St Andrew's Day drinks: what to pour on 30 November

Regional Character

Speyside has so many distilleries that its malts are classed under a heading of their own, by Difford’s Guide’s account, a secondary source. The house style is elegant and orchard-fruited, often honeyed, with sherry casks adding raisin and spice at the richer end. Glenfiddich and The Glenlivet, which the Oxford Companion ranks first and second among single malts by world sales, are both from here, as is Macallan, and it is the most accessible region for newcomers.

Highland covers the largest area and the broadest spread of character. Glenmorangie is light and citrussy, Oban maritime and gently smoky, Dalmore rich and sherried.

Islay is the peat island. Its malts, Laphroaig, Ardbeg, and Lagavulin among them, are made with barley dried over peat smoke, as the Oxford Companion, a secondary source, describes peat kilning, and taste of it: tar, iodine, bonfire, sea air.

Lowland whiskies are traditionally the gentlest, often triple distilled, grassy and light. Glenkinchie and Auchentoshan open a tasting well.

Campbeltown was once home to over thirty distilleries, by Difford’s Guide’s account, a secondary source, and is far smaller now, with Springbank the standard-bearer for its briny, oily style.

Selecting for the Occasion

For a mixed group, a Speyside single malt or a quality blend covers the widest range of palates without boring the enthusiasts. For a table of whisky drinkers, offer two or three contrasting regions and let comparison drive the conversation.

For cocktails, use a solid blend such as Monkey Shoulder; mixing does not demand your best bottle. Save the special bottle for neat pours at the end of the night, and give the toast something with a story attached.

The Rob Roy

Scotland's answer to the Manhattan. The Oxford Companion, a secondary source, calls the most creditable claim the one that has the bartender Henry August Orphal inventing it at the Duke's House in Hoboken, New Jersey, for a representative of Usher's blended scotch, with the name most likely taken from a popular Broadway show; it says the drink was in circulation by the end of 1895.

Stir 60ml Scotch, 30ml sweet vermouth and two dashes of Angostura bitters with large cubed ice for 20 to 30 seconds, strain into a chilled coupe and drop in a good cherry. Taste the Scotch beside the vermouth first. If they fight, use 15ml each of sweet and dry vermouth in place of the 30ml of sweet.

Where rye pushes spice, Scotch brings malt depth and, with the right blend, a wisp of smoke.

The Penicillin

A modern classic with a verifiable birth certificate. Difford’s Guide, a secondary source, says it was adapted from a 2005 recipe created by Sam Ross at Milk & Honey in Manhattan.

Shake 60ml blended Scotch, 22.5ml honey syrup, 22.5ml fresh lemon juice and two or three thin slices of fresh ginger hard with ice for 10 to 12 seconds. Double strain over one large cube in a rocks glass, float 7.5ml of Lagavulin 16 over the back of a bar spoon, and put candied ginger on the rim.

The base is a soft, honeyed whisky sour. The Islay float sits on the surface, so the first sip is nearly pure smoke and every sip after integrates a little more. The ginger goes into the shaker fresh rather than into a syrup, which keeps its heat sharp.

The Hot Toddy

The Toddy is hot whisky with honey or sugar, water and spice, taken as medicine as much as pleasure.

Warm a heatproof glass with hot water, then discard the water. Stir 15ml honey syrup, 15ml fresh lemon juice and 120ml water just off the boil in the glass, then add 60ml Scotch last and drop in a lemon wheel studded with cloves and a cinnamon stick.

A rolling boil scalds the whisky's aromatics, so take the kettle off and count to thirty before pouring.

The Ceilidh Approach

A ceilidh gathering runs on music, dancing, and a steady rather than rapid flow of drink. Set up a self-service whisky station with glasses, a water jug, and two or three labelled bottles spanning gentle and bold.

The quantities are simpler than they look. A 700ml bottle yields 28 measures of 25ml. Across a full evening, allow two to three drams per whisky drinker, so one bottle covers eight to ten guests. Batch the Rob Roy in advance: scale the recipe up, add cold water at about a fifth of the batch to stand in for stirring dilution, and refrigerate.

Offer beer and a visible non-alcoholic option, and put out substantial food.

The Whisky Tasting Format

A tasting suits smaller numbers and keener interest. Choose four or five whiskies representing different regions and pour 15ml to 20ml of each, which keeps consumption sensible across the line-up.

Run light to heavy: a Lowland to open, a Speyside for fruit, a sherried Highland for depth, an Islay for the peat test, then one special bottle to close. Provide water jugs and plain crackers, and serve food between flights.

Traditional Scottish Fare

Haggis takes either of two routes. A peated Islay malt meets its pepper and richness head-on, while a sherried Speyside plays sweetness against the spice. Neeps and tatties change nothing; the whisky is pairing with the haggis.

Smoked salmon wants elegance. A Highland or Speyside malt with citrus notes complements the fish, while heavy peat buries it. Venison suits robust sherried whiskies. Cullen skink, the creamy smoked haddock soup, pairs with a lighter malt.

For pudding, cranachan earns special mention. The assembly of raspberries, toasted oats, cream, and honey traditionally includes a spoonful of whisky already, so pour the same honeyed Speyside into the glass that went into the bowl.

Cheese Pairings

Whisky handles cheese as capably as port does. Isle of Mull Cheddar has sharp, farmhouse intensity that suits a medium-bodied Speyside. Lanark Blue, Scotland's ewe's milk blue, loves peat; salt and smoke flatter each other. Caboc, the soft Highland cream cheese rolled in oats, wants a gentle Lowland malt. Dunlop, mild and buttery, pairs with an approachable blend.