Whisky versus Whiskey.

To E, or not to E? that is the question. 

So, what is the correct spelling of the word Whisk(e)y?

To answer this question, we must look at the country of origin.  Canadian, Scottish, Japanese and Indian spirits are spelt Whisky with the plural being Whiskies, whereas Irish and American spirits are spelt Whiskey with the plural being Whiskeys.  The beauty of it is that the pronunciation is exactly the same regardless of where the spirit is distilled.  But wait, just to throw a monkey wrench into that nice little neat answer some distilleries located in countries that spell it one way will use the opposite spelling.  (example: America spells it whiskey but Makers Mark, Old Forester and George Dickel spell it whisky.)

Time for a little history lesson.

Whisky came from the Scottish Gaelic term uisge beatha, (pronounced /ooska bah/) and Whiskey came from the Irish Gaelic term uisce beatha (pronounced /ish-ka ba-ha/) both translated from the Latin term aqua vitae (pronounced /vahy-tee vee-tee/) meaning  water of life.  A truly fitting name. 

Sources:

https://www.whiskyadvocate.com/what-is-whisky/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/joemicallef/2018/05/17/is-it-whisky-or-whiskey-and-why-it-matters/?sh=524cb5f75617