Whether you believe he is a Scottish Icon or just an extraordinarily talented scoundrel, Robert Burns, the famous poet, lyricist and whisky drinker, deserves to be toasted on his Birthday on January 25th.  Originally, the plan for this article was to present THE most comprehensive list of Burns Night events worldwide. I was quickly however dissuaded from that task upon reading that there are over 3,000 formal venues in 80 countries.  It seems the estimated 45 million people claiming Scottish descent have their equivalent to St. Patrick's day, though it is clearly not as well advertised.

Having backed off from production of the mother of all Burns Night lists, I will instead share some of the more interesting ways to venerate "The Bard" on his day.  Please note that you can click through on the highlighted words to reach each website mentioned in this article. 

In my opinion, the most authentic way to celebrate, would be to attend a Burns Night Supper at either the Brig O' Doon Hotel in Alloway, Scotland or The Globe Inn located in Dumfries.  The "Brig" hotel is postcard picture perfect and was the site of last year's launch of Scotland's year long "Coming Home" celebration. For a small taste of Alloway's beauty, log on to this delightful You-Tube video by TimeTravellersGirl.  Alternatively, The Globe Inn was Robbie's personal haunt in later years with every inch now packed with memorabilia.  I would like to think that he also left a wee bit of his spirit behind.  It was in Dumfries where he wrote some of his most famous poems and where he died at the young age of 37 on the very day his last child Maxwell was born.

Moving on from morbid to merriment, I was surprised to learn that the glorious Edinburgh and Stirling castles are doing little to celebrate their national treasures.  Sure their cafes will be serving haggis and neeps, but only castle Urquhart has the presence to offer a tipple of scotch to visitors on that day.  Me thinks a better alternative is to head for The Whiski Bar on the Royal Mile or Edinburgh Castle Pub in San Francisco, California.

World wide travelers have some interesting alternatives through Caledonian clubs as far flung as South Africa, Nepal, Azerbaijan, Australia and France. I wonder if they follow the traditional format for Burns night at the China World Hotel in Beijing?  They probably don't at the 12th Gung Haggis Fat Choy Robbie Burns Chinese New Year Dinner at the Floata Seafood Restaurant in Vancouver, B.C. 

The United States weighs in with events in Memphis Tennessee and Moscow Idaho which holds the only known BYOB.  My choice for the real deal in the U.S. of A. would be St. Andrew's bar in Manhattan where I'm sure they follow the rules to the letter of Burns Night law. But then again where else can you go but Mulligan's on the Blue in Wailea, Hawaii to hear Maui's newest celtic band Finn McCoul play at the Burns night Scottish/Hawaiian buffet?

If you are looking for a venue near you, I would suggest that you start with the official Burns Night 2010 Facebook site.  Here over 100 fans are beginning to congregate to communicate events worldwide.  You might also check to see if your city has a local Scottish Heritage or Caledonian Club, as I'm sure they will be partying on the 25th.  There is also a World Wide Robert Burns Club which should be able to help you find the most highbrow events in the hood.  Even Cyberspace fans can contact Austin Tate to celebrate Robbie's night at the Virtual World of Whisky in Second Life. (Let me know how this turns out).   My "Fantasy Burns Night" would include renting a castle in Scotland where Burns look-a-like Christopher Tait would entertain 30 of my closest friends.  Music would be provided by the Royal Scots Dragoon Guard who would be invited to join our revelry.  Nick Nairn would be chef for the event and every single malt at the open bar would be older than our poet.

Since this dream is unlikely to come true, I decided that Sip Smoke Savor should at least do its part in joining the Virtual Toast to the Fabulous Mister Burns on his birthday.  This wonderful idea was the brainchild of Julie Deans and Steve Higson and we encourage you to visit their website World Wide Toast to Robert Burns (friends Geoff & Marion seen here in picture courtesy of their site).  Last year they organized this event to commemorate his 250th anniversary.  An overwhelming success, they logged over 27,000 toasts and decided to make this an annual internet event.  We would like to join them in spirit and will be logging our own party to their tally this year.

As our numbers are small, we invite you to be included in our tally.   Just raise a glass between 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. (your own time zone) on January 25th, 2010.  Address a personal birthday wish to "The Bard" on The Wall of our Event page on SipSmokeSavor Facebook.  We encourage you to upload your photo with glass in hand.  We will include you in our count for this Sip Smoke Savor Virtual Toast when we register it on Julie and Steve's website.  Be sure to tell us what scotch you are drinking.  We also invite you to join us as we Tweet live at our own party on January 25th in Southern California starting at 7:00 p.m. Pacific Standard Time, because we wouldn't want you to be drinking alone on Burns Night.

Slainte Mhath