It can be confusing, especially standing in the aisle of your local liquor store with only a couple twenties and a desire to explore without getting burned. So here's a breakdown of what's what.

All kinds of whisky are made from fermented grains: barley, corn, rye and wheat being the most common. The grain is processed (some is malted, all is dried), turned into a mash (smash it, add water and yeast), fermented (yeast + sugar = alcohol), distilled to up the alcohol level, aged for at least 3 years in oak barrels to add that wondrous flavor and then processed for sale. This usually includes filtration, watering the spirits down to around 40%→45% alcohol and bottling. That's pretty much the gist of it. Do all that and you have whiskey. Well... actually what you'd have is probably moonshine since you lack a permit and probably live in an area where such activities are forbidden. There is no moonshine on this site, for the simple reason that the quality control guys and master tasters at the distilleries are paid a lot of money to make sure I get top-grade stuff. You are more than welcome to drink your corn lightning... just do it over there.... away from the candles... yeah... enjoy.

As for Whisk[y] versus Whisk[ey], it doesn't really mean much. Internationally it's spelled without the "e", Ireland uses the "e", and in the USA it's a bit random, with "ey" being the more common. I will use whisky to refer to the drink generally and whatever spelling the individual product uses specifically.

So now that you have a whisky, what kind of whisky do you have? Well, its all spelled out on the label and the basic breakdown of a whisky label is thus:

Distillery / Brand
The first thing on the label is usually the distillery (Balvenie, Bushmills, Buffalo Trace) or a brand name (Johnnie Walker, Powers, Old Crow). Distillery names in Scotland are protected, although it can be hard even for an educated drinker to know whether or not the distillery-sounding name refers to an acutal distillery (Glen Garioch, Old Pulteney) or a distillery-sounding name (Glendarroch, Old Inverness) or even a name of a former distillery used by a real company (Longrow, Clynelish). Things are even worse in the Bourbon universe, where you're chances of knowing what distillery a bottle comes from are essentially nill.
Age Statement
IF the whisky has an age statement, it refers to the youngest whisky in the blend or marriage of whiskies used to make what you are drinking. Most single malts use several whiskies from the same distillery (see below) unless they are marked Single Barrel or Single Cask. Blends may use dozens of whiskies, grain whiskies and neutral spirits from a number of distilleries, the age statement still refers to the youngest.
Brand Name, finishes, etc.
There is minimal restriction on what a company can call their product in this category. Treat anything said here with a grain of salt. One exception is Pure Pot Still which is a restricted term referring to the use of green barley and a pot still in Irish whisky.
Type
	Single Grain	Single Grain means the whisky uses only one type of grain in its production, regardless of what grain that is.
	→ Single Malt	Single Malt refers to malted barley, but also carries the restriction that the whisky be produced only from a single distillery.
	→ Straight Corn	Corn whisky is aged in uncharred barrels. If it uses all corn, it becomes straight corn.
	→ Straight Rye	As with corn, a straight rye is 100% rye whisky
	→ Straight Bourbon	100% corn bourbon is a rarity, and I know of only one (Hudson). Almost all Straight Bourbon consists of a mix of grains and none blend with grain alcohol.
	Vatted	Vatting is the process of combining single malts from multiple distilleries. It isn't a blend because there are no other grain types added.
	Straight	Straight Bourbon and Tennessee whiskies use no neutral spirits, but can use grains other than corn, which puts them in a unique category.
	Blend	Blending is the process of using multiple grain types and sometimes using neutral spirits in the process. Essentially anything that isn't a single grain or vatting is a blend.
	→ Blend	If a product falls out of every other special category it is just a blend.
	→ Bourbon	A Bourbon is an American whiskey that primarily uses corn and must be aged in charred, new oak barrels for 3 years. There is no restriction on the maximum amount of corn, and Bourbon does not have to be made in Kentucky.
	→ Tennessee	If you filter a Bourbon through charcoal (the "Tennessee process") prior to aging you get Tennessee style whiskey.
	→ Rye	Any whisky with rye as the primary ingredient.
	→ Wheat	Any whisky with wheat as the primary ingredient.
	Liquour	Liquours aren't whiskies because they fail the ingredient and (usually) the proof requirements. I carry them because there are some good ones that I enjoy.
Country of Origin
	Scotland = Scotch	All whiskey made entirely in Scotland is, by law, Scotch Whisky which is the same thing as Scotch. The same is true for Ireland and Canada and the USA. America also produces specific protected name types like Bourbon or Tennessee Style, which must be made in the USA. Note that Scotch and Single Malt Scotch are not synonyms. Neither are Bourbon and Straight Bourbon (see above).
	Ireland = Irish Whiskey
	Canada = Canadian
	USA = American or Bourbon or Tennessee
ETC	Other countries (New Zealand and Japan) will have their name on the label

