Sweet drams are made of this!

Burns Night means whisky time – and I’ve found fine bottles galore

LET’S get one thing straight. Whisky is not, as I recently overheard at a reputable tasting, ‘fighting fuel for idiots’. Whisky is actually perfect for wine lovers. Burns Night this Thursday is a chance to revel in the splendour of whisky finished in port pipes, sherry butts, sauternes casks and more. Time to pick your dream dram for the slicing of the haggis, that ‘Great chieftain o’ the puddin’-race’.

On setting out from my grandparents’ home in Falkirk when I was just 18, the first distillery I ever visited was Glenmorangie on the shores of the Dornoch Firth. The copper Olly Smith

WHISKY MAN

stills as tall as giraffes and the sweet scent of maturing casks is still an inspiring memory for me.

The Lasanta whisky I’ve picked out, right, translates from Gaelic as ‘warmth and passion’ – exactly what every whisky fan feels about their favourite tipple selected from Scotland’s exquisite regional diversity, from smoky, burly island bottlings to the elvish purity and grace of Speyside.

Glengoyne has the rarity of being situated both in the Highlands (distillery) and Lowlands (warehouse) and I reckon has wide appeal – try its 17-year-old for an absolute treat. I warmly recommend specialist stockists such as masterofmalt. com or thewhiskyexchange.com, which stocks Cragganmore 2004 Distillers Edition: it blew my mind with its gorgeous sweet port finish. Nab a handy sample 3cl bottle for £6.75 to see if you agree.

For similar samples, whisky-me. com is a new online service from £7, with whisky delivered in 5cl pouches through the post.

As for own labels, try M&S Highland 12-year-old Single Malt for £30, or Berry’s Own Miltonduff Cask 701547 2009 Single Malt, for £45 at bbr.com for spicy splendour. And for big-name blends, Johnnie Walker Blue Label is highly sought-after – only one in 10,000 casks makes the cut – £134.74 from masterofmalt.com. But their Black Label is the best all-rounder, to reflect Burns’s shunning of watery stuff – ‘Auld Scotland wants nae skinking ware’. Sláinte!

FIGHTING FUEL FOR IDIOTS? NO, IT’S GREAT FOR WINE FANS