Burns Night cocktail recipes

by Andy Young Jan 21, 2025

Burns Night is a big night on the Scottish calendar, and sees the life and work of the great Scottish poet, Robbie Burns, celebrated with Scottish food and drinks on 25 January, every year.

So as this year’s celebration approaches here’s a selection of recipes from the team at drinks retailer Bottle Club who have compiled their most popular scotch whisky cocktails, plus other whisky recipes we’ve had shared with us.

Robert Burns Cocktail

A delightful, sophisticated mix that builds on the scotch-vermouth combination of Rob Roy. The addition of absinthe brings in a nice contrasting flavour, though be sure to keep this to a dash, but if absinthe is a bit too much, a variation called the Bobby Burns omits absinthe for Bénédictine.

60ml Scotch Whisky
20ml Sweet Vermouth
Dash Orange Bitters
Dash Absinthe

Directions:

Add ingredients into a mixing glass with ice
Stir well and strain into a tumbler
Ice and orange twist optional
If you do not have absinthe, try an anise-flavoured liqueur as a substitute.

https://www.barsclubs.com.au/recipes/cocktail-menu-two-classic-cocktails-with-tamdhu-whisky/

https://www.barsclubs.com.au/news/cocktail-menu-three-winning-whisky-cocktails/

https://www.barsclubs.com.au/recipes/recipe-death-and-taxes-othello/

Rusty Nail

A Scotch classic, but you can switch from blended to single malts, explore various brands, choose a variety that is as top-shelf as you wish, and even adjust the ratio of the spirits to suit your taste.

45 ml Scotch Whisky
20 ml Drambuie

Directions:

Simply combine the liquids into a mixing glass and stir well before pouring over ice into a tumbler.

https://www.barsclubs.com.au/recipes/recipe-mary-marys-whisky-highball/

The Rob Roy

A Scotch version of the classic Manhattan cocktail, a Rob Roy replaces bourbon or rye whisky with Scotch. Best served by putting the cocktail glass in the freezer to ensure the Rob Roy stays cold, as the drink is served without ice.

60ml Scotch Whisky
25ml Sweet Vermouth
Dash Angostura Bitters
Cherry (Garnish)

Directions:

Combine all ingredients into a mixing glass with ice (minus the garnish)
Stir well
Strain into a cold Nick and Nora or Martini glass
Garnish with a cherry.

https://www.barsclubs.com.au/recipes/recipe-caribbean-reserve-mai-tai/

Hot Toddy

Maybe more suited to a Scottish winter, than an Australian summer, the Hot Toddy is still a great whisky cocktail. This recipe comes from San Francisco bartender Jacques Bezuidenhout and features whiskey, hot water, demerara sugar and a clove-studded lemon peel.

4 Cloves
1 Lemon Peel
2tsp Demerara Sugar
8ml Lemon Juice
60ml Whisky

Directions:

Grab your favourite mug and heat it with some boiling water
After a minute or two, throw away the water
Build your drink in the same mug by combining your spirit with sugar, lemon juice and peel, cloves and more hot water.

https://www.barsclubs.com.au/bars-clubs/recipe-gallus/

Ruby Queen

The Ruby Queen recipe was developed by Rob Krueger of Extra Fancy in New York City. Though it is filled with a couple of unusual ingredients, the Ruby Queen is quite easy to mix up. You will need to prepare or acquire fresh beet juice and take a few minutes to make a fresh honey syrup.

45ml Scotch Whisky
30ml Fresh Red Beetroot Juice
25ml Honey Syrup
25ml Fresh Lemon Juice
Fresh Dill or Tarragon (Garnish)
Lemon Twist (Garnish)

Directions:

Combine everything except the garnish into a shaker with ice
Shake for 30 seconds
Strain and pour into all tall, high-ball style glass
Pour and shake like any other drink and you will have a savoury drink that will rival any Bloody Mary.

Andy Young is an experienced journalist and editor having made a start as a sports journalist with The Sun newspaper in the UK. Since then he’s worked in major newspaper and television...