Drambuie is a golden-coloured, 40%

ABV Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as ABV, abv, or alc/vol) is a standard measure of how much alcohol (ethanol) is contained in a given volume of an alcoholic beverage (expressed as a volume percent). It is defined as the number of millilitres (mL) o ...

liqueur A liqueur (; ; ) is an alcoholic drink composed of spirits (often rectified spirit) and additional flavorings such as sugar, fruits, herbs, and spices. Often served with or after dessert, they are typically heavily sweetened and un-aged beyon ...

made from

Scotch whisky Scotch whisky (; sco, Scots whisky/whiskie, whusk(e)y; often simply called whisky or Scotch) is malt whisky or grain whisky (or a blend of the two), made in Scotland. All Scotch whisky was originally made from malted barley. Commercial disti ...

, heather honey, herbs and spices. The brand was owned by the MacKinnon family for 100 years, and was bought by

William Grant & Sons William Grant & Sons Ltd is an independent, family-owned Scottish company that distills Scotch whisky and other selected categories of spirits. It was established in 1887 by William Grant, and is run by Grant's descendants as of 2018. It is th ...

in 2014.

Etymology

The name "Drambuie" possibly derives from the

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...

phrase ''an dram buidheach'', "the drink that satisfies", a claim made by the original manufacturers of the drink.

History

Legend

After the

Battle of Culloden The Battle of Culloden (; gd, Blàr Chùil Lodair) was the final confrontation of the Jacobite rising of 1745. On 16 April 1746, the Jacobite army of Charles Edward Stuart was decisively defeated by a British government force under Prince Wi ...

in 1746, Prince

Charles Edward Stuart Charles Edward Louis John Sylvester Maria Casimir Stuart (20 December 1720 – 30 January 1788) was the elder son of James Francis Edward Stuart, grandson of James II and VII, and the Stuart claimant to the thrones of England, Scotland and ...

fled to the isle of

Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye (; gd, An t-Eilean Sgitheanach or ; sco, Isle o Skye), is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated ...

. There he was given sanctuary by Captain John MacKinnon of

Clan MacKinnon Clan MacKinnon ( gd, Clann MhicFhionghain ) is a Highland Scottish clan from the islands of Mull and Skye, in the Inner Hebrides. Popular tradition gives the clan a Dalriadic Gaelic origin. The 19th-century historian W. F. Skene named the clan ...

. According to family legend, after staying with the captain, the prince rewarded him with this prized drink recipe. This version of events is disputed by historians who believe it to be a story concocted to boost sales of the drink. The legend holds that the recipe, which at that time had no known name, was given by Clan MacKinnon to John Ross in the late 19th century. James Ross, his son and a local business man, ran the Broadford Hotel in Broadford on Skye. It was he who, after the death of John in 1879, began to experiment with the recipe at the hotel.

Private production

Drambuie is a sweet, golden coloured 40% ABV liqueur made from Scotch whisky, heather honey, herbs and spices. In the 1880s, Ross developed and improved the recipe, changing the original

brandy Brandy is a liquor produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume (70–120 US proof) and is typically consumed as an after-dinner digestif. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks. Others are coloured with ...

base to one of

scotch whisky Scotch whisky (; sco, Scots whisky/whiskie, whusk(e)y; often simply called whisky or Scotch) is malt whisky or grain whisky (or a blend of the two), made in Scotland. All Scotch whisky was originally made from malted barley. Commercial disti ...

, initially for his friends and then later for hotel patrons. Ross named the concoction 'Drambuie' and sold it further afield, eventually reaching markets in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. As the drink became better known, Ross registered the name as a

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from ot ...

in 1893. When Ross died, his widow Eleanor was obliged to sell the recipe to pay for their children's education, by coincidence to another MacKinnon family. Malcolm MacKinnon (known as Calum) worked with Eleanor Ross to continue to make the elixir and experimented with the recipe mix. By 1912, Macbeth & Son, Calum MacKinnon's employers bought the elixir recipe from the Ross family but the company soon ran into financial problems. in 1914, MacKinnon's fiancee, Gina Russell Davidson, encouraged him to buy the failing business and to create the Drambuie Liquor Company. The couple married in 1915 and

Gina MacKinnon Gina or GINA or ''variation'' may refer to: Gina Gina may refer to: * Gina (given name), multiple individuals * Gina (Canaan), a town in ancient Canaan * Arihant (Jainism), also called gina, a term for a human who has conquered his or her inner p ...

became the lone custodian of the Drambuie elixir recipe, and took on the responsibility for collecting the ingredients and mixing the elixir in her kitchen. The company expanded and following Callum MacKinnon's death in 1945, Gina MacKinnon became Chair of the company and grew the business, particualrly with exports to the United States. The latter MacKinnon family produced the drink until 2014, when the company was sold.

