Join In
Twitter
YouTube
Weekly Newsletter
Libraries
A-Z Grammatical Terms
A-Z Confused Words
FAQs by Writers
A-Z Awkward Plurals
Punctuation Lessons
Common Mistakes
(ordered by seriousness) ESL Vocabulary Lists Parts of Speech Lists A-Z Idioms and Proverbs Tests and Games Top Tip Install a grammar checker
for your browser
(ordered by seriousness) ESL Vocabulary Lists Parts of Speech Lists A-Z Idioms and Proverbs Tests and Games Top Tip Install a grammar checker
for your browser
Plural of whiskey
The Quick Answer
The plural of "whiskey" is "whiskeys."The plural of "whisky" is "whiskies."
The Plural of Whiskey
Before learning about the plural of "whiskey," it is worth learning about the difference between "whiskey" and "whisky." In Scotland, they make Scotch whisky, but in Ireland, they make Irish whiskey.The plural of "whiskey" is "whiskeys."
- Most Irish whiskeys are distilled from barley that's dried in kilns.
- Most Scotch whiskies are made from barley that's dried over peat smoke.
Are You Good at Plurals?
Here's a quick test.The Standard Rules for Forming the Plurals
The table below shows the standard rules for forming the plurals of nouns in English.Type | Example of Type | Forming the Plural | Plural |
---|---|---|---|
Most Nouns | ![]() ![]() |
add s | ![]() ![]() |
Noun Ending s, sh, ch, x or z | ![]() ![]() |
add es | ![]() ![]() |
Nouns ending [consonant] o | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
add either s or es (There are no rules for this - you have to know.) |
![]() ![]() ![]() |
Nouns ending [vowel] o | ![]() ![]() |
add s | ![]() ![]() |
Nouns ending [consonant] y | ![]() ![]() |
change the y to an i and add es | ![]() ![]() |
Nouns ending [vowel] y | ![]() ![]() |
add s | ![]() ![]() |
Nouns ending f or fe | ![]() ![]() |
ves and/or s (There are no rules - you have to know.) |
![]() ![]() |
Exceptions | ![]() ![]() |
some nouns undergo a vowel or letters change | ![]() ![]() |
More exceptions | ![]() ![]() |
some nouns do not change at all | ![]() ![]() |
Why Is There Confusion over the Plural of whiskey?
"Whiskeys" is the only way to make the noun "whiskey" plural and "whiskies" is the only way to make the noun "whisky" plural.Confusion arises because some people don't realise there is a difference between Scotch whisky and Irish whiskey.
Some mistakenly believe all nouns ending in "y" should form a plural ending in "ies". When a noun ends with [vowel] + y, you only need to add an "s" to form the plural.
Ready for the Test?
Help Us Improve Grammar Monster
- Do you disagree with something on this page?
- Did you spot a typo?
Find Us Quicker!
- When using a search engine (e.g., Google, Bing), you will find Grammar Monster quicker if you add #gm to your search term.