The Auld Hundred, Rose Street

Kirsty Wilkins
1 day ago
2 min read

Updated: 7 hours ago

The Auld Hundred has unveiled its own limited‑edition single malt: the Auld Dram. Created with Annandale Distillery and drawn from a six‑year bourbon cask, this 50% ABV release adds a new chapter to the Rose Street pub’s story – a relaxed, unpretentious dram designed to be shared, discussed and enjoyed in one of the city’s most characterful bars.

The Auld Hundred on Rose Street is intertwined with the city’s past. Originally a mission hall in the 1700s – about the same age as the New Town itself – the building converted into a pub in the 1800s. It’s thought to be named after the street number (100) and the Old Hundredth, the tune of Psalm 23.

It feels lived in. Like you’re joining a long line of Edinburgh residents over a pint, perhaps propped up against the stone brickwork, drink in hand.

Today, we’re here not for a beer but for a spirit – The Auld Hundred has added their own single malt to their rather extensive collection of more than 100 whiskies.

Aptly dubbed the Auld Dram, there are only 290 bottles available, produced with Annandale Distillery in Dumfries and Galloway, and matured for six years in an old bourbon cask. It’s 50% ABV, which “gives you something a bit easier to approach, especially in a bar setting, where people may not understand cask strength,” says John Coombes, marketing manager at Annandale. “It’s nice and light – sweet. There’s a bit of spice coming through from the wood in the bourbon.”

“The idea of bottling our own whisky came from a lot of chance, meeting John from Annandale,” says whisky ambassador Chris Sloan. “I’ve also always wanted to serve something I believe in. If I have the confidence to sell it, hopefully, you’ll be able to drink it and enjoy it.”

With only limited bottles available, the Auld Dram is created not as a mass-market product but as a distinctive, proudly Scottish addition for the bar. And, going through the tasting notes one Thursday evening after work, perhaps this is what it always feels like to come in for a whisky – despite the rather impressive number of options on offer, it’s unpretentious, a relaxed place where you’re free to ask questions, try new things. Conversations flow, the sounds of live music surrounds you, and this latest whisky adds to the bar’s history. We’ll be back for a whisky flight soon …