The earliest known written reference to whisky in the Irish Annals of Clonmacnoise dates to 1405.
The annals record the death of a chieftain after consuming an excessive amount of aqua vitae, the Latin term meaning “water of life.” This is generally treated as the earliest known documentary reference to distilled alcohol associated with whisky, although the surviving historical record does not provide a modern recipe.
A separate Scottish reference appears in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland in 1494. That entry records malt supplied to Friar John Cor for making aqua vitae, showing that distilling was established in Scotland by the late fifteenth century.
The word whisky ultimately derives from the Gaelic uisge beatha, also meaning “water of life.” Early aqua vitae was not necessarily identical to modern whisky: maturation in wooden casks and the familiar regional styles developed much later.