Drambuie facts for kids
| Type | Liqueur |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | The Drambuie Liqueur Company Limited |
| Country of origin | Scotland |
| Introduced | 1910 |
| Alcohol by volume | 40% |
| Colour | Gold |
| Ingredients | Scotch whisky, heather honey, spices and herbs |
Drambuie is a special golden-colored drink. It's a type of liqueur made from Scotch whisky, sweet heather honey, herbs, and spices. About 40% of it is alcohol. The MacKinnon family owned the brand for 100 years. Then, in 2014, a company called William Grant & Sons bought it.
Contents
What Does the Name Mean?
The name Drambuie might come from a Scottish Gaelic phrase. That phrase is an dram buidheach. It means 'the drink that satisfies'. The people who first made Drambuie said this was true.
The Story of Drambuie
An Old Legend
After a big battle called the Battle of Culloden in 1746, Prince Charles Edward Stuart had to run away. He found safety on the Skye island. Captain John MacKinnon of Clan MacKinnon helped him. The story says the prince gave the captain his secret drink recipe as a thank you.
However, some historians don't believe this story. They think it was made up later. It might have been a way to help sell more of the drink.
The legend also says that the MacKinnon family gave this secret recipe to John Ross. This happened in the late 1800s. John's son, James Ross, ran a hotel in Broadford on Skye. After his father died in 1879, James started trying out the recipe at his hotel.
Making it Private
In the 1880s, James Ross made the recipe even better. He changed the main alcohol from brandy to scotch whisky. At first, he made it for his friends. Later, he sold it to people staying at his hotel. Ross called his new drink 'Drambuie'. He started selling it in other countries, like France and the United States. As the drink became more popular, Ross officially registered the name in 1893.
When James Ross died, his wife, Eleanor, had to sell the recipe. She needed money for her children's schooling. Another MacKinnon family bought it. Malcolm MacKinnon (also called Calum) worked with Eleanor Ross. They kept making the drink and tried new mixes.
In 1912, Calum MacKinnon's bosses bought the recipe from the Ross family. But their company soon had money problems. In 1914, Calum's fiancée, Gina Russell Davidson, told him to buy the struggling business. They then created the Drambuie Liquor Company. The couple got married in 1915. Gina MacKinnon became the only person who knew the secret recipe. She was in charge of getting the ingredients and mixing the drink in her kitchen. The company grew, especially with sales to the United States. After Calum MacKinnon died in 1945, Gina MacKinnon became the head of the company.
The MacKinnon family continued to make Drambuie until 2014. That's when they sold the company.
How it's Made Today
Drambuie was first made for sale in Edinburgh in 1910. Only twelve cases were sold at first. In 1916, Drambuie was the first liqueur allowed in the cellars of the House of Lords. It also began to be shipped all over the world to British Army officers.
Around 1940, the company moved to a special building in Dublin Street Lane. Here, the whisky spirit was flavored and sweetened. The bottling plant was nearby. Later, in 1955, the whole operation moved to Leith. The company moved again in 1959 to a new building in Kirkliston.
In 2001, they moved out of that building. After that, other companies made Drambuie for them. This happened at the Glenmorangie plant in 2001. Then, in 2010, it moved to Morrison Bowmore Distillers.
Since 2007, people have worked to make Drambuie more popular. They wanted to improve its reputation.
In 2009, Drambuie launched a new, fancy drink called The Royal Legacy of 1745. It's a malt whisky liqueur. This drink won an award in France in 2009.
To celebrate 100 years of Drambuie being bottled in Edinburgh, the makers launched a new bottle in 2010. They also started new TV and print ads. The new bottle is clear, so you can see the drink's golden color. It also has a new "DD" symbol on it.
In September 2014, Drambuie was sold to William Grant & Sons. This is the company that makes Glenfiddich. The price was about £100 million.
Drambuie was made at the Morrison Bowmore Distillers in Glasgow from 2010 to 2019. Then, it moved to the William Grant and Sons bottling place.
Awards and Reviews
Drambuie has won several awards recently:
- In 2021, it won a gold medal at the IWSC.
- In 2020, it won a Double Gold award at the ISC.
- In 2019, it won a gold medal at the ISC.
Wine Enthusiast magazine gave Drambuie a very high score in 2008.
How to Use Drambuie
Drambuie is used in many different mixed drinks, called cocktails:
- The Rusty Nail
- Royal Rob Roy
- Whisky Zipper
- Knucklebuster
- Widowmaker
- Old Nick
- Dundee
See also
- Glayva
- List of liqueurs
