Let’s face it: it’s cold and dark – so Burns Night is the perfect excuse to make merry this January. Scot or not, you can join in this celebration of the poet Robert Burns, who wrote New Year classic 'Auld Lang Syne', by reading poetry, eating haggis and drinking whisky (...or indeed vegan haggis and kombucha, depending on your Resolutions!) Here are our top picks for Burns Night 2019...
Burns Night at BrewDog, Manchester (and various)
On Friday 25th of January, this Scottish Brewery Bar will be pulling out all the stops to celebrate the life and work of Rabbie Burns, with haggis (veggie), and the launch of a bunch of Scottish Whiskies plus a very special, brand new collaboration beer with Northern Monk Brewery! They're blending two of their most popular boozy big boys together: Tokyo* by BrewDog and Death by Northern Monk to bring you… Tokyo* Death, a 15% Imperial Stout. Oh, and if you wear a kilt, the first beer is on them! Yaldy!
Image courtesy of Brewdog
Brewdog Manchester is located at 35 Peter St, Manchester M2 5BG; for more locations see here
The ‘Big Burns Supper’ Festival 2019, Dumfries
Why make do with just a Night? From Thursday 24th January, Dumfries flings open its doors for 111 events across 11 days of world-class music, comedy, theatre and cabaret. This non-profit event, produced by local arts charity Elektronika, features the likes of KT Tunstall, Frank Turner, Craig Charles, comedian Ed Byrne, cabaret acts Queer Haggis and Le Haggis, a street carnival, and much more! In the final days of the Festival there will also be an installation called Arcade, which will see computer games being played via projections on buildings
The Big Burns Supper takes place from 24 January - 3 February
Tickets are available to book here or by calling +44 (0) 1381 271 820
Vegan Burns Supper Club at Debbie Bryan, Nottingham
This gorgeous gift shop and artisan tea room, which plays host to regular creative activities and workshops, sees Chef Craig Floate’s much anticipated return on Friday 25th January for a very special vegan supper club. The five-course menu includes a tattie scone, vegan black pudding, 'Cullen Skink' with smoked tofu, vegan haggis croquette, toasted Selkirk Bannock with whisky ice cream, and last but not least, a coconut & maple cranachan with salted maple 'Crunch' and raspberry shortbread
All this, plus a Hot Toddy to warm you up on arrival - guests are in for a divine evening of exquisite food.
Image credit: @DebbieBryanShop on Twitter
Debbie]https://debbiebryan.co.uk/product/january-25th-2019-vegan-burns-night-supperclub-with-craig-floate/">Debbie[/url] Bryan is located at 18 St Mary's Gate, Lace Market, Nottingham, NG1 1PF
Burns Weekend, The Isle of Raasay Distillery
Raasay's first distillery, which only opened in 2017, is hosting a Burns and Whisky Weekend a stone's throw from where another famous Scots poet, Sorley Maclean, was born. Guests will dine at the distillery on Friday evening and enjoy a hearty lunch on Saturday before an exclusive whisky tasting and warehouse tour with the distillery's co-founder, Alasdair Day. Make sure you save room for Saturday’s traditional Burns supper, featuring Scottish dishes like haggis and rhubarb cranachan with homemade shortbread and whisky fudge.
Image credit: Isle of Raasay Distillery
To book, visit the Distillery's website or you can call +44 (0) 1478 470178.
Brighton Ceilidh Collective
Brighton folk can look forward to the full works: haggis (veggie or meaty), piper, songs and poems, sandwiched between two scrumptious sessions of wild Ceilidh dancing. Don’t worry if you don’t know the steps - just follow the caller’s instructions! Get your kicks dancing Scottish favourites like Dashing White Sergeant, Cumberland Square Eight, Strip the Willow, the Gay Gordon and many more.
The Big Brighton Burns Night Bash takes place at One Church, Gloucester Place, Brighton, BN1 4AA