DRINK : Meet the Bruadar Bees for World Bee Day, 20 May

Ahead of World Bee Day award-winning Scottish Whisky liqueur Bruadar pays homage to the tiny creature responsible for its unique flavour. I headed to Aberagie a few weeks ago to meet these Bruadar Bees and to try some Bruadar cocktails of course!

DRINK : MEET THE BRUDAR BEES FOR WORLD BEE DAY

Bruadar is created by carefully balancing Single Malt Scotch Whisky, sloe berries and honey which is produced by hives at their distillery in Aberargie. Ahead of World Bee Day, this Saturday 20th May, Bruadar has, for the first time released exclusive imagery of the hives which are responsible for the liqueur’s unique flavour.

Last year Bruadar approached Denrosa Honey, who have been beekeepers in Scotland for three generations to place hives on their farm, to not only to allow them to enhance the local provenance of the liqueur but to also strengthen the eco-system around the distillery.

Although the key ingredients of honey—pollen and nectar—remain the same, much like whisky, there are a number of factors that can affect the honey's aroma, taste and colour, with the biggest being the kind of flower a bee frequents. Clover honey, for example, is light in colour, with a delicate floral taste, whereas hardy heather plants bring a more complex taste with notes of molasses and caramel.

A plant’s specific growth habitat, with endless possible variants such as temperature, precipitation and soil quality, can also have a huge impact. Honey made from the same pollen source can taste completely different depending on the area the flowers are grown in.

Perthshire’s moderate climate is ideal for producing honey. The relatively mild winters, plentiful rain and warm summers, allow a diverse range of wildflowers and berries to thrive, providing ample food for bees.

The Bruadar bees forage from the local area and spend much of their time on the farm’s permanent pasture, home to clover and wildflowers (as well as grazing sheep). In late summer, the Bruadar bees take a trip up to Perthshire’s heather-covered hills where they collect the nectar from the abundance of pink and purple flowers.

The Bruadar Bees are located at Morrison Scotch Whisky Distillers in Aberagie Perthshire. Morrison Scotch Whisky Distillers is solely owned and operated by one of Scotland’s oldest and most prominent whisky families, Jamie and Brian Morrison. There has been over five generations of the Morrison family involved in the whisky business including grocers, brokers, blenders, bottlers and distillers, making them one of Scotland’s oldest whisky families.

They are an independent bottler and whisky distillers, based in Aberargie, Perthshire, who produce a wide selection of whiskies, including Mac-Talla Islay Single Malt and Old Perth, a sherry-matured blended malt whisky range and Càrn Mòr.

After buzzing from the bees we headed further into the Perthshire countryside to the very gorgeous Violet Studios owned by the very talented Gill Murray. This is a versatile studio/kitchen/event space where we were treated to incredible views of the woodland and orchard but also to a sit down lunch prepared by Fiona from Bothy Kitchen and cocktails devised by Jack Jamieson aka @scottishmixology.

Not only did the bees work hard in providing the honey to make the Bruadar for our drinks, but also pollinating and helping provide the incredible array of fresh seasonal food for our lunch.

So whatever you do this Saturday, go grab a dram of Bruadar or a cocktail and raise a toast to these hard working bees that help us sustain life here on Mother Earth!

My two favourite cocktails that we tasted on the day are listed below with recipes.