Addressing the haggis during a Burns Night celebration at the Scottish-themed restaurant Tam O'Shanter in Los Angeles.
There’s no more fitting time to raise a dram of your favorite scotch whisky than January—specifically on January 25, or Burns Night, which honors the birthday and legacy of 18th-century Scottish poet Robert Burns with special events and suppers throughout Scotland and around the world. These "Burns dinners" typically include traditional Scottish fare, from haggis to neeps and tatties to, of course, scotch whisky, as well as poetry reciting, most notably of Burns’ “Address to a Haggis,” bagpipe playing, and general merriment.
If you can’t make it to Scotland to toast the country's national poet, worry not: here are some venues across the United States that are holding their own Burns Night celebrations to immerse you in Scottish culture, and scotch whisky.
BOSTON
Not Your Usual Burns Night
Thursday, January 25, 2024, multiple entry times, beginning at 5:30 p.m.
The Crystal Ballroom, 55 Davis Square, Somerville, Massachusetts
Three levels of tickets are available for this modern take on the traditional Burns Supper, hosted by the National Trust for Scotland Foundation USA, NHSCOT, Scots in New England, Scottish Development International, and the British Consulate General Boston. If you purchase a VIP ticket ($250) your evening will begin at 5:30 with an intimate performance by singer Maureen McMullan, as well as hors d’oeuvres, a whisky tasting, open bar, and gift bag. As part of the tasting, the following will be offered:
- Arran Robert Burns Single Malt
- Arran Sauternes Cask
- Old Pulteney Pineau des Charentes
- Old Pulteney 15 year old
- Speyburn 18 year old
- Balblair 18 year old
At 6:30 p.m. (tickets are $85 to attend at this time), Scottish presenter Iona MacGowan will host live recitations of Robert Burns poetry and special greetings from Ayrshire, Scotland, with hors d’oeuvres and wine and beer included, and a cash bar available. Finally, beginning at 8:00 p.m. (tickets are $40), dessert will be served and Scottish country dancing will commence, featuring live music by the Mystic River Ceilidh Band and dance caller Summer McCall, followed by a fun, fresh take on Celtic music with Elias Alexander of Ramblxr.
Ticket proceeds support the conservation of Robert Burns sites in Ayrshire, Scotland, and can be purchased here.
Burns Cabaret at The Haven
Friday, January 26, 2024, 9 p.m.
The Haven at Haffenreffer Brewery Complex, 284 Amory Street, Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts
The Haven’s Burns Suppers on the 25th and 27th may be sold out, but the Scottish tavern still has room for you at its Burns Cabaret. The night, hosted by Haven owner Jason Waddleton and musician Elias Alexander, will include live music conveying an eclectic approach to the Burns canon, poetry readings, bagpipe playing, Bobby Burns welcome cocktails, and a special whisky tasting featuring Westland American single malt and Bruichladdich with pours of Port Charlotte 10 year old, Bere Barley, and Octomore.
Tickets are $45 and are available here.
CHICAGO
Burns Supper at The Violet Hour
Wednesday, January 24, 2024, multiple seatings beginning at 6 p.m.
The Violet Hour, 1520 North Damen Avenue, Chicago
Enjoy a six-course Burns Supper, accompanied by traditional Scottish music and poetry, at one of Chicago’s best cocktail bars. Each course includes a cocktail, three of which feature scotch. For instance, the first course of tattie scone comes with a cocktail featuring Dalmore scotch, port, orange marmalade, and lemon; the second course of seared Lorne sausage includes a take on the Rusty Nail; and the fourth and fifth course—haggis with neeps and tatties and roast beef with house-made HP sauce—are accompanied by a mixture of Dalmore 10 year old, Carpano Antica Formula vermouth, yellow chartreuse, and Angostura and Peychaud’s bitters.
Tickets are $180 and are available here.
Burns Night at The Office
Thursday, January 25, 2025, two seatings at 5:30 p.m. and 8:15 p.m.
The Office, 955 West Fulton Market, Chicago
The Office is the intimate speakeasy below Chicago’s highly regarded cocktail bar The Aviary. Known for its collection of vintage spirits, the bar’s Burns Night celebration includes an exclusive tasting menu that highlights its rare scotch collection and authentic Scottish bites that pay homage to the late poet.
Tickets are $185 and are available here.
Chicago Scots Burns Supper
Thursday, January 25, 2024, 7 p.m.