Bottle Sizing

In the USA the common sized liquor bottle is the "fifth", which is approximately 1/5 of a gallon. A USA gallon, that is. Switching to standard mililiters, one fifth of a gallon = 757ml, so somewhereabouts 750ml became the standard. Why? Because so help us we Americans demand that all numerical things end in a zero and the distillers certainly weren't going to round up. In England and most of Europe a 700ml bottle is the most common, but we seem to share the 50ml mini and 200ml shorty sizes. Finally, there are the supersized liter (1000ml) and half-gallon (1750ml even though 1/2 gallon = 1895ml) beasts that I personally tend to avoid since they most often contain the cheaper, less desirable stuff. That's not a universal truism, but I don't need a half gallon of anything anyway.

European bottles also tend toward centiliter markings, so a mini is 5cl and a full bottle is 70cl.

• ABV (Alcohol by Volume): The percent of alcohol contained in the bottle, give or take. In the USA, this is half of the marked "Proof". Whiskies are at least 40% ABV liquours can be nearly any ABV.
• Bonded: US whiskey can be labelled as “Bonded” or “Bottled in Bond” if it is made in a single distillery, bottled in a single distillery, qualifies as straight whiskey (no neutral spirits) and has been aged for 4 years in an approved warehouse. It was an attempt to further differentiate quality.
• Bottom Shelf: The big gallon jugs below the bar (a.k.a. the well) that the bartender will mix from if you order a mixed drink without specifying a brand. You don't drink these straight unless you're trying to drink on the cheap or review it for your webpage. Most liquors that come in a 1.75L jug are probably destined for the well.
• Caramel Color: is a legal additive. It supposedly has no flavor (very debatable) and makes whisky's color more amber than straw colored. At one point older or finished whiskies would have darker color due to the extra time with wood or because of the finishing process. Adding color to lighter whiskies made them appear higher quality.
• Cask Strength: When whisky is done aging its alcohol content is usually in the 50→65% range (100 to 130 proof). The distillery usually adds water to bring this down to around 40%, but you'll sometimes find a bottle marked "Cask Strength", meaning they've bottled it at full octane. I enjoy Cask Strength whiskies because they allow you to experiment with the water level plus you essentially get more whisky in the bottle.
• Chillfiltered: is a fairly self explanitory name: filtering by chilling. It removes sediment and other "impurities" from the whisky. A number of Scotches have started differentiating themselves by avoiding this practice, which some claim alters the flavor of the whisky.
• Cocktail vice Mixed: There's a difference (people tell me) between a "Mixed drink" and a true cocktail. Cocktail implies class and alcoholic content, suggesting they used good booze because it will taste awful if they don't. Mixed Drink implies "We're hiding the fact that we used sub-basement shelf hooch by drowning it in either very sweet or very potent mixers". If this is an actual established fact or not is beyond me because I rarely touch either, and when I do I get simple alcohol+mixer drinks (Whisky sour).
• Cordial: Sometimes a cordial is confused with a shot since it's served in a tiny glass, but a cordial is a sweet cocktail, often involving a lot of careful mixing and layering. Buy a B-52 in a good bar and you'll see.
• IB (Independent Bottler): A company that buys casks from distilleries and either sells them under their own label. This can include anyting from Single Casks to Blends and includes companies like Gordon & MacPhail, Chieftains and Blackadder or associations like the Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS).
• Mid Shelf: Bottles you'll probably find at any bar as the stuff behind the counter at arm's reach for the bartender. You'll order this by brand in most cases, since hopefully they'll have a selection. Otherwise find another bar.
• Moonshine: is a general term for any unlicensed home brewed corn liquor, originally created in the Southeast US and Appalachia. There is a Robin Hood mystique to the product, glorified by a number of movies and TV shows.
• NAS (No Age Statement): Used universally to identify whiskies with no other branding, or to differentiate different versions of whiskies from the same distillery (e.g. Glenfiddich Special Reserve 12 vs. Special Reserve NAS)
• Neat: Ordering "neat" means straight from the bottle to the glass, no frills, no chilling of anything, no umbrella and no mixer. Give me my whisky exactly as the distiller bottled it.
• Neutral Spirits: Some whiskies will bear a statement of some percent “neutral spirits” or “rectified spirits” which identifies the amount of pure grain alcohol added to the product. This is used as a filler, since grain alcohol is cheap and easy to make and has a high enough alcohol content (up to 95%) to maintain the 40% ABV required to be labelled whiskey.
• OB (Official Bottling): A bottling of whisky by, or officially for, the same company that owns the distillery. The alternative is an independent bottler (see above)
• Proof: An old system of measuring alcohol content. It works out to alcohol content times 2 in the US and some other damn thing in the UK. If you must know it has to do with pouring the liquor on gunpowder, which still ignites if the liquor is >40% alcohol. How's that for a test of quality? Just go with the ABV or don't worry about it.
• Rocks: Rocks = Ice, as in pour my hooch on some solid water. It has the effect of reducing the temperature (which increases sweetness) and watering the drink down slightly and slowly.
• Shot: A shot/shooter is a small glass the about the size and shape of a shotgun shell that you fill with crappy straight alcohol(s) and toss back into your gullet with as much force as possible in order to bypass your tongue. Congratulations, you've boarded the express lane to drunk.
• Sour: In a good bar, "sour" means citrus juice (lemon, lime and sometimes orange) and some (real) sugar water added to the booze. It creates a good sour kick and is a nice addition to either a sweet liquor (Amaretto comes to mind) or with a dry drink like whisky. In a mediocre or lame bar it means pre-mixed high-fructose corn syrup with fake flavors.
• Straight (order type): Ordering "straight" tells the 'keep that you want your booze chilled, usually by pouring it over ice and then strained back out or by putting it in a chilled glass. A good barkeep won't confuse "neat" with "straight" and if your bartender doesn't know the difference between "Straight" and "On the Rocks" you should be in the market for a new bar.
• Straight (whiskey type): Straight Whiskey is a subcategory of American whiskey that essentially identifies it as unblended with neutral spirits or other additives. This creates a division between Straight Bourbon and blended Bourbon, since Bourbon is almost never a Single Grain spirit.
• Top Shelf: Top is not a technical term, it refers to any alcohol that's premium in quality, premium in price and generally intended to be consumed straight or neat. It's called "top" because bars tend to put this up high as advertisements of how broad their selection of alcohol is... or to keep it out of the hands of cheap drinkers and crooked bartenders.
• Well: The well is the area below the bar where the big jugs of booze are stowed for mixing. See bottom shelf above.
• Whisk(e)y: Whisky is fermented grain mash that has been aged in an oak barrel for 2 or 3 years at a minimum and then potentially cut with water and colored with caramel.

