Scottish Blog

Drambuie is a liqueur of Scottish origin with Scotch Whisky as a main ingredient.

Drambuie is a drink known throughout the world for its distinctive taste of malt whisky, honey, along with herbs and spices. Yet many are not aware of the Scottish origin of this famous drink.

The recipe for Drambuie begins with Captain John MacKinnon of Clan MacKinnon. A popular story is that John MacKinnon was given the recipe to Drambuie by Bonnie Prince Charlie as a reward for offering him sanctuary in 1746 as he fled to the Isle of Skye. Although, there are claims that this story was created purely for the purpose of increasing sales of Drambuie.

Regardless of whether John MacKinnon was given the recipe for Drambuie or whether he created it himself, it is known that John MacKinnon gave the recipe to James Ross. During the 19th century James Ross sold Drambuie and made small improvements to its recipe. After the death of James Ross, the recipe was sold to the MacKinnon family again, with whom it has stayed since.

During its ownership under James Ross the recipe was given the name Drambuie. It is a derivative of the Gaelic “an dram buidheach”, meaning the drink that satisfies. The name was first used in 1893.