameson) are distilled 3 times and made primarily with barley - there are single malt and blended varieties.

Scotch is unique in that the grains are smoked over a peat fire (peat is a type of moss native to Scotland) and typically distilled like Irish whikseys but has a smokey, smoother flavor. It is sold as single malts (Glenfiddich) and blends (Johnnie Walker).

You would want to specify what kind of whiskey - Scotch, Bourbon, Canadian and Irish...

American Whiskey

* Blends - Seagram's 7, Kessler. Smooth, uncharacteristic, generally boring

* Bourbon - Jim Beam, Wild Turkey - Flavorful, slightly rough, mostly corn. Aged in new barrels for 4 years or more, but generally less than 10.

* Rye - Old Potrero, Old Overholt- a lot like bourbon, but more 'peppery' or spicy.

* Tennessee - Jack Daniels, George Dickel - close cousin to bourbon, just charcoal filtered.

Canadian Whiskey - a lot like American blends

* Seagram's VO, Crown Royal, Black Velvet

Scotch Whisky - made of malted barley only. Aged in used barrels, typically a decade or more. There are blends like Johnny Walker, Dewar's, Famous Grouse where different whisky from different producers are married together. And there are single malts, (The Macallan, Glenfiddich, Glenlivet) where all the whisky comes from that distillery.

Irish Whiskey - also mostly malted barley, dried without as much peat. Smoother than American whiskey, paler and more gentle. (Jameson, Bushmills.)

Japanese Whisky - Modeled after single malt Scotch. They're the new players, I haven't tried any, but some of them are getting good reviews.

So you would get a different answer, depending on which you asked for.

Whisk(e)y is any liquor distilled from fermented grain mash. Scotch and bourbon are two specific types of whisk(e)y. If you want something similar to Jack Daniel's, your best bet is to ask for bourbon suggestions. Jack is a Tennessee Whiskey, but there are only two brands of that. Bourbon is made in a similar way and probably has the taste that you like.

Whiskey is the category that encompasses scotch and bourbon as well as many others

The differences are largely the grain used and the way its aged (oak vs. charred oak vs steel....etc)

Scotch is made from malted barley, bourbon is made from corn. Rye is made from Rye.....etc

Most whiskey is made by combining all the barrels of whiskey to create a standard flavor for the entire brand. Single barrel is when a distiller selects certain barrels for their exceptional flavor and sells it by itself (not blended with the other barrels)

Is Seagrams 7 Bourbon

Scotch is made in Scotland, and technically only the whisky's made there.

Whiskey is made in Ireland, Irish spelling of whisky

Bourbon is made in the US.

What you will get would be up to the barman, he may distinguish between the different types, or he may just say they are all the same.

World-wide they would number in their 1,000's, but there are 3 types in my mind.

Smooth:- these are so smooth that they a really sippable and the type where you might have several nips in a glass to sip on and are best drunk neat.

Regular:- these have a bit of a bite to them and make up about 80% of them and are best drunk with a mixer etc.

Gut Rot:- these are the crap whiskys made with whatever. They are probably not as common now than they used to be when nearly anything that could be made into a whisky was used,