Malt whisky whisky regulations require malt whisky to be made in pot stills using water and malted barley without the addition of any other cereals, and the whisky must be aged for at least three years in oak casks. The use of new barrels is not required. Caramel coloring can be added, but no other additives are allowed. Irish whiskey regulations are almost identical to Scotch regulations. Malt whiskey must be distilled in a pot still from a mash of 100% malted barley, which may be peated or unpeated in character, although unpeated malt is typically used. All Irish whiskeys must be
Scotch whisky as long ago as 1494, as documented in the "Exchequer Rolls", which were records of royal income and expenditure. The quote above records eight bolls of malt given to Friar John Cor wherewith to make aqua vitae (Latin for "water of life," = "uisge beatha") over the previous year. This would be enough for 1,500 bottles, which suggests that distillation was well-established by the late 15th century. Whisky production was first taxed in 1644, causing a rise in illicit whisky distilling in the country. Between the 1760s and the 1830s a substantial unlicensed trade originated from the Highlands, forming a