Having worked in the drinks biz for more years than I care to remember, I’d like to think I’m pretty clued up when it comes to whisky. Here at Great Drams however, we’re constantly learning as the more we know about whisky, the easier it becomes to provide award-winning drams for our amazing customers.

Despite knowing a great deal about whisky, I’m by no means a bona fide expert. I’m always learning new fun facts about this amazing spirit. Things like how it’s made, how it’s stored, how other cultures produce it, and its history. This doesn’t only make it easier to produce exceptional whisky (like our Great Drams Campbeltown, which was recently named the World’s Best Blended Malt, picking up Gold at the 2025 World Whiskies Awards), it also allows us to better understand whisky and its heritage.

For today’s blog, I thought I’d talk to you about the lesser-known side of whisky. With that said, here’s a look at 5 surprising facts you didn’t know about whisky.

40 is the Magic Number

Okay, seasoned whisky lovers out there will probably already know this, but for everybody else, I’m including this fact anyways.

In order for a whisky to be legally classed and sold as whisky, it must be bottled at a specific ABV (Alcohol by Volume) percentage. Here in the UK, that number is 40% ABV.

By law, Scotch must be bottled at a minimum of 40% ABV. Anything less, and it cannot be marketed and advertised as a whisky. Instead, it must be labelled as something different. Usually a ‘whisky liqueur’ or a ‘spirit drink’.

While 40% ABV is the minimum a fair few Scotch whiskies out there are much stronger. Then of course, you’ve got cask strength, which can be as high as 60% ABV! Yikes.

Nobody is Sure Who First Invented Whisky

While the history and origins of some drinks and inventions out there are well documented, others are shrouded in mystery. Our beloved Scotch whisky is definitely the latter, and I quite like that about it.

Nobody is quite certain who first invented whisky, or indeed, when it was first discovered. Some of the earliest written evidence of Scotch whisky’s origins can be traced back to the early 13^th century. It was likely first produced on monasteries by monks. That will all have changed when King Henry VIII dissolved all of the monasteries.

If we look at Irish whiskey however, there is evidence which suggests that St Patrick himself may have taught the Irish how to produce whiskey more than 1,500 years earlier.

What is likely however, is that both the Irish and the Scots have helped to shape whisky/whiskey into what we know and love today.

Whisky Doesn’t Age like Wine Does

When it comes to a quality whisky, generally a well-aged whisky is going to be a fine whisky. That is why some of the world’s most expensive whiskies have been aged for decades.

Before you start getting excited about that old dusty bottle of Scotch that has been in the garage, covered in cobwebs since you were a child, just remember that whisky doesn’t age like that. Whereas wine tends to improve once bottled, for whisky, the main changes take place during cask maturation.

A whisky matured for 10 years, before being bottled will always be classed as a 10-year-old whisky. Leaving it in the bottle and drinking it 5 years later won’t suddenly change it into a 15-year-old whisky. If sealed and stored correctly, the taste won’t change, but it certainly won’t improve.

Our advice? Good whisky is for drinking, so crack a bottle, pour yourself a dram, and enjoy it.

Whisky Used to be Smuggled Home Using an Ingenious Device

While whisky’s turbulent smuggling past is well-documented, you may not have heard of the notorious ‘Copper Dog’ smuggling device.

Back in the day, after the rules, regs, and taxes on whisky production were relaxed, more and more legitimate Scotch whisky distilleries began popping up all over Scotland. While the distillery workers were legitimately employed and earned a decent crust, some of them took liberties.

After developing a taste for whisky, not to mention discovering that locals would be willing to buy whisky in bulk for a discount, distillery workers would steal and smuggle the very whisky they were paid to produce.

While some of them would simply fill empty bottles, or even try and get away with entire casks, the owners quickly caught on. This meant that the shady distillery workers had to find increasingly inventive ways of stealing the whisky. Perhaps the most ingenious with the ‘Copper Dog’.

This was basically a copper pipe, sealed on one end with a copper penny soldered in place, and a cork on the other. When they would get chance, these shady individuals would remove the cork, dunk the Copper Dog into the barrel they were working on, seal it shut, and then strap it to their leg and stroll home with their stolen whisky at the end of a shift.

Humphrey Bogart’s Main Regret

Even if you’re not a fan of classic film, chances are you will have heard of the iconic Hollywood actor Humphrey Bogart.

Bogart, who starred in such classics as 1951’s The African Queen, 1941’s The Maltese Falcon, and 1942’s Casablanca, is considered by many to be one of the greatest actors to ever live. He was also a huge fan of Scotch.

For many years he would indulge in Scotch. In fact, at the end of a day on set, he would have a bottle brought to him once he had finished filming. He didn’t have a preferred brand, though Scotch and Soda was his drink of choice. Later in life however, he began favouring Martinis instead. The audacity!

On his deathbed, he is reported to have said he had one regret in life, which was that he ‘should never have switched from Scotch to Martinis’. Personally? I can definitely see that.

If you’d like to learn more about your favourite whiskies, or simply treat yourself to a dram or two in the process, head on over to GreatDrams.com and take a look at the diverse selection of unique whiskies we currently have in stock.

With an impressive selection of limited-edition, rare, and award-winning whisky, as well as heaps of whisky info on our blog, it’s the perfect spot for any whisky lovers out there.