Dear Geist,

Why did my prof take a mark off the word whiskey in a short humorous writing assignment? I looked up whiskey and my dictionary backed me up.

—Ellie, Toronto ON

Dear Ellie,

Both whiskey and whisky are correct, and the two are pronounced the same way. The difference has to do with the country that produced the goods. Whisky comes from countries whose names include the letter i, such as Ireland and the United States. Whiskey with the e is made in countries whose names do not include the letter i, such as Scotland, Japan and Canada.

And while we're on the subject, here are the plural forms. Plural of whiskey: whiskeys. Plural of whisky: whiskies.

—The Editors