"Cutty Sark" is a
brand of whisky, and before that it was the name of a legendary
sailing ship. Originally, it referred to ladies' underwear. Cutty
sark comes from the now outdated words cutty (short) and sark
(shirt). The term first appeared in an 18th century Scottish poem
where it described a skimpy nightgown worn by a seductive, but
dangerous witch.
Incidentally, since the 1960s, American writers have increasingly
used whiskey as the accepted spelling for aged grain spirits made
in the US and whisky for aged grain spirits made outside the US.
However, some prominent American brands, such as George Dickel,
Maker's Mark, and Old Forester use the 'whisky' spelling on their
labels, and the Standards of Identity for Distilled Spirits, the
legal regulations for spirit in the US, also use the 'whisky'
spelling throughout.
Whisky/ey is an umbrella term for a type of spirit distilled from
a mash of fermented grains. Within the broad category of whisky/ey
are sub-categories, including bourbon, rye, Tennessee, Scotch,
Irish, and Canadian style whiskies. Whisky usually denotes Scotch
whisky and Scotch-inspired liquors, and whiskey denotes the Irish
and American liquors.
A way to remember - Countries that have E’s in their names (UnitEd
StatEs and IrEland) tend to spell it whiskEy (plural whiskeys).
Countries without E’s in their names (Canada, Scotland, and Japan)
spell it whisky (plural whiskies)