This is a combination of charts I pulled from Whisky Magazine, Total Wines and a few other online sources plus my own terms and tastes It gives me a good system of identifying common flavors in whiskies.

Wood				Spice				Grain
New Wood	Old Wood	Resinous	Burnt	Vanilla	Toasted	Cooking	Wines	Cooked	Roots	Malted	Cereals
Sandalwood Ginger New Oak Cut Lumber	Pencil Cork Aged Oak	Pine Cedar Varnish	Charcoal Espresso Cab Savignon Chardonnay	Vanilla extract Butterscotch Molasses Caramel	Soy Sauce Fennell Rice Pudding T. Bread T. Coconut	Cloves Allspice Nutmeg Bakers chocolate	Merlot Shiraz Anise Mull spice	Porridge Corn Wheat Crackers BF cereal oats	Fresh Potatoes Mashed Potatoes Bell Peppers Olives	Choc Malt Barley Heather Bakery	Rolled Oats Feed Corn Rye
Sugar			Wine			Fruit				Smokey
Syrups	Creams	Candy	Sherry	Sweet	Dry	Tree	Citris	Dark	Dried/Cooked	Smoke	Seashore
Honey Clover Honey Heather Honey Mead Pancake Syrup Corn Syrup Wax	Cream Butter Milk chocolate Milk Creme Brule	Bubble Gum Hard Candy Artificial Flavors Toffee Caramel Butterscotch	Sherry Oloroso Armagnac Madeira Port	Pinot Noir Vouray Riesling	Vino Verde Tannis Gin	Apple Pear Peach Banana Coconut	Oranges Grapefruit Tangerine Lemon/Zest Lime/Zest Kiwi Nectarines	Blackberry Blackcurrant Cherry Strawberry Raspberry Grape Plum	Raisin Fig Stewed Candied Jam Jelly Marmilade	Wood Smoke Charcoal Paper Smoke Incense Peat Wet Pine Smoke	Seashells Smoked Seafood Steamed Shellfish Salmon Anchovies Iodine
Floral				Earth					Feint
Flowers	Vegatative	Grass	Processed	Herbaceous	Wet	Sulph/Rbr	Metallic	Dirt	Leather	Tobacco	Chemical
Lavinder Geraniums Mums Violet Rose Orange Blossom	Leaves Pine Fir Tea Leaves Iced Tea Burned Tea Fresh Coffee	Lawn Clippings Hay Sage Mulch	Perfume Fabric Softener Shaving Cream	Eucalyptus Mint Turnips Moss Heather Clover Cabbage	Brackish Water Mushroom Mold	Matches Coal Burnt Rubber Minerals Pencil Eraser Tires	Copper Tin Foil	Hot Sand Linen Fresh Soil Dirt Dust Chalk	New Leather Books Upholstery Polish	Green Tobacco Cigar Tobacco Cigarettes Cigar Smoke Pipe Smoke	Melted Plastic Soft Plastic Nylon Tar Shoe Polish Acetone Paint Rubbing Alcohol

