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By Promote ShetlandNovember 4th 2025

To celebrate Bonfire Night, why not try this special whisky cocktail, complete with its own warming flavour to add spark to your celebrations?

Bonfire Night is celebrated in Shetland, as it is across the UK, with many community-organised firework displays and bonfires commemorating Guy Fawkes's failed gunpowder plot to blow up the Houses of Parliament.

If you're in Shetland and looking for a celebration to join in, check the social media pages of local hall committees and community groups. As the darker, colder nights draw in, Bonfire Night is a great way to bring people together to enjoy the pyrotechnics, hot food and drinks.

Although Bonfire Night itself is the 5th November, local celebrations often take place at the weekend before or after the 5th. And, as with most outdoor events, organisers keep an eye on the weather and will reschedule if the conditions demand it.

Whether you're planning to attend an organised event in Shetland or elsewhere, or are planning a gathering of your own, our friends at Taste of Shetland have shared this delicious, smoky whisky cocktail idea to try. To make it extra special, it includes Shetland honey from Frakkafield and the Lerwick Distillery's Nørn blend, as well as the warming flavours of ginger and honey to give it that 'fiery feeling'.

Edge of the Fire – a Bonfire Night cocktail

Ingredients (for one cocktail):

  • 50ml Nørn Aurora Blended Malt Scotch Whisky
  • 10ml Pedro Ximénez Sherry
  • 5ml St Elizabeth Allspice Dram (or a dash of spiced rum)
  • 10ml Fresh Lemon Juice
  • 5ml Shetland Honey & Ginger Syrup (see below)
  • 2 dashes Aromatic Bitters
  • Garnish: Flamed orange peel & smoked sea salt rim (optional)

For the Honey & Ginger Syrup

  • 1 inch fresh ginger
  • 60 ml Shetland honey
  • 60 ml water
  1. Peel the ginger and slice it into small pieces, no more than ¼ inch thick.
  2. Add ginger to a saucepan with water and honey, and cook over medium-high heat, stirring until the honey dissolves.
  3. Bring the mixture to a boil, then remove from the heat. Steep the honey-ginger syrup for at least 30 minutes to allow the flavour to infuse.
  4. Strain out the ginger pieces and bring the honey syrup to room temperature. Seal in an airtight container to store.

Instructions:

  1. Lightly rim a rocks glass with smoked sea salt (optional). Chill the glass
  2. Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake vigorously for 10–12 seconds
  3. Strain over ice into the prepared rocks glass.
  4. Express an orange peel over the drink, briefly passing it over a flame to release smoky citrus oils—a nod to the bonfire spark.
  5. Drop the orange peel in the drink or rest it on the rim.

Elizabeth Atia – @tangoraindrop

printer Print Recipe

Thanks to Elizabeth Atia for the recipe.

If the thought of fiery festivals warms your soul, don't forget Shetland has a whole season of Up Helly Aas.