‘Freedom an’ whisky gang thegither / Tak aff your dram!’
Robert Burns is Scotland’s national bard, known the world over, centuries after his death, as a passionate ambassador of Scottish culture. And he loved writing about – and drinking – whisky.
Scotch is a golden thread running through Burns’ writing. It is mentioned in political poems – such as The Author’s Earnest Cry and Prayer, which is quoted above – as well as lighter celebrations of the joys of ‘John Barleycorn’ (his personification of whisky).
Burns died in 1796, but his name lives on thanks to Burns Night, the annual celebration held on 25 January, his birthday. What began as a low-key gathering of a few friends has mushroomed into a global extravaganza of bagpipes, haggis and – of course – whisky.
Choosing the ‘right’ dram for Burns Night depends on personal taste and purpose. If you’re looking for an accompaniment to haggis, neeps and tatties, you might want something powerful enough to stand up to all those rich flavours.
But Robert Burns was nothing if not a champion of free thinking – so the rules are definitely there to be broken. This selection of single malts and blends below will give you some inspiration, with drams to delight fans of Sherry, bourbon and Armagnac cask finishes.
Best Scotch whiskies for Burns Night
Bowmore 15 Year Old Sherry Oak Cask
Yet more evidence – if it were needed – that Bowmore’s judiciously peated, fruit-forward distillate is a beautiful match for the right kind of Sherry cask. Part of a cracking new collection from the Islay distillery, this gains notes of juicy cassis, roasted hazelnuts and a lick of black slate from maturation in first-fill oloroso Sherry casks, layered over subtle smoke and a prickle of anise. Alcohol 43%
Caisteal Chamuis Blended Malt
Fans of Skye’s Torabhaig distillery might find some echoes in the character of this youthful, heavily peated blended malt from the same stable, combining a number of unidentified island whiskies. Easy to be carried away on the tide of camphor, iodine and peatsmoke, but some impressive work with a finish in first-fill Bourbon casks brings a winning sweetness to soften and balance all those muscly phenols. Alc 46%
Craigellachie 13 Year Old Bas-Armagnac Cask
It takes a lot to tame Craigellachie’s square-jawed, fabulously funky spirit, but a year in ex-Bas-Armagnac casks just about pulls it off, without entirely subduing its unique distillery character. The latter comes through in the combination of juicy pineapple, baked pear and the merest sulphurous whiff, but the wood brings out a softer side of nutmeg, allspice, plus a drier, more grippy cereal note. Alc 46%
Glendronach Ode to the Embers
An example of the lesser-spotted peated Glendronach, and part of a trio of new expressions from the Highland distillery that make up the Master’s Anthology series. The smoke here evokes a drying, almost austere character, but maturation in oloroso and Pedro Ximénez ex-Sherry casks adds hedonistic layers of Christmas cake, dates in dark chocolate and a teasing note of roasted walnut. Alc 48.4%
Highland Park 18 Year Old 2024
Newly dressed in somewhat understated new packaging, this remains an all-time Orcadian classic that brings together distillate, age and cask to produce something close to single malt nirvana. It’s hard to pick a highlight, from the fruit (moving from light cherry to mandarin), to the honeyed caramel character and the fragrant, delicate edge of perfumed peat smoke. Alc 43%
Holyrood Ambir
Edinburgh’s Holyrood distillery has pursued a fearlessly experimental approach to whisky-making, trialling a dizzying array of cereal and yeast types to expand the horizons of flavour exploration. Ambir encompasses four malt varieties – chocolate, Vienna, crystal 240 and caramalt – to create an indulgently sweet, velvet-textured single malt, brimming with vanilla fudge and tablet flavours. Alc 49.8%
Isle of Raasay Single Malt
Packaged in an irresistibly tactile bottle, this signature offering from the tiny Hebridean island belies this distillery’s relative youth. A subtly peated, highly fruity spirit combines with an eclectic mix of cask types – red wine, rye whiskey, virgin Chinkapin oak – to create a whisky that builds and builds on the palate: stewed dark cherries, a seasoning of fragrant peat and sweet notes of light honey and fudge. Alc 46.4%
John Walker & Sons Celebratory Blend
It’s been a few years since Johnnie Walker celebrated its bicentenary, but you can still find this terrific blend online, and it’s well worth seeking out. Said to have been inspired by Walker’s original Old Highland Whisky, it’s a rich, complex combination of dried fruits, an array of spices – cinnamon, nutmeg, pink peppercorn – with that trademark Walker smoke wafting in the background. Alc 51%
Port Charlotte SYC:01 2013
Bruichladdich’s peated alter ego, Port Charlotte has become one of the most reliable Islay performers over the past decade or so. This new-ish expression spent four of its 10 years in ex-Syrah casks from the northern Rhône, resulting in a shapeshifting whisky that offers smoke from both peat and cask, alongside rich, sweet, dark fruits and a lift of cinnamon and star anise. Alc 54.4%
Tobermory 23 Year Old Oloroso Sherry Cask Finish
Maybe it’s Tobermory’s location on the Isle of Mull, but this is a single malt that seems to fly under the radar, despite the undoubted quality of this and other recent releases. The liquid here was originally earmarked for release as a 15-year-old, but extra time in oloroso Sherry casks from González Byass has created an intense, richly sweet whisky combining butterscotch, hazelnuts, toast slathered in honey, and darker molasses notes. Pure pleasure. Alc 46.3%