Bourbon MUST come from Kentucky!
Perhaps you and yours refuse to consider any non-native Kentuckian whisky as a “Bourbon”, and you are welcome to your opinion. Tradition, after all, favors the area as the home and hearth of Bourbon, but to use the word ”Bourbon” on the label a whisky must meet FOUR restrictions:

• It must be produced and aged in the USA. Anywhere in the USA.
• It must use 51% or greater corn.
• It must be aged for 3 or more years in charred, new oak barrels.
• It must meet specific alcohol content levels at different points during produciton/bottling.

That's it. There is no "less than X% corn" restriction (there once was), there is no restriction on where in the USA it is produced and there are no rules regarding what other grains go into it. Also, Bourbon is a whisky/whiskey, not a seperate type of liquor, such as gin or vodka.

Tennessee Whiskey (Jack Daniels) is vastly different from Bourbon
Vastly? No. Slightly? yes. Tennessee whisky is essentially charcoal filtered Bourbon. Now, I see some bristling in the wings and whenever I pose this gem I get glares (mostly from the Bourbon crowd), but boiled down to its essential bits you get Tennessee Whiskey by charcoal filtering with sugar maple charcoal before you age the whiskey. That's the big difference. Viva la differance and all that.

Blends are universally inferior to Single Malts
No, sorry and uh-uh.

To put this in perspective, understand that most Single Malts are premium by selection. The distillery uses the best of the breed to produce their single malts, knowing that they will be the most profitable and scrutinized. Blends also give the brand or distillery a chance to reduce flaws and enhance flavors through careful mixing, something that isn't as easy to do in single malts. So in this sense, Singles have a clear advantage over the bottom shelf mixers and midshelf beasts that are titled "Blends".

But this is not the whole story
Blends, vattings and single grains have their share of top shelf contenders and true stars. It is a bit unfair that blends must share a category with the beasts of the bottom row, and when I'm King perhaps I'll right this wrong through some new category, but things are as they are. There are superior blends and inferior singles, so judge with the senses, not with the labels.

You get what you pay for
In my experience this is generally true for whiskies under $70. But once you cross that point it is increasingly rarity over quality. In an extreme example a 1926 Macallan costs $40,000 because it is the only one of its kind. It isn't 800 times better than the $50 Macallan 10YO.

That said, I've had fantastic 10 year olds that barely broke $40 and fair hundred-dollar whiskies.

Whiskies hangovers are milder/worse than other liquors
Unknown. The idea that specific non-alcoholic ingredients in your drink cause hangovers is probably somewhat true, but this may have more to do with what you mix your liquor with and less to do with your liquor of choice. First, all alcohols can cause hangovers, mostly because they all affect the potential hangover keys in the same way. Dehydration, edema and shifts in blood chemistry are believed to be the main issues, and all alcoholic drinks produce these effects equally in proportion to their ABV. The theory that impurities, known as “congeners”, in the alcohol somehow intensifies this effect is debatable. Studies seem to be all over the map, while biochemists argue that these impurities are in such small doses that the body rids itself of these impurities before they'd have much effect. So you should probably adopt my policy and just not get drunk.