Sam Wylie-Harris celebrates Burns Night with cocktails, new expressions and whiskies to serve with supper

Robert Burns is often referred to as the poet laureate of whisky, but you don't need to have Scottish roots to honour the birth date of Scotland's most famous bard.

An institution for more than 200 years, Burns Night suppers are celebrated across the country, and rolling out the tartan carpet on January 25 is a great excuse to raise a dram, break into verse and praise his love of Scotch.

Along with an evening of whisky, food is central to the celebrations, but for the new genre of party planners, a Scottish tapas menu of bite-size salmon fish cakes, Scotch eggs and cheeses with oat cakes is a great choice if you want to hold the haggis.

Here are some whisky cocktails to inspire a night of poetry and ditties...

BOBBY BURNS

"Whisky cocktails are increasingly popular and offer an alternative to a neat serving for those less familiar with a dram," says James McTaggart, master distiller, Isle of Arran Distillers.

"Pick a softer whisky for mixing to give you the option of a varied menu. We developed a number of recipes with Robert Burns Single Malt (£29.99, 70cl, www.masterofmalt.com), the only whisky endorsed by the Robert Burns World Federation, for this very reason."

Here's how to mix their classic...

50ml Robert Burns single malt, 25ml sweet vermouth, 2 dashes Angostura bitters, 5ml Benedictine

Fill a mixing glass with ice. Add the ingredients. Stir, then strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with a cherry.

LAGAVULIN 8 YO WHISKY SOUR

"Scotch is beloved by bartenders in every corner of the globe and a great cocktail to celebrate Burns Night is a whisky sour - the sweet and sharp combination of flavours are a perfect way to cleanse the palate," says Donald Colville, global malts ambassador, Diageo.

"A whisky sour with the 200th anniversary bottling of Lagavulin 8 Year Old (£52.95, 70cl, www.masterofmalt.com) works especially well as the classic peaty flavour of the whisky is perfect on a cold winter's night."

Here's his recipe to fire the imagination...

50ml Lagavulin 8 Year Old, 15ml freshly squeezed lemon juice, 10ml freshly squeezed orange juice, 10ml sugar syrup, 2 dashes Angostura bitters, 25ml egg white, 1 wedge of lemon

Fill a cocktail shaker (or jam jar with a screw tight lid) with all the ingredients except the lemon wedge. Shake initially without ice, then open it up and fill with lots of ice and shake again. This first technique is called dry shaking and Colville says, "It helps to emulsify the ingredients and get the egg white nice and fluffy and creamy, the ice then chills it down nicely." Fill a rocks glass with ice and strain the sour into the glass. Garnish with a wedge of lemon.

While these whiskies will encourage some clapping to pipe in the haggis...

"Haggis is usually very rich and spicy, so you need something that's packed with flavour, but not overpowering," says Dawn Davies, buyer, The Whisky Exchange.

"Whiskies aged in sherry casks usually work well as they tend to have rich dried fruit notes, but also some light spice. But my recommendation this year would be Caol Ila 12 year old, a well-balanced smoky whisky with a wonderful oiliness to cut through the richness of haggis."

Caol Ila 12 Year Old (currently £35.45, down from £42.75, 70cl, www.thewhiskyexchange.com)

The Isle of Islay, off the west cost of Scotland is famous for its distilleries that create the perfect fusion of smoke and peat and along with Lagavulin and Caol Ila, it's also home to Bowmore, the oldest surviving distillery. Try their Bowmore 15 Year Old Darkest (£52, 70cl, Amazon) which spends the last three years in Oloroso sherry casks to give its 'signature darkest colour and warming finish', and the treacle flavours and gentle smokiness are studded with raisins and sweet sherry notes.

On the whisky trail for more sherry soaked casks? Glen Moray have introduced layers of rich and spicy sweetness to their typically light and floral flavours with Glen Moray Sherry Cask Finish (£22, 70cl, Sainsbury's), a new addition to their Classic portfolio. A burnished gold, dried fruits and cinnamon accompanied by sweet vanilla oak and a 'tingle of spice' adds character.

Elsewhere, Ailsa Bay (£53.95, 70cl, www.thewhiskyexchange.com) is a peated, Lowland whisky from a distillery of the same name and balances smoke and sweetness with a distinct peatiness on the palate. Perfect for a traditional sit-down dinner, the presentation of the tall, heavy glass bottle and stopper that contains a piece of Ailsa Craig granite makes a nice talking point - and the smoky, fruity notes complement the sweetness of the swede and seasoning in the haggis.

Along with producing blends to pay tribute to Robert Burns, The Isle of Arran Distillers latest release is named in honour of the modest dwellings (a bothy) that were common to the highlands and islands in the 18th and 19th centuries.

A multi vintage single malt, The Bothy - Quarter Cask 2nd Edition (£54.99, 70cl, www.arranwhisky.com) is matured in first fill ex-bourbon barrels and American oak for a full bodied expression of the Arran Malt. Add a dash of water to open up the sweet palette with citrus notes that carry through to the finish and enjoy a wee nip with cranachan, the Scottish dessert that's a must for Burns Night suppers.