A special release from The Drambuie Liqueur Co. Ltd. produced in the 1970s.

John o' Groats is named after a Dutchman, Jan de Groot. In 1496 King James IV granted De Groot the ferry franchise between the harbour here and Orkney, which was at the time still a relatively new acquisition by Scotland. It has been suggested that De Groot gave his name to the silver coin, the Groat, as this was the level at which his fares were fixed by the authorities to curb his efforts to cash in on his franchise. The truth is that groats as coins predate De Groot by the better part of two centuries. 

Jan de Groot was quite a character. Legend has it, an octagon shape of John o' Groat's House, being one room, with eight windows and eight doors, was built to to admit eight members of the family; the heads of different branches of it, to prevent their quarrels for precedence at table. Each came in by this contrivance at his own door and sat at an octagon table, at which, of course, there was no chief place or head.

Drambuie is a whisky liqueur, a blend of aged Scotch whisky, infused with heather honey, aromatic herbs & spices. 

It is the oldest British whisky liqueur brand and it’s origins can be traced to a secret recipe created for Bonnie Prince Charlie by his Royal Apothecary in the 18th Century. The legend goes that after the Battle of Culloden, he gave the elixir to a Scottish clan on the Isle of Skye in gratitude for their hospitality as he awaited safe passage back home. 

The name Drambuie is derived from Scots Gaelic ‘An Dram Buidheach’ and means “The Drink that Satisfies”.

The story of Drambuie began in 1745 when it arrived on British shores under the guardianship of its original custodian, Prince Charles Edward Stuart (known as Bonnie Prince Charlie). This non-alcoholic essence of herbs and spices was the Prince’s personal draft, and he drank a few drops each day for strength and vitality. The recipe was a well-kept secret passed to Clan MacKinnon, registered as a brand in 1893 and Drambuie Liquor Company was created in 1914. 100 years later in 2014 The Drambuie recipe is passed on from one family owned company to another as William Grant & Sons acquire the brand. Since the handover the recipe has been kept in a safe at the blending facility near Glasgow. Only three people know the recipe, one of who personally mixes each batch of Drambuie essence and is the fifth generation of the company founder William Grant.

The glass bottle codes ‘S C’ and ‘U G’ in a hexagon indicate that it was filled in the1970s.