Martyrs’, 3855 North Lincoln Avenue, Chicago
The Chicago Scots forgo a traditional sit-down Burns Supper, instead opting for a night focused on performance—the event is hosted at a music venue, after all. Around 20 different performers from the city and abroad will be in attendance to regale guests with Burns poetry recitations, musical entertainment, and other reflections on the National Bard of Scotland. In addition to the live presentations, haggis and other Scottish food will be available for purchase, and Hotaling & Co. will be hosting a free whisky tasting, with selections including:
- Arran Robert Burns
- Arran 10 year old
- Arran Port Cask
- Old Pulteney 15 year old
- Speyburn 15 year old
This event is free to the public, with no reservation required.
LOS ANGELES
The Scotch Malt Whisky Society Burns Night
Sunday, January 21, 2024, 5 p.m.-8 p.m.
Tam O’Shanter, 2980 Los Feliz Boulevard, Los Angeles
Instead of a seated dinner, The Scotch Malt Whisky Society’s Burns Night celebration is a more casual gathering of passed Scottish courses paired with rare single malt whiskies. The society’s senior director Tom Smith will be the “whisky bard” of the evening, with special guests including musician Elias Alexander, who will be playing the Highland pipes, fiddle, and guitar and leading sing-alongs, and Jason Waddleton, owner of Boston’s The Haven, who will serve as “Burns Bard,” leading the event’s toasts and poetry recitations.
Whisky selections will highlight a range from The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, including:
- Clynelish 10 year old Cask No. 26.219
- Highland Park 18 year old Cask No. 4.294
- Benrinnes 16 year old Cask No. 36.206
- Bowmore 18 year old Cask No. 3.344
- Tomatin 8 year old Cask No. 11.43
Tickets are $95 for Society members and $125 for non-members, and are available here.
NOTE: The Scotch Malt Whisky Society is hosting the same event on January 22nd at The Brandy Library in New York City (yes, the hosts are taking a red-eye fight to make it!)—this event is sold out, but keep it in mind for next year so you can buy tickets in time!
Annual Robert Burns Night at Tam O’Shanter
Tuesday, January 23, and Wednesday, January 24, 2024, two seatings at 5:30 p.m. or 8:30 p.m.
Tam O’Shanter, 2980 Los Feliz Boulevard, Los Angeles
If you’re not done honoring all things Scotland after The Scotch Malt Whisky Society’s event, head right back to Tam O’Shanter—the Scottish steakhouse is hosting two Burns Night celebrations of its own.
For $89 per person, guests will get to experience live entertainment complete with poetry readings, “slaying of the haggis” ceremony, dancers, and a piper plus a three-course dinner. The meal is inclusive of haggis, bread and butter starters, a choice of lamb and barley stew or a winter salad, a choice of Tam O’Shanter’s cut of prime rib, salmon, or roast goose (or ta vegetarian option), plus sticky toffee pudding. For $150 more, guests have the option to add on a bottle of the 101st-anniversary Tam O’Shanter single cask Aultmore whisky.
Tickets are available here.
St. Andrew’s Society Robert Burns Supper
Saturday, January 27, 2024, 5 p.m.
Four Seasons Beverly Hills, 300 South Doheny Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90048
Hosted by the St. Andrew’s Society of Los Angeles and the St. Andrew’s Society of Southern California for the 94th year, this Burns Supper includes haggis prepared by a Michelin Star chef, special guest performances by Scottish actor Angus MacFadyen and world champion Highland dancer Emma Schiff, musical entertainment from bagpipers, fiddlers, and harpists, Burns poetry recitations, a raffle and silent auction, plus a Bruichladdich whisky and Eden Mill gin tasting.
Tickets are $235 for Society members and $260 for non-members and are available here.
NEW YORK CITY
The American-Scottish Foundation’s 29th Annual Burns Night
Friday, January 19, 2024, 7 p.m.
