The 10 best Burns Night whiskies
For Scotch whisky fans, Burns Night is the ultimate celebration of the drink they love. We raise a glass to honour the Bard of Ayrshire, Robert Burns, on his birthday, 25 January.
Maybe you’ll fancy donning a kilt. Maybe you’ll carry out an Address to a Haggis with an appropriately theatrical cutting of the haggis with the ceremonial knife. Whatever you do, I think we can all agree the highlight of the night is a hearty dram of the good stuff. And Burns Night is perhaps the best excuse we get all year to splash out on a seriously good bottle of Scotch.
Happy Burns Night all.
Wi’ usquabae, we’ll face the devil!!
What is the best Burns Night whisky?
The Burns Night Blend
Our very own creation, this Scotch whisky is a marriage of malt and grain from distilleries across the Highlands, Lowlands, Speyside, and Islay like Blair Athol, Craigellachie, Benrinnes, Tobermory, and more (including old and rare whisky from the eighties). It’s bottled with 100% natural colour and is non-chill filtered (even though it’s 40% ABV), and comes with a dashing blue label to celebrate its Scottishness.
Robert Burns Single Malt
What better to mark the night with than a whisky that bears the name of the man himself? The Robert Burns Single Malt was produced by the Isle of Arran Distillers, who are patrons of the ‘Robert Burns World Federation’ and, as a result, can officially carry his name. The single malt was produced at Arran Distillery in Lochranza and matured in bourbon casks.
Timorous Beastie 10 Year-Old Whisky
Even casual Burns fans will know of his classic poem To a Mouse, which features an unfortunate field mouse he describes as a “tim’rous beastie”. Douglas Laing has paid tribute to this unlikely hero with this expression, made exclusively with whiskies aged for at least 10 years.
Loch Lomond Steam & Fire Whisky
A whisky that revels in Loch Lomond’s unique setup, master blender Michael Henry used both its traditional swan neck and unique straight neck stills to create Steam & Fire. It’s then aged in first-fill bourbon barrels and American oak casks initially, followed up with a ten-month finishing period in first-fill heavily re-charred American oak barrels.
Compass Box Great King Street – Artist’s Blend
Compass Box are masters at creating delicious, approachable blends and the Artist’s Blend is no exception. It’s made with Clynelish malt matured in first-fill bourbon hogshead, a Highland malt blend aged in custom toasted new French oak barrels, malt from Linkwood matured in a sherry butt, and a large proportion of Cameronbridge grain whisky aged in first-fill American oak barrels.
The Macallan 12 Year Old Double Cask Whisky
Mighty Macallan malt for your Burns Night consideration, matured in a combination of American and European sherry oak for a minimum of 12 years. Here, the proportion of American oak sherry casks is higher than in the 12 Year Old Sherry Oak, but no bourbon casks are used as they are in the 12 Year Old Fine Oak release.
Laphroaig 10 Year Old Sherry Oak Finish Whisky
A fabulous mix of rich smoke and sherry from Islay distillery Laphroaig. This Scotch whisky was finished in oloroso sherry casks for over 12 months. Right now this bottle also comes with a free bobble hat – very smart!
Benriach The Sixteen Whisky
Aged in a selection of bourbon, sherry, and virgin oak casks, The Sixteen is a generously fruity, creamy malt from Benriach Distillery. This is another whisky that comes with a complimentary bobble hat for a limited time.
Bruichladdich The Classic Laddie – Scottish Barley Whisky
The classic, unpeated Bruichladdich in that beautiful signature blue bottle. Made with 100% Scottish barley, you will always appreciate having The Classic Laddie in your drinks cabinet.
Meikle Tòir The Original Whisky
Meikle Tòir (meaning ‘big pursuit’ and pronounced mee-kuhl tor) is peated whisky made at GlenAllachie Distillery. The Original is a single malt made with mainland peat from St. Fergus (to 35ppm), a sweeter, grassier variety than found on the coast and the whisky was aged in a combination of first-fill bourbon barrels, American virgin oak casks, and rye barrels. It was bottled at 50% ABV without chill-filtration or additional colouring.
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