Glayva Liqueur

Glayva is very similar to its more famous, more ancient cousin; Drambuie. It is also a whisky based liqueur from just outside Edinburgh, but has much more recent origins. The drink was thought up just after the Second World War. It has a similar scent to Drambuie, but its flavour is intriguingly different.

The use of herbs and spices, plus honey give Glayva a fruitier flavour than Drambuie. This is emphasised by the use of a quantity ...
...orange.

Glayva is available in a nice bottle, normally half a litre in size. It used to immortalise an ancient Scottish legend. Master Borthwick, the 16 year old credited with carrying Robert the Bruce's heart back to Scotland after the King's defeat at the hand's of the Saracens. Not content with rescuing the regal heart, the indomitable lad cut the head of a Saracen chieftain he had killed, impaled it on a spear and brought that ... more

Glayva is very similar to its more famous, more ancient cousin; Drambuie. It is also a whisky based liqueur from just outside Edinburgh, but has much more recent origins. The drink was thought up just after the Second World War. It has a similar scent to Drambuie, but its flavour is intriguingly different.

The use of herbs and spices, plus honey give Glayva a fruitier flavour than Drambuie. This is emphasised by the use of a quantity of orange peel. All this adds to a drink that tastes particularly good when added to ice cream, especially those flavoured with honey and orange.

Glayva is available in a nice bottle, normally half a litre in size. It used to immortalise an ancient Scottish legend. Master Borthwick, the 16 year old credited with carrying Robert the Bruce's heart back to Scotland after the King's defeat at the hand's of the Saracens. Not content with rescuing the regal heart, the indomitable lad cut the head of a Saracen chieftain he had killed, impaled it on a spear and brought that back too just to keep his spirits up, nice!! All of those pubs named the Saracen's Head recall this event, as did the Moorish head on the Glayva label.

Mixing: One of the best ways of mixing Glayva (if you must!!), is in a Saracen. Shake a measure of Scotch whisky, half a measure each of Glayva and dry sherry and a dash of orange bitters with ice. Pour into a tumbler and a splash of soda. Decorate with a piece of orange rind.

Glayva is a serious alternative to Drambuie, which it is obviously most comparable to. Coming in at 35% ABV it's a proper liqueur worthy of investigating. Its now pretty widely available, and is comparable in price to Drambuie, normally around 15 pounds. It is a wonderful drink by itself, served just as it is or slightly chilled.

 

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