Modern production

Drambuie was first commercially produced in Union Street in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

in 1910. Only twelve cases were originally sold. In 1916, Drambuie became the first liqueur to be allowed in the cellars of the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminst ...

and Drambuie began to ship worldwide to

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...

officers' messes. About 1940, the company moved to bonded premises in Dublin Street Lane where the liquor was compounded (the process of flavouring and sweetening the whisky spirit). The bottling plant was in the same lane while the company office was in York Place. After a short period at nearby Broughton Market, in 1955 the operation was moved to premises at the foot of

Easter Road Easter Road is a association football, football stadium located in the Leith area of Edinburgh, Scotland, which is the home ground of Scottish Premiership club Hibernian F.C., Hibernian (Hibs). The stadium currently has an all-seated capacity ...

Leith Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by ''Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world. The earliest ...

. Further expansion led to a move to purpose-built premises on the western edge of Kirkliston in 1959. These premises were vacated in 2001 and thereafter production was contracted out, in the first instance to the

Glenmorangie Glenmorangie distillery (pronounced with the stress on the second syllable: ; the toponym is believed to derive from either Gaelic ''Gleann Mòr na Sìth'' " vale of tranquillity" or ''Gleann Mór-innse'' " vale of big meadows") is a distille ...

bottling plant at

Broxburn Broxburn ( gd, Srath Bhroc, IPA: �s̪ɾaˈvɾɔʰk is a town in West Lothian, Scotland, on the A89 road, from the West End of Edinburgh, from Edinburgh Airport and to the north of Livingston. Etymology The name Broxburn is a corruption ...

and, in 2010, to Morrison Bowmore Distillers. Since 2007, work has been done to strengthen the reputation of the brand after a downturn in popularity and sales. In 2009, Drambuie launched ''The Royal Legacy of 1745'', an upscale

malt whisky Malt whisky is whisky made from a fermented mash consisting primarily of malted barley. If the product is made exclusively at a single distillery (along with other restrictions), it is typically called a single malt whisky. Although malt whisky ...

liqueur. The 40%

alcohol by volume Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as ABV, abv, or alc/vol) is a standard measure of how much alcohol ( ethanol) is contained in a given volume of an alcoholic beverage (expressed as a volume percent). It is defined as the number of millilitres (mL) ...

spirit won the Drinks International Travel Retail Award for Best Travel Retail Drinks Launch at the TFWA,

Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. The ...

, France in October 2009. To celebrate the

centenary {{other uses, Centennial (disambiguation), Centenary (disambiguation) A centennial, or centenary in British English, is a 100th anniversary or otherwise relates to a century, a period of 100 years. Notable events Notable centennial events at a ...

of Drambuie's being bottled in

, the makers launched a new style of bottle and embarked on a television and print advertising campaign in 2010. The new bottle, which is clear, allows the colour of the liqueur to be seen. It has a new interlocking "DD" Drambuie icon behind the brand name which also appears on the neck. In September 2014, Drambuie was sold to the makers of Glenfiddich, William Grant & Sons, for an estimated price of about £100 million. It was produced under contract at the Morrison Bowmore Distillers facility at Springburn Bond,

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...

, from 2010 until 2019 when production was transitioned to the William Grant and Sons bottling facility.

Reviews

Recent awards for Drambuie include
2021 Gold medal 95 points
at the IWSC
2020 Double gold
at th
ISC

2019 Gold medal at the ISC
Drambuie received the highest possible score, a "96–100", in the ''

Wine Enthusiast ''Wine Enthusiast'' magazine is an American wine magazine published by Wine Enthusiast Companies in Valhalla, New York. Founded in 1979 by Adam and Sybil Strum, Wine Enthusiast Companies engages in the wine accessories, storage, information, educ ...

''s 2008

spirit ratings With a growing number of offerings, such as those produced by an increasing number of microdistilleries, various mechanisms have arisen to provide reviews and opinions of individual varieties of spirits. These events generally use expert panels ...

competition.

Use in beverages

Drambuie is a key ingredient in several cocktails:''9 Drambuie Cocktails''
article; January 6, 2018; Culinary Lore, retrieved December 2022 * The Rusty Nail, and its variations, including the

Donald Sutherland Donald McNichol Sutherland (born 17 July 1935) is a Canadian actor whose film career spans over six decades. He has been nominated for nine Golden Globe Awards, winning two for his performances in the television films '' Citizen X'' (1995) a ...

and the Bent Nail * Royal Rob Roy * Whisky Zipper * Knucklebuster * Widowmaker * Old Nick * Dundee

References

External links

* {{Authority control Scottish liqueurs Herbal liqueurs Honey liqueurs and spirits Scottish malt whisky Products introduced in 1893 Scottish brands West Lothian Clan Mackinnon Bacardi