Let us treat you to a Scotch whisky this Burns Night

January 25th, known in Scotland as Burns Night, is the celebration of the life and work of Scottish poet Robert Burns. Known affectionately as Scotland’s national poet or Scotland’s favourite son, his legacy has definitely stood the test of time. During Burns night, people will traditionally gather, recite a few of Burns’ poems and get stuck in to vast quantities of haggis. This tradition has been happening for over 200 years and is ingrained in Scottish culture.

We thought we would celebrate at our Scottish hotels with another essential ingredient of Burns Night - Scotch whisky. For the unfamiliar, Scotch is a malt whisky or grain whisky that has been distilled in Scotland and is big business. In 2011, Scotch whisky was exported to over 200 countries – with exports reaching over £5 billion!

Scotch whisky is among the most popular alcoholic drinks in the world and we are offering a free glass of Scotch on Burns Night to all our Scottish visitors – just head to the Leonardo Hotels Facebook page to download your free voucher!

Fancy indulging this Burns Night? We have prepared a whistle-stop guide to Scotch to help give you the lowdown on this famous drink.

There are some pretty tough regulations involved in the distillation of Scotch whisky – the main one being that it must be matured in Scotland.

Single Malt Scotch Whisky

Single malt Scotch is made using pot distillation. Malted barley is the only ingredient included in the process and single malt whisky must be matured in an oak cask for at least three years, although most distilleries mature them for much longer.

Single Grain Scotch Whisky

Single grain Scotch is the product of one grain distillery and is made from wheat, corn or unmalted barley. The rarest Scotch out of the three, single grain whisky is only manufactured at seven distilleries on Scotland.

Blended Scotch Whisky

Blended is the most common form of scotch day – a huge majority of all whiskies distilled in Scotland are blended. Blended Scotch contains both malt and grain whisky, and was made as an alternative to the harsher single malt whiskies. Typically, blended malt Scotch has been matured for around five years, although some have a higher age.

If all this talk of Scotch is making you thirsty, why not come and experience the proper Burns Night experience? Leonardo Hotels is offering our guests a free voucher for Burns Night – just head to our Facebook page to get yours. Come and Stay in our Edinburgh, Glasgow or Aberdeen hotels and sample one of Scotland’s greatest celebrations and have a traditional tipple on us!