In Scotland on 25th January every year the greatest Scot of all time, according to a nationwide poll, Robert or Rabbie Burns as he better known is celebrated on Burns Night; an evening of haggis-love, bagpipes, whisky (obviously), poetry, songs, tartan and proud Caledonian carousing.
Fair fa’ your honest, sonsie face,
Great Chieftain o’ the Puddin-race!
These are the rousing opening lines from ‘Address to a Haggis’, Burn’s ode to the classic Scottish victual. The first line translating as Good luck to you and your honest, plump face..
Burns, born in Ayr on the West Coast of Scotland, is considered the most influential Scottish poet, writing in an accessible form of the Scots language, allowing his work to be read and loved far beyond his homeland. His poems and songs have become vital references for the global diaspora of Scots.
Burns tried his hand unsuccessfully at farming, became a tax collector, all the while collecting folk songs, writing poems and music. He had a reputation as a ladies’ man and fell in and out of love and fatherhood with rakish ease. In July 1786 Robert Burns’ Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect was published, finally bringing him the acclaim he deserved.
Sadly, Rabbie Burns died young, at the age of 37 in Dumfries where he made his home. His reputation has never waned, especially in this modern era of Scotland. Through songs, history, legends, romance and satire, his work defines a witty and realistic way of viewing Scottish history.
Jorum is a true Scottish perfume house, fragrances inspired by the flora, weather, histories and produce of Scotland. As we approach Burns Night we thought to select pairings of Jorum perfumes and Burns poems. For instance, his famous ‘A Red, Red Rose’ matches perfectly with the throaty saline Rose Highland, inspired by the Munro Buachaille Etive Mòr in Glencoe.
Spiritcask has new make spirit, chocolaty woods with whisky lactones and pear, the boozy swirl of it is ideal to wear on 25th January for ‘An Address to a Haggis’.
I dream'd I lay where flowers were springing
Gaily in the sunny beam,
List'ning to the wild birds singing,
These lines from ‘I Dreamed I Lay’ capture gorseflower gold and sun-baked vanilla aesthetics of our Gorseland perfume, inspired by the remarkable extinct volcanic forms of Salisbury Crags and Arthur’s Seat that loom silently over Edinburgh.
Our newest launch, Unspoken Gesture is a tremulous mix of fig, nuts, mimosa, rice, white flowers, clean musks and the powdery fingerprint of ambrette seed. A haunting skin scent that matches the lament of Burns’ ‘Ae Fond Kiss’ with the opening lines:
Ae fond kiss, and then we sever;
Ae fareweel, and then forever!
Rabbie would probably have loved the peaty iodine burn of Firewater redolent of coastal fires; a blend of larch, bracken, birchwood and black tea. He’d raise a snifter of whiskey and say Sláinte!*
(*Scots for Cheers! Pronounced slawn-che, meaning health)
