Taiwan Whiskey Gains Accolade

choi

本文通过一路BBS站telnet客户端发布

Mike Wade, A whisky on Burns Night? How about a wee dram of Taiwanese?
The Times of London, Jan. 25, 2010.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/scotland/article7000931.ece

Note:
(1) Whisky
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whisky

Quote:

"The word 'whisky' is believed to have been coined by soldiers of King Henry
II who invaded Ireland in the 12th century as they struggled to pronounce
the native Irish words uisce beatha [ɪʃkʲə bʲah&#
601;], meaning 'water of life'. Over time, the pronunciation changed from '
whishkeyba' (an approximation of how the Irish term sounds) to 'whisky'. The
name itself is a Gaelic calque of the Latin phrase aqua vitae, meaning '
water of life'.

"At one time, all whisky was spelled without the 'e', as 'whisky'. In around
1870, the reputation of Scottish whisky was very poor as Scottish
distilleries flooded the market with cheaper spirits produced using the
Coffey still. The Irish and American distilleries adopted the spelling '
whiskey', with the extra 'e', to distinguish their higher quality product.
Today, the spelling whisky (plural whiskies) is generally used for whiskies
distilled in Scotland, Wales, Canada, and Japan, while whiskey is used for
the spirits distilled in Ireland and America.

(2) Burns supper
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burns_supper
(a supper to toast Scottish poet Robert Burns, held on or near the poet's
birthday, January 25 (1759))

(3) dram (n): "a small amount"
(4) Leith
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leith
(a district in City of Edinburgh)

(5) The noun "scotch" in "the aficionados of Scotch":

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whisky
("International laws require anything bearing the label "Scotch" to be
distilled in Scotland and matured for a minimum of three years and one day
in oak casks, among other, more specific criteria")

(6) For "gang aft agley," see To a Mouse
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_a_Mouse
("The best laid schemes o' mice an' men
Gang aft agley")

Meaning: "The best laid schemes of mice and men
Go often askew."

(7) sommelier (n; French): "a waiter in a restaurant who has charge of wines
and their service : a wine steward"
(8) Dufftown
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dufftown
(a burgh in Banffshire, Scotland)
(9) Islay
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islay
(a Scottish island whose "main industries are malt whisky distilling, and
tourism largely based on whisky and birdwatching")

(10) For "Rabbie Burns," see Robert Burns
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Burns
(also known as Rabbie Burns

I presume "Lippy Burns" is a play on "It [Islay whisky] burns your lips."

(11) A poem by Robert Burns entitled "Scottish toast" ends with: "Ye tine
your dam; Freedom and Whisky gang thegither, Tak aff your dram !"

--