20 May 2023

Fictional whisky drinking men

We’re assembling the ultimate shortlist of fictional whisky aficionados.

Learn to enjoy a dram like some of your favourite folk from the worlds of film, television and literature. This time it’s the men and next time it’s the whisky women. You probably won’t want to mimic all of them…

Don Draper

Illustration of Don Draper from Madmen
The protagonist of the acclaimed American television show Mad Men, Don Draper is known to possess an uncanny creative talent, a wardrobe of impeccable suits and a rampant taste for Old Fashioneds. Here’s the man himself demonstrating his drinking dexterity by making an improvised version.

Inspector John Rebus

Illustration of a knife on a blue backdrop
Ian Rankin’s books not only chart his protagonist’s exploration of the Scottish criminal underworld, but also his penchant for hard drinking. Highland Park recently launched Rebus30, a special edition bottling to mark the detective’s 30th anniversary.

Ron Burgundy

Illustration of Ron Burgundy's exquisite hair
Stay classy, whisky drinkers! Anchorman‘s eponymous anchorman loves nothing more than his jazz flute, his faithful dog Baxter and, of course, Scotch. Take his word for it, from one of the movie’s most often-quoted scenes.

Captain Archibald Haddock

Illustration of Captain Haddock
The ill-tempered counterpoint to Hergé’s intrepid boy-reporter, Captain Haddock routinely lands the pair in peril as a result of his alcoholic tendencies. His drink of choice is whisky, specifically Loch Lomond. The Loch Lomond brand you might know today wasn’t around at the time Hergé was writing, though – his was fictional.

Jack Torrance

Illustration of an axe in a wall
Jack Torrance, the antagonist of Stephen King’s The Shining, takes a job at the secluded Stanley Hotel where he descends into madness. At one point he orders a ‘hair of the dog that bit me’. He’s served Jack Daniel’s, probably at the cost of his soul.

Captain Benjamin L. Willard

Illustration of Apocalypse Now sunset cover art
The Palm D’or awarded film Apocalypse Now has a memorable opening scene in which Captain Willard drinks a bottle of whisky before trashing his hotel room. In true method fashion, the actor, Martin Sheen, really was intoxicated while the cameras rolled.

 

Fictional whisky drinking women

The Reader

Inspirational whisky adverts

Where once whisky producers needed nothing more than straight serves to market their products, today that’s not enough. The trend now is inspiration, and lots of it. Here, then, are six of the most inspirational whisky adverts ever aired.

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Whisky Tunes

The sound of whisky

Short of the undeniably satisfying ‘pop’ of a whisky bottle being uncorked or the sound of the spirit hitting the side of a glass as it pours, our ears haven’t had much in the way of involvement when it comes to whisky – that privilege tends to go to our eyes, noses and mouths. Here, then, are seven songs that take whisky into an audible world. Sit back, pour yourself a dram and let us bring whisky to your ears.

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Man reading a book by the sea

Whisky in Literature

There’s a strong connection between literature and whisky. Discussions of it mostly revolve around the penchants of individual authors – but what about those occurrences

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