Whisky (from the Scottish Gaelic "uisge beatha", "water of life") or whiskey is the generic name of a set of spirits made by the distillation of cereals, aged in barrels and having to be at least 40 degrees. The whiskey is always composed of the same ingredients: a mixture of water, cereals (barley, wheat, oats, corn, rye...) and yeast. A high quality water is necessary for its elaboration and the cereal determines the aromatic palette of the whisky. The origin of whisky is subject to controversy between Scotland and Ireland. Afterwards, whisky developed in the United States, in Canada, then since the beginning of the 20th century in Japan, and more recently in the rest of the world.
France is the largest consumer of whisky in terms of volume and the largest producer of barley malt in the world. It is home to some fifty producers, including Warenghem in Brittany, a pioneer of French whisky since 1983.
