"The Drink that Satisfies"
This week we’re sticking to the topic of the Scottish Highlands again, seeing as my partner and I are still abroad living our best Scotch-soaked life.
(We’re actually on our way home at this point, but I’m sure still relishing every wee moment!)
Instead of learning more about Scotch however, let’s turn to a lesser-know, but still beloved booze coming from the Highlands: Drambuie.
This is a Scottish liqueur readily known on the Isle of Skye and used in the mixology world… but pretty much an unknown entity everywhere else.
I didn’t know about it before ‘getting into’ more offbeat cocktails recently, but let me tell you, I’m now a hearty fan! (Now, I’m a bit of a Caledonophile, but that only plays into my love here a little bit.)
So, what is it? When was it first used? What does it taste like? How can I incorporate it into my home bar? So much too learn!
The Basics
To start with, Drambuie is a liqueur. A liqueur is a strong, sweet, alcoholic drink made up of spirits and additional flavorings such as sugar, fruits, herbs, and spices.
If you’ve ever wondered what the difference between a liqueur and a liquor is (besides an ‘e’ and an additional ‘u’), it’s sugar. Liquor is essentially a catch-all term for a distilled alcoholic beverage with a high abv. Liqueurs are that same thing, plus sugar or syrup and extra flavors.
So, Drambuie is a liqueur made from Scotch whisky, then flavored with heather honey, herbs, and spices. Besides heather - a flower that grows readily in the Scottish Highlands - the public does not know what other herbs and spices are used to make the sweet drink. Since 2014 when the brand was sold, only three people know the full recipe, one of which personally mixes each batch of the Drambuie essence. The recipe is kept in a safe at their blending facility near Glasgow, so they’re really not joking around!
History
Perhaps just to a history nerd like me, but the history behind the liqueur is a particularly interesting one.
278 years ago is when the drink first pops up. In 1745, Prince Charles Edward Stuart returns from Rome to the British Isles and with him he brings his own personal recipe of a health tonic; he took a few drops every single day to give him “strength and vitality”.
Pretty much directly after returning home, he was exiled to the Isle of Skye (which is located in Highland territory - thus the trip tie-in!) in Scotland, and in return for helping him eventually flee the British Isles for good, “Bonnie Prince Charlie” gave the recipe as a parting gift to Clan MacKinnon.
A few generations later, a hotel and pub owner from Skye named John Ross convinced the remaining MacKinnon family to let him make a full batch of the old recipe. It was an immediate smash hit, and the locals started calling it “dram buidheach”, which translates from Gaelic to mean “the drink that satisfies”.
John’s son James is the one that patented the drink in 1893, and it’s actually James’ wife (now sadly widowed) that takes the recipe down to Edinburgh and — still working with a MacKinnon — started producing Drambuie for wholesale. In 1914 Malcolm MacKinnon and Eleanor Ross started the Drambuie Liquor Company Ltd.
Exactly 100 years later, in 2014, the Drambuie Liquor Company was sold to another small family owned company called William Grant & Sons (who you might know from owning Glenfiddich, Sailor Jerry, and Hendrick’s Gin), who are now the secret keepers to the family recipe.
Cocktail Recipes
While it is fairly common to sip Drambuie by itself over ice, it is also a great addition to many cocktails. It’s sweetness, balanced with Scotch flavor, and floral heather notes make it complex enough to add that ‘something different’ while keeping the balance of sweet and boozy.
Here are some delicious looking Drambuie Cocktails recipes to try!
Unsurprisingly, Drambuie pairs very swell with whisky - particularly Scotch.
The Rusty Nail
- The recipe seems to change wherever you go, but a good start is 2 parts Scotch to 1 part Drambuie, served over rocks with a lemon twist.
The Royal Rob Roy
- 1.5 oz Scotch, 1.5 oz Drambuie, 1/4 oz dry Vermouth, 1/4 oz sweet Vermouth, shaken over ice and strained, garnished with a maraschino cherry.
Due to it’s honeyed sweetness, Drambuie also pairs amazingly with coffee drinks!
Isle of Skye Speciality Coffee
- Basically an Irish coffee, but with Drambuie. 1 oz Drambuie, 1 tsp brown sugar, hot coffee, whipping cream. Dissolve the sugar into the coffee and pour in the Drambuie. Add the whipping cream carefully on top using the back of a spoon, and garnish with chocolate powder.
Drambuie Coffee Tonic
- Add 1.5 oz Drambuie to 100 mL of tonic water in a tall glass with ice. Pour 1 small shot of espresso on top, stir, and enjoy. PRO TIP: be sure to add the espresso last!
Anyone who follows my Instagram page (particularly during our Friday happy hour reels) knows I’m a sucker for bubble cocktails. And surprisingly, Drambuie mixed with bubbles is a delightful treat!
Bonnie Prince Charlie
- In a champagne flute, add 1 oz of Drambuie, then 4 oz of sparkling wine. Garnish with a lemon and enjoy!
In the Kitchen
Apparently, Drambuie is also a great addition to baked goods and is regularly used in Scottish desserts. Just click to the Recipes Tab on the Drambuie website to see what I mean! There are dozens of recipes!
There are too many to choose from to just list a few here, but I will point out it seems as though Drambuie is key ingredient in what is called “the uncontested king of Scottish desserts”: Cranachan.
This is a traditional Scottish dessert made up of cream, fresh raspberries, Scottish oats, and heathered honey, and whisky. (Instead of adding the last two ingredients separately, folks just started using Drambuie, since it’s essentially just that: heather honey + Scotch!)
You know, just in case you can’t get enough of the stuff in cocktail form.
Weekly Adventure
Well, this one is pretty obvious: Go find yourself some Drambuie! If you’re curious, but not invested enough to buy a large bottle of it, I found a small bottle of it (375 mL) at Total Wine for just over $20. Perfect for a few cocktails and taste tests!
Cheers,
Molly
References
https://culinarylore.com/drinks:9-drambuie-cocktails/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drambuie
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/cranachan
https://www.foodandwine.com/drinks/3-simple-cocktails-acquaint-you-drambuie
https://www.thespruceeats.com/drambuie-liqueur-profile-and-cocktails-760270