Burns Night is an annual festival that celebrates the life and works of Scottish poet, wordsmith and lyricist Robert Burns (also known as Rabbie to his friends). The day has a strong association with whisky. Burns is widely regarded as Scotland’s national poet and the festival has become Scotland’s unofficial national day. It has a rich heritage in Scottish culture, combining two of the nation’s favourite pastimes – eating and drinking whisky – with the legendary poetry of Robert Burns.
The first Burns Night is said to have taken place in 1801, less than five years after Burns’ death. This saw a group of friends, family and contemporaries of Burns gather on his birthday (January 25) in his home village of Alloway in Ayrshire, which is now home to the National Burns Museum, to read his poetry and discuss his works, including the seminal piece ‘Address to A Haggis’.
Rumour has it that the inaugural evening included a haggis supper with neeps and tatties (that is swede and potato to the uninitiated) and copious amounts of Scotch whisky. This still forms the basis of most Burns Night suppers. The gathering grew in number gradually in each subsequent year to the point that now, over 200 years later, Burns Night is celebrated around the globe annually.
The choice of what to select as an accompaniment to your haggis can be bewildering. Therefore, one tip is to go back to basics and select some all-time classic Scotch whiskies for your celebrations. Like this tactic? We have pulled together four types of tasting that you can hold to suit your taste and level of experimentation. Feel free to mix and match, but most of all – enjoy. We have put them in the order that we suggest you tasting them in.
The Traditional Scotch Tasting
This tasting line-up features some well known names and highly regarded Scotch whiskies that are readily available from supermarkets and good whisky retailers. This range of bottles will set you back between £40 and £50 each.
Glenmorangie The Original 12 Years Old
Soft, silky and creamy with notes of vanilla custard and creamed coconut mixed with heather honey, butterscotch and juicy ripe peach. The Original is a great introductory whisky and one to kick off any tasting.
The Balvenie 12 Years Old Doublewood
Filled with stone fruit, vanilla, fresh coconut, white chocolate and honeycomb, Doublewood is a great all-round whisky with complexity and balance. Perfect to pour, sip and savour.
Glenallachie 12 Years Old
Bold characteristics aplenty here with notes of toffee, milk chocolate and hazelnut leading the way. These are complimented by raisin, prune, candied orange and a hint of mocha. Great to go with your haggis.
New Distilleries of Scotland Tasting
A raft of new distilleries, most of which are craft and artisanal operations, have popped up across Scotland and have added a great diversity of products. What better time to try some of these innovative products than Burns Night?
Lochlea Harvest Edition (Third Crop)
One of the nearest distilleries to Burns’ home village of Alloway, Lochlea has a wonderful seasonal range. Crisp green apple, malted barley and heather honey notes mingle with white pepper and confected red fruits. Delicious.
Glasgow 1770 Triple Distilled
Most Scotch single malts are double distilled, so this is a rare beast. The extra distillation creates an extra lightness and freshness with notes of candy floss, vanilla sugar and crisp green apple combining with some peppery and gingerbread warmth, plus white chocolate and marshmallow.
Kingsbarns Coaltown
A delightful peaty single malt from the Kingdom of Fife. Notes of honey, candied lime and vanilla toffee combine superbly with green apple, icing sugar and a pinch of salt. All wrapped up in soft, gentle and ashy smoke.
The Smoky Scotch Tasting
The heavy and bold flavours of peat smoke are one of Scotch whisky’s unique gifts to the world. Differing smoke levels can offer very different experiences, as can where the peat comes from. Time to explore?
Benriach The Smoky Ten
A lovely way to begin your tasting. Soft, sweet and gentle peat smoke wisps around other notes – these include poached pear, caramelised tropical fruit and golden syrup with hints of gingerbread and lemon zest. Wonderful.
Talisker 10 Years Old
With a mid-level of smokiness, Talisker is a mixture of spice, caramel and sweet malted barley with a hint of saltiness. Talisker is full bodied, powerfully smoky and balanced with a distinct peppery edge – an excellent bridge between the soft peat of Benriach and the heavily peated Laphroaig.
Smokehead
Want to finish your tasting with something super peaty? Smokehead is the answer. Powerful notes of damp, earthy peat smoke battle with feisty white pepper. Then come further notes of Autumn leaves, golden syrup and chilli-like spice. Storm in a tea cup? No, this is a storm in a whisky glass.
The Sherry Bomb Scotch Tasting
Whiskies that have been matured in ex-sherry casks are rich, sweet and rounded. These characteristics makes them a perfect accompaniment to the spiciness of your haggis.
Tamnavulin Sherry Cask Edition
This whisky experiences a finish in three different types of sherry cask and this leads the a heady mix of flavours. Expect notes of raisin, malty biscuits and milk chocolate with plenty of caramel and fairground toffee apple.
Bunnahabhain 12 Years Old
A fabulous underrated sherried whisky that is packed full of expressive and rich notes – think of sultana, crumbly brown sugar and salted caramel with some late nuttiness and maltiness. A true unsung hero of a whisky.
Laphroaig 10 Years Old Sherry Cask Finish
Sherry cask maturation and peat smoke can offer a heady mix and in the right hands it can be a perfect marriage. Expect plenty of dark fruit (especially raisin), toffee and toasted nuts, which are complimented superbly by an earthy, ashy charcoal smoke. Big, powerful and the perfect finish.
Picking a theme for your Burns Night tasting, or any tasting for that matter, will help to guide your choices for what you can select. Similarly, choosing an order and taking people on a journey will also help – start with the lightest whisky and finish with the heaviest or smokiest. But ultimately there are no right or wrong answers – it is all about you and your guests enjoying the experience to the maximum. Throw in some haggis and a bit of chat about Robert Burns and his poetry and you’re on to a winner. That is what we do and it works every time.
