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This first month of 2022 seems to have flown by, and what better reason to celebrate the oncoming brighter days than gathering friends and family for an evening of food and fun in honour of Burns Night on Tuesday 25th January.
Burns Night celebrates the life and work of Scotland’s National Poet, Robert – also known as Rabbie – Burns. The first supper was held by his friends at Burns Cottage on the fifth anniversary of his death in 1801 and has been a regular occurrence ever since, usually involving a ceremonial meal with toasts to the Bard and performances of his poetry.
Famous for – amongst other things – the serving of haggis, neeps (a Scottish ‘turnip’ is an English ‘swede’) and tatties, we’ve got plenty of ideas of how to add a dram of something dramatic to your Burns’ Night supper recipes and drinks.
A toast to the pudding
Aside from Robbie Burns himself, perhaps the best-known part of the Burns Night celebration revolves around the ceremonial entrance of the haggis to the table, carried in on a silver salver to a rousing accompaniment on the bagpipes.
Next comes the poem Address to a Haggis, with its famous opening lines ‘Fair fa’ your honest sonsie face/Great chieftain o’ the puddin’-race’. Written by Burns to celebrate his appreciation of the haggis, a guest recites the poem before theatrically piercing the haggis with a ceremonial knife.
Haggis, neeps and tatties are usually served with a whisky sauce, and while we have no desire to tamper with Scottish tradition, if whisky is not your thing then you can always introduce a twist to your gravy by adding some of our Elderberry and Port to the recipe. Simply simmer it with red wine, sugar, garlic, thyme, and salt together with some shallots until tender.
Sweet and delicious
If you’ve left some room for a sweet treat after the main event, there are lots of delicious Scottish desserts that fit the bill – each with the potential to be spiced up with a splash of an alcoholic addition of your choice.
A clootie dumpling is a traditional steamed Scottish pudding made with dried fruit and spices. A perfect winter pud, serve with custard or cream whipped up with a generous glug of our Ginger Liqueur with its appealing spicy warmth and discreet whisky kick.
You may not have heard of a Tipsy Laird but if you are a fan of trifle this is the desert for you. The Tipsy Laird is a Scottish trifle that uses plenty of Scottish raspberries and replaces the sherry of a traditional English trifle with whisky or whisky liqueur instead. As honey and raspberries go so well together, we recommend the mellow malt and honey notes of our Honey Liqueur, a honey mead blended with whisky to make a rich and warming drink.
Speeches and toasts
After the meal, it’s time for the works of Burns to be recited, along with the Immortal Memory speech written to honour Burns and plenty more toasts.
There’s the Address to the Lassies, which traditionally thanked the women for their hard work in the kitchen, followed by the Toast to the Laddies, where one of the women gets to redress that imbalance by putting the men in their place – and for these what better accompaniment than a glass of something sparkling. We will be marking the occasion with corks a-popping from our Classic Cuvée 16 new vintage Release – an elegant English sparkling wine with a depth of citrus and stone fruits flavours and secondary aromas of cooked apples, breadcrumbs, honey and almond.
Finally, everyone gets together to sing ‘Auld Lang Syne’ which it turns out Robert Burns never claimed to have written. Rather, he is said to have sent the poem to the
Scots Musical Museum in 1788, saying merely that it was an ancient song that he had been the first to record on paper.
Lugger Rum hot toddy
After that… who knows! Whether you’re dancing off to a ceilidh or wending your way home through the gloaming to put your feet up in front of a roaring fire, a hot toddy will keep you company on the way. We keep it simple with hot water, a couple of teaspoons of honey and lemon, and lashings of our new Jack Ratt Lugger Golden Rum – mixed in proportions to suit your taste.
Many years in the making, our Lugger Golden Rum is an exquisite blend of four superior eight-year-old (8YO) rums from Barbados, Dominican Republic, Venezuela and Panama, aged in ex-Bourbon wooden casks for lovely wood notes on the nose and a rich rum character. Its wonderfully smooth front palate with a lingering finish and gentle heat is just the thing for celebratory Burns Night tot.
Order Burns Night drinks for delivery
If you’re looking to stock your Burns Night bar with something a bit special, our wonderful Winery shop in Shute, near Axminster in Devon, is open Monday to Friday from 9.30 am to 4.30 pm.
Alternatively, you can always get in touch with our friendly team here at the Winery via email at [email protected] or by calling us on 01297 551355 if you’d like to order by phone – and if you order before 2 pm we aim to despatch the next working day, with free delivery for all orders over £45.
You can also follow Lyme Bay on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter for updates, offers and giveaways, and we’d love to see your Burns Night food and drink creations so do share them with us there.
