Drambuie Liqueur Cl 70

With a bottle familiar to anyone who has lived through the birth and consecration of the contemporary bar, Drambuie is in that range of spirits that cannot be missed in any bar in the world.

Historically related to the iconic serve called Rusty Nail, Drambuie became famous in this version mixed together with pure Scotch Whisky and served on the rocks in a classic Old Fashioned glass in the 1960s thanks to the 21 Club in Manhattan-New York, and later became the drink of choice for the Rat Pack (Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford, and Joey Bishop), often pictured in period photographs with a Rusty Nail in hand.

Obtained from a classic blend of Scotch Whisky, heather honey (perhaps Scotland’s most famous plant) and other spices and herbs whose nature has remained secret over the yearsi, Drambuie dates its birth to 1745, when Prince Charles Edward Stuart, fleeing after a failed attempt to restore his dynasty to the throne of Scotland, passed through the Isle of Skye.

Here Captain John MacKinnon of the eponymous clan helped the prince hide from possible persecution and received in return from him the secret recipe for a drink made especially for him by his personal apothecary.

As the recipe was passed from generation to generation and production began on a gradually expanding scale thanks to the involvement of tavernkeeper John Ross of the Broadford Inn in the 1870s, the liquid moved out of the confines of the Isle of Skye.

Growing in fame was ‘An Dram Buidheach,’ Gaelic for ‘satisfying drink.’ Since then three generations of MacKinnons have retained the Drambuie formula, until the historic transfer of ownership this year in favor of William Grant & Sons.

The original recipe, which originated because of medicinal properties that arose from blending a local alcoholic product such as Scotch with similarly locally sourced spices, still involves the use of Malt and Grain Whiskies from the Highlands and Speyside regions. Today Drambuie represents the returning classic, an icon of Scottish history that has evolved hand in hand with the consecration of blended drinking, the whiskey-based liqueur most celebrated by experts in the field and kept intact in its recipe for generations so as not to betray its essence of ‘An Dram Buidheach,’ ‘the drink that satisfies.