Distillation of whisky has been performed in Scotland and Ireland for centuries. The first written record of whisky comes from 1405 in Ireland, the production of whisky from malted barley is first mentioned in Scotland in an entry on the 1494 Exchequer Rolls, which reads “Eight bolls of malt to Friar John Cor, by order of the King, wherewith to make aqua vitae.” Single malt whisky is associated with the Scottish tradition, although there are Irish single malts.