The University Club, 1 West 54th Street, New York
The American-Scottish Foundation, in association with The University Club, is hosting a Burns Night that begins with a reception, including sliced Scottish smoked salmon and a whisky tasting by whisky ambassador Robin Robinson. These whiskies will include:
- Lindores Abbey Single Malt
- BenRiach Smokey 10 year old
- BenRiach Classic 10 year old
- Glendronach 12 year old
- Nc’nean Organic Single Malt
- WOLF Island Single Malt (a Single Cask Nation independent bottling from an undisclosed Island distillery for the Water of Life charity event in NYC)
- Kilchoman Machir Bay Single Malt
This reception and tasting are followed by a traditional Burns Night Supper, complete with Compass Box Peat Monster toasts, a piper performance, words from American-Scottish Foundation chairman and master of ceremonies Kenneth Donnelly, poetry recitations from American-Scottish Foundation member Robbi Munro, and musical interludes from Callum Pesqua Quartet.
Tickets are $225 for Foundation members and $275 for non-members and can be purchased here.
New York Caledonian Club Burns Supper
Saturday, January 20, 2024, 6:30 p.m.
Down Town Association, 60 Pine Street, New York
The Caledonian Club’s Burns Supper includes a cocktail reception, dinner with a premium open bar, formal haggis presentation, whisky toasts, dancing, and a silent auction.
Tickets are $225 for members and $250 for non-members and are available here.
Burns Night Lunch at Gage & Tollner
Thursday, January 25, 2024, 1 p.m.
Gage & Tollner, 372 Fulton Street, 2nd Floor, Brooklyn
Brooklyn oyster and chop house Gage & Tollner and Bruichladdich are hosting their annual Burns Night Lunch, featuring a decadent multi-course luncheon of traditional Scottish fare complete with Bruichladdich cocktail pairings by Gage & Tollner co-founder St. John Frizell (highlighting both the Classic Laddie and Port Charlotte expressions), readings and speeches inspired by Burns’ most famous poems, and traditional entertainment including the presentation of the haggis, ‘piped-in’ by a bagpiper, and the singing of “Auld Lang Syne,” with pours of Octomore offered to close the event.
Tickets are $150 and are available here.
WASHINGTON, D.C.
Burns Supper at the Queen Vic
Thursday, January 25, 2024, 7 .p.m
The Queen Vic, 1206 H Street Northeast, Washington, D.C.
British pub the Queen Vic’s Burns Supper, with distinguished host Ted Hopkins, includes traditional Scottish dishes from chef Ryan Gordon paired with Glenlivet whiskies, including 14, 15, and 18 year olds, and Fusion Cask, plus bagpiping from Ray Bilter. Guests will be encouraged to perform a funny story, dramatic reading, poem, or song during the entertainment, so come ready to partake in a lively and interactive experience.
Tickets are $110 and are available here.
Burns Night Celebration at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Friday, January 26, 2024, 6 p.m.
U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 1615 H Street Northwest, Washington, D.C.
The British American Business Association (BABA) is partnering with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the St. Andrew’s Society of Washington, D.C. to host the city’s biggest Burns Night celebration, complete with a three-course dinner, whisky, and entertainment. Celebrated Burns performer Gavin McNicoll and co-collaborator Tim FitzHigham will be joining from the UK to lead guests in performances of poems, songs, traditional toasts, and reel pipes (a smaller version of Highlands bagpipes), accompanied by the Washington Scottish Pipe Band and St. Andrew’s Society Pipes & Drums. The event’s whisky sponsors are Diageo and Brown-Forman, so expect some great drams on pour too.
Tickets are $249 and are available by contacting LeeAnn Petersen at lpetersen@babawashington.org. Additional details can be found here.
Burns Night Basics: Here’s What to Expect
Gathering and Recital of The Selkirk Grace: After pre-dinner cocktails, everyone gathers, the host says a few words, and then comes a recital of The Selkirk Grace, a grace to celebrate the meal that was written by Burns himself.
Piping in The Haggis: After a first course, the haggis, a Scottish savory pudding and main food event of the evening, is brought into the room, trailed by a group of bagpipers. The host performs the famed Robert Burns poem, "Address to a Haggis." Everyone then toasts the haggis and the main course begins.
The Toasts and Recitals: After the meal, the first Burns recital is performed, the Immortal Memory (the main tribute speech to Burns), followed by the second Burns recital. There’s then a Toast to the Lassies, followed by a Reply to the Toast to the Lassies before a final Burns recital.
Singing Auld Lang Syne: At the end of the night, the host gives a vote of thanks, and everyone stands and sings the Burns poem and song, “Auld Lang Syne.” Traditionally the guests cross their arms and join hands at the line “And there's a hand, my trusty fere!?”
For more Burns Night details, check out this previous Whisky Advocate web story.
