Award-winning single-malt Scotch whisky Aberfeldy – nicknamed ‘The Golden Dram,’ – will celebrate World Honey Bee Day on 21st August and throughout the summer with a series honey-laced cocktails perfect for balmy evenings. 

With a heritage stretching back more than 120 years, Aberfeldy is famed for its honeyed notes, which are conjured as the whisky is distilled. As a result, the Highland dram pairs very well with honey in mixed drinks.

Saturday 21st August is World Honey Bee Day, and Aberfeldy is encouraging consumers to celebrate the occasion by discovering exceptionally crafted cocktails made using

locally-sourced honey, as the firm strives to raise awareness of the importance of the honey bee. 

“Discover how honey complements the spicy, smoky and sweet honeyed notes of ‘Aberfeldy 12 Year Old’ by creating a Herbed Honey Smash at home, or by visiting the Honey Highball

terrace at Boisdale Belgravia or Boisdale Canary Wharf”, the company said in a statement.

Barrels and bees

The source of honey matters to the Scottish whisky producer, which founded the Aberfeldy Barrels & Bees programme as “a celebration of Aberfeldy’a signature honeyed character”. The programme supports urban beekeepers by uniting them with bartenders around the world, promoting the use of responsibly farmed local honey, and also educates on planting for honeybees and other pollinators.

Bees and Boisdale

ABERFELDY has partnered with Boisdale Belgravia and Boisdale Canary Wharf to create a

Honey Highball terrace with a specially curated menu of four cocktails. From the Herbed Honey

Smash (ABERFELDY 12 Year Old, lemon juice, mint leaves and honey) and the Spiced Apple Mac (a mix of ABERFELDY 12 Year Old, Calvados, ginger wine, whisky barrel bitters) to the Jazzy D (a fresh blend of ABERFELDY 12 Year Old, peach liqueur, water, and peach garnish), there is a cocktail to suit all summer taste buds. 

Both Boisdale Honey Highball Terraces will be open until the end of September, and cocktails are available for £15 each.

Herbed Honey Smash

Aberfeldy, nicknamed ‘The Golden Dram’ after its water source – the Pitilie Burn – also has notes of honey in every drop. This comes from the longer fermentation times, from the copper contact during distillation, and the casks used to mature the slumbering whisky over many, many years. ABERFELDY 12 Year Old, with its notes of butter toffee, spices and vanilla, is perfectly paired with any of the floral, grassy, fruity or woody notes of honey, which are dependent on the hive’s location and season. 

Try the Herbed Honey Smash cocktail at home with your honey of choice:

Ingredients:

1. 60ml ABERFELDY 12 Year Old

2. 45ml lemon juice

3. 30ml local honey syrup*

4. 4-6 leaves of soft herb (for example basil or

mint)

Method:

1. Add all ingredients to a shaker with ice

2. Shake thoroughly and pour into a small glass

filled with ice

3. Garnish with you fresh herb of choice and

enjoy!

*To make honey syrup, combine equal parts local honey and hot water and stir until honey

dissolves.

ABERFELDY 12 Year Old is available from The Whisky Exchange and Master of Malt – RRP £36.