Rochester area friends, come to Pinnacle Wine & Liquor between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. on Saturday afternoon, January 20!

Mark this on your calendar: From 2-5 p.m. on Saturday, January 20, Pinnacle Wine & Liquor will hold its third annual Burns Day Scotch whisky tasting—a midwinter celebration of Scotland’s two greatest gifts to the world: its national poet, Robert Burns, and … Scotch whisky. (Learn more below the whisky photo about Burns and the two-century old tradition of celebrating his birthday.)

If you’re a Scotch whisky lover, this event is for you: We’ll feature five excellent Scotch whiskies (details below), the Bobby Burns cocktail (with shortbread cookie garnish), and other Scotch whisky cocktails, not to mention samples of a delicious haggis shepherd’s pie (courtesy of my bride) to pair with your whisky. So come in to sample a dram of great whisky and get yourself in the mood for your very own Burns Night supper on the poet’s actual birthday: Thursday, January 25. If you’re going to the Scottish Heritage Society of Rochester’s Burns Night supper later on the 20th, come to our tasting early!

Our whisky lineup for the Pinnacle Wine & Liquor Burns Day tasting
The 2024 lineup for Pinnacle’s “Burns Day” Scotchy whisky tasting includes something for every Scotch whisky lover’s palate, from sweet-not-peat to heavily peated (also see the photo below): Scapa “The Orcadian” (a sweet whisky from the Orkney islands); Glenfarclas 10 Year Highland Scotch Whisky; The Ardmore Legacy lightly peated Highland Single Malt; Laphroaig 10 Year Islay Single Malt (Cask Strength); and Laphroaig’s 2023 special release Càirdeas Islay Single Malt (finished in White Port and Madeira casks).

John Barleycorn was a hero bold,
Of noble enterprise;
For if you do but taste his blood,
‘Twill make your courage rise.

‘Twill make a man forget his woe;
‘Twill heighten all his joy;
‘Twill make the widow’s heart to sing,
Tho’ the tear were in her eye.

“John Barleycorn,” by Robert Burns

About Robert Burns and Burns Night in Scotland
Since 1801, Scots have observed Robert Burns’ birthday with Burns Night Suppers, which traditionally begin with a piper escorting a haggis into the dining room and a performance of Burns’ “Address to a Haggis”—a whimsical poem of tribute to the traditional folk fare; Burns tossed off the poem almost on the spot in 1786 to entertain a host in Edinburgh. The typical menu is haggis (of course) with “tatties and neeps” (mashed potatoes and turnips), accompanied by whisky and performances of still more Burns poems and songs…and still more whisky.

Robert Burns was born on January 25, 1759, and died just 37 years later, on July 21, 1796. Despite his short life, Burns left behind at least 550 poems and songs, endearing himself to ordinary Scots by writing many of those in the country’s vernacular. He also left behind 12 children from four different mothers, as far as anyone knows. To say he was a romantic is gross understatement; some would say he was a rake. His works include not only love songs to his wife and lovers (Ae Fond Kiss—the most heartbreakingly beautiful breakup song you’ll ever hear—or My Love Is Like a Red, Red Rose, also better heard in song than in recitation), but poems of whimsy (To a Louse, To a Mouse) and patriotism. His poem “Scots Wha Hae (Wi’ Wallace Bled)” remains an unofficial national anthem of Scotland, and in 2009 Burns was chosen as the “greatest Scot” by the Scottish public in a vote run by the Scottish television channel STV. Yes, he even edged out William Wallace (“Braveheart”) for that honor—and small wonder, with all those Burns descendants voting.