SHE was the Scottish woman who launched a dynasty and who is famed abroad as the Winter Queen, yet who is hardly known in her native land.
Now Elizabeth Stuart, daughter of King James VI and I and his Queen, Anne of Denmark, has been honoured by having a new “fusion whisky” named after her.
The Winter Queen whisky is a blend of Scotch and Dutch whisky which experts are already raving about as having a stunning taste that is unique.
It is the latest release from the innovative Fusion Whisky concern and Adelphi partnership that celebrates historical Scots and their influence on the world.
Born in Fife in 1596, at 16 Elizabeth was married to Elector Palatine Frederick V with whom she reigned over Bohemia for less than a year, hence her nickname, and afterwards she mostly lived in exile in The Hague. She was described as “more politically cunning than her grandmother, Mary, Queen of Scots, and more belligerent than her godmother, Elizabeth I”.
Dr Nadine Akkerman of Leiden University is the leading authority on Elizabeth Stuart.
She said: “During her years in exile, she changed court culture in the Netherlands and was matriarch to a family that included artists, warriors, natural philosophers and one queen mother. George I was her grandson.”
The Winter Queen is a nine-year-old malt made using Scotch from Longmorn and Glenrothes distilleries, blended with malt whisky from the renowned Dutch Zuidam Distillery. The recipe was created by Adelphi’s managing director and master blender Alex Bruce.
Bruce said: “Like the historical characters we honour, these whiskies are themselves pioneers, challenging expectations of what blended whisky is. Crucially, these whiskies are also products of international partnerships and friendships.”
The Winter Queen will be available through select specialist retailers, priced around £125.
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