Celebrate World Whisky Day with Anno Distillers

It's World Whisky Day, take our quiz and test your knowledge!

How much do you know about the history of whisky, from its early origins to the present day? #worldwhiskyday

You can enjoy one of the last remaining box sets of Kent's first whisky, made by Anno and Westerham Brewery. Buy online now, while stocks last.

1. The word whisky comes from the Gaelic translation of ‘uisge beatha’, meaning what?
a) Bounty of barley
b) Water of life
c) Liquid gold

2. When is World Whisky Day?
a) Saturday 15th May 2021
b) Friday 28th May 2021
c) Wednesday 9th June 2021

3. In Scotland, the first evidence of whisky production comes from an entry in the Exchequer Rolls. In what year did this occur?
a) 1494
b) 1594
c) 1694

4. During the 18th century, taxes drove a lot of whisky production in Scotland underground. Scottish distillers, operating out of homemade stills, took to distilling whisky at night when the darkness hid the smoke from the stills. This gave rise to which nickname for the spirit?
a) Nightshade
b) Mother’s ruin
c) Moonshine

5. Approximately, how many bottles of whisky are exported from Scotland every day?
a) 400,000
b) 1.6 million
c) 3.2 million

Whisky cask

6. Which famous former US president once operated his own whisky distillery in Virginia and was, for a brief period, the largest whisky producer in the United States?
a) George Washington
b) Theodore Roosevelt
c) George Bush Jr

7. Which of the following countries appears in the top 10 list of whisky producing countries in the world?
a) Jamaica
b) Taiwan
c) Spain

8. The art of whisky distilling was believed to have been introduced to the UK by whom?
a) Viking warriors
b) Hungarian diplomats
c) Christian monks

9. In order to be able to legally call a spirit whisky, it must be distilled and then aged in oak casks for a minimum of how long?
a) 6 months
b) 3 years
c) 5 years

10. How much did a single bottle of “The Macallan Fine and Rare 60 Year Old” whisky fetch at auction in 2019, making it the most expensive whisky ever sold?
a) £1.45 million
b) £4.15 million
c) £5.41 million

Answers (No peeking!)

1. B - Water of Life. Distilled alcohol was known in Latin as aqua vitae ("water of life").

2. A - Saturday 15th May 2021. World Whisky Day takes place on the third Saturday in May every year. Whisky lovers worldwide gather at events and tastings (socially distanced this year of course!) to sample new spirits and indulge in old favourites. You can join the conversation on social media this year using #WorldWhiskyDay or by visiting www.worldwhiskyday.com

3. A - 1494. The malt was recorded as being sent ‘by order of the king’ to Friar John Cor, in order to make ‘aquavitae’. It was supposedly enough to make about 500 bottles, which would make for quite the royal celebration!

4. C - Moonshine. The English Malt Tax of 1725 was the culprit for the disruption in the trade. Whisky was rumoured to be found hidden in some unusual places, including under altars and in coffins - pretty much any available space was used in order to try to hide it from any government officials who came prying.

5. C - 3.2 million. As incredible as it may seem, the 99 million cases that are exported each year, laid end-to-end, would stretch from Edinburgh to New York and back a whopping six times. The biggest importers of Scotch whisky are the USA and France.

Glass of whisky

You can enjoy one of the last remaining box sets of Kent's first whisky, made by Anno and Westerham Brewery. Buy online now, while stocks last.

6. A - George Washington. That’s right, the first president of the United States was a big fan of the stuff. Whisky was even used as currency during the American Revolution.

7. B - Taiwan. Taiwan appears in the top 10 despite only having one whisky distillery in the whole country up until as recently as 2015. The Kavalan Distillery, as it is known, had the capacity to produce up to 9 million barrels per year and won the award for the best single malt whisky in the world at the World Whiskies Awards in 2015, prompting other Taiwanese distilleries to enter the market.

8. C - Christian monks. Probably first used in religious rituals, the monks would have been used to distilling wine in the Mediterranean regions. However, owing to the harsh northern climate of the UK, grapes were not an option as a crop, so an alternative was found, leading to the distillation of grains and the eventual production of whisky.

9. B - 3 years. It must also have a minimum strength of 40% abv, though the world’s strongest whisky - Bruichladdich's X4 quadrupled Whisky - registers at an astounding 92% abv, almost as strong as Anno’s own World’s strongest gin, Anno Extreme 95 at 95% abv.

10. A - £1.45 million. From cask number 263, the whisky was distilled in 1926 and then bottled in 1986. The cask yielded only 40 bottles and The Macallan commissioned two leading pop artists, Valerio Adami and Peter Blake, to design the labels for just 24 bottles, equally split between the pair. Entering the auction the guide price was a ‘mere’ £350,000.

How did you do? Share your knowledge with #worldwhiskyday on our social media @annodistillers on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.