A Rebel’s Drink
In July of 1746, Prince Charles Edward Stuart strained against a mountain wind to make his way to the stronghold of Clan McKinnon on the Isle of Skye. Still stinging from his tragic defeat at Culloden in the year prior, it was a bitter irony that he was now preparing to flee Scotland from the same island to which he made a triumphant arrival, intent on reestablishing the Stuart throne.
John McKinnon, clan chief of The McKinnon, was one of a number of Highland chiefs brave and loyal enough to the Jacobite cause, to host and protect the would be King, as English forces scoured Western Scotland to find the last Stuart perceived as a threat.
Despondent and frightened for the future, Bonnie Prince Charlie made the last of his preparations for departing the isle when he summoned McKinnon to present him with a gift for his loyalty and service. As gifts go, it was highly unusual as it was in the form of a recipe. It was not just any recipe, though, as Prince Charlie entrusted Chief McKinnon with a drink recipe both special and secret. The enticing blend of whiskey, honey, herbs and spices; a powerfully delicious libation, was entrusted to McKinnons not only for their enjoyment, but the promise to protect the secrecy of it’s making. John McKinnon was good to his word, and so treasured the drink that he made it his personal elixir, cherished through coming generations.
Almost a century later in 1873, a McKinnon presented it to John Ross of The Broadford Hotel on Skye, who started making it to serve in his hotel. Dubbing it “Prince Charlie’s Liqueur”, guests absolutely loved it. They often remarked in their local Gaelic, that it was “an dram buidheach“ or “a drink that satisfies”. Dram buidheach was shortened to “Drambuie”. The name was a hit, and in 1893 John’s son James trademarked it. In a remarkable historical turnabout, a Malcolm McKinnon saw an opportunity to sell Drambuie on the British mainland, and struck a deal to produce it paying a royalty to the widow of James Ross. By 1914 he had acquired the recipe and the trademark and he established The Drambuie Liqueur Company.
Word spread. It became the first liqueur to be introduced to the House Of Lords in 1916. A year later Buckingham Palace ordered a case for its cellars. While the outbreak of World War I dented Drambuie sales and profits, it became popular with many Army officers, becoming an Officers Mess staple in the Highland regiments.
After the end of WWI, Drambuie was exploding onto international markets. But once again disaster struck in America, where Prohibition rose and threatened to put an end to the drink on this continent. Many distillers and drink producers began to participate in the secretive “Sub Rosa” campaign, where pirates & smugglers were used to get Scottish spirits into America.
As a running testament to the tenacity and staunch survival instinct of this amazing elixir, it became popular in Prohibition speakeasies on the East Coast of the USA. The way it mixed with more raw liquors in America was a big plus with consumers, and as Prohibition was finally ceased, the industry grew again and became an integral ingredient with popular drinks like The Rusty Nail. Savored by the light of a Highland fire, or in noisy night clubs, Drambuie endures not just as its namesake — the drink that satisfies — but as a true rebel’s drink.