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Drambuie
Herbal/Spice Liqueurs — Scotland
Reviewed
January 9, 2020 (edited February 27, 2023)
Appearance: Transparent yellow-gold.
Aroma: A sweet herbal-honey nose with a strong alcohol prickle.
Flavour and Texture: Unctious and sugary-sweet on the arrival with a character almost like golden syrup. The honey is noticed after the initial sugar bloom and the herbal flavours follow, and there are notes of orange zest, menthol and licorice. The texture is thick and there is a soothing warmth to the aftertaste.
Drambuie can be divisive. Some drinkers find it far too sweet and brightly herbal - an unnecessary embellishment of scotch whisky. For others it is the epitome of the ideal liqueur - high abv, bold taste, whisky based, no dairy component, etc.
Personally I think it tastes like medicine - very nice medicine.
In fact, the best medicine I know of to deal with the symptoms of the common cold is a hot toddy made with Drambuie. Pour a generous double dram into a tumbler, add the juice of half a lemon, two aspirin tablets and top it up with very hot water. Stir well and sip it as it cools. If it's not strong enough, add some whisky or more Drambuie. Go to bed and put a hat on the bedpost - keep drinking until you see two hats. Beats the heck out of any medicine I've bought in a pharmacy.
As for drinking it for pleasure, I've been known to indulge but one small dram is usually enough - it's just not something I enjoy sufficiently to crave more and a little goes a long way.
Oh, and as for the Rusty Nail - it's a good way to get smashed quickly but most times I'd rather not spoil a good whisky (and the hangover can be monumental). The one exception is camping in cold weather - a flask of pre-mixed rusty nail is just the thing to take the chill off a cold tent.
"Good" : 84/100 (3.75 stars)
64.0
AUD
per
Bottle
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@WhiskyWitch No, I’ve never seen it but I’ll keep an eye out - cheers.
Have you tried Bruadar? I think they only sell it in Scotland, but a friend brought me a sample once. That has to be the greatest whisky-based liqueur in existence.
The "hat" treatment sounds like the most enjoyable cold remedy I've heard of!! At least until the next day...
@Rick_M Ha! Actually I'm innocent - I've not bought a bottle of this for at least 30 years. It was one of 12 miniatures in a Christmas stocking I was given by a work colleague last year. She knows I'm into whisky but thought some tastes of liqueurs was a safer bet for a gift. Good thinking. More reviews of sweet stuff incoming. @WhiskeyLonghorn No, calling it a waste would be unfair as the base whisky is doubtless fairly ho-hum to begin with. It's enjoyable enough but not a habit I'd encourage.
I always see this at the store, think about buying it, and then think, “Is this just a waste of good Scotch?”.
@Rick_M Wonder what I’d find if I reach way into my vault. Last time I did that, I pulled out a dusty 1962 North Port Brechin
Amazing what you can find if you reach way back in the liquor cabinet. :)
I vaguely remember drinking Drambuie in college... back when anything sweet was what I craved! One of these days I'll have to try it again; been wanting to try a Rusty Nail for a while now. Nice review. Cheers!