“O thou, my muse! guid auld Scotch drink! Whether thro’ wimplin worms thou jink, Or, richly brown, ream owre the brink, In glorious faem, Inspire me, till I lisp an’ wink, To sing thy name!” – Robert Burns

On the 25th of Jan it will be the 255th anniversary of Robert Burn’s birth. Robert Burns, who claims both ‘The Favourite Son of Scotland’ and ‘The Bard’ amongst his titles, was a poet born in 1759 and is probably most famous for putting Auld Lang Syne to paper. To commemorate the great poet we hold a night of drinks, haggis and poetry under the name of the Burns Supper:

To a traditional Burns Supper, there are a number of parts; The Selkirk Grace, the Appreciation and the Address to a Haggis (yes that’s where you serenade your food with poetry) to name a few. But to celebrate a truly great Burns Supper you need something beyond the typical rituals of the evening… you need great drinks!

There is no better way, in my mind at least, to add some panache to your supper than to mix up some fantastic Scottish cocktails for you and your guests. After all what better to toast the life of that great Scottish bard than with our own Scotch Sour as a nice pre-dinner warm up:

The Whisky Sour

60ml Caol Ila

30ml Lemon Juice

15ml Rich Sugar Syrup (2:1 sugar – water ration)

4 dashes Angostura Bitters

Egg white (optional)

Dry shake then shake again with cubed ice, strain over fresh ice and serve.

We like to drop the bitters over the head of the sour to get the aroma when you lift the glass to your nose!

Having warmed up with our sour, you may wish to line your belly a little, so before you get down to some more serious drinking why not move on to some food and a bit of light poetry, if you want some help preparing it have a look here. After some fine Scottish cuisine you can move on to some after dinner cocktails, so why not try our adaptations of some classics?

The Bobby Burns

30ml Scotch Whisky (We love this with the spicy Talisker 10 but for the traditionalists it should be a blend)

30ml Italian Sweet Vermouth (Carpano Antica)

The Rob Roy

50ml Scotch (a good blended like Johnny Walker Black is perfect)

25ml Sweet Vermouth

2 dashes Angostura bitters

Those traditionalists among you may argue, however, that these drinks are too far flung from what The Bard would have drunk to be included in a “true” Burns Supper. After all mixing has come quite a way since his death in 1796, so why not try some of these lovely Single malts:

1) Clynelish 1996 A lovely versatile whisky, full of spice at first with undertones of fruit and wood which can be revealed with a splash of water, for more info have a look here.

2) Dalmore 18 year old – Another great whisky with a nice blend of chocolate, zesty and vanilla flavours with a subtle peaty and wooden undertones, interested? Have a look here.

3) Glen Garioch 12 Year Old – A beautifully smooth velvety whisky, which comes in a beautiful bottle, and whose taste gets better the longer the bottle is left open, interested? Have a look here.

4) Talisker 10 - A fantastic peaty whisky with a distinct smokey, chilli taste. It is THE whisky for pouring over your haggis, and an essential for our Bobby Burns, interested? Have a look here.

It should be clear now that the average Burns Supper far out strips any other poetic recital (probably something to do with the liberal application of scotch) and few historic occasions warrant such fun.

With any luck the right cocktails, the right whisky, and a nice slab of haggis your Burns Supper will be a roaring success. All you need now is a kilt!

- See more at: http://www.twistlondon.com/2014/01/a-bardic-toast-to-bobbie-burns/#sthash.6CHMJle6.dpuf

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