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Atholl brose

Scottish alcoholic drink

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionMay 31, 2026
Entity authorityQ4815653 ↗
Source-derived summary

Atholl brose (or Athol brose, Athole brose) is a Scottish drink obtained by mixing oatmeal brose, honey, whisky, and sometimes cream (particularly on festive occasions). Atholl brose has also become an alternative name for the dessert cranachan, which uses similar ingredients.

According to legend the drink is named after the 1st Earl of Atholl (of the 8th creation), who suppressed a Highland rebellion by The Lord of the Isles against James III of Scotland in 1475. According to legend, he spiked the rebel leader's well with Atholl brose, leading to an inebriated enemy and the rebel leader's capture.

See also

Scottish cuisine

References

Simon, André (1948). A Concise Encyclopedia of Gastronomy. Section VIII, Wines and Spirits. London: The Wine and Food Society. viii + 178.

Davidson, Alan (1999).

Editorial summary

“Atholl brose” enters the record as scottish alcoholic drink. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Atholl, brose and Scottish can confirm, complicate or overturn.

Editorial reviewA concise reference frame for defining the subject, testing terminology and identifying the institution closest to the evidence. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1475, 1948, 1999—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its strongest next move is a source search built around Atholl, brose and Scottish.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

“Atholl brose” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Atholl, brose and Scottish provides the most credible route into that argument.

Evidence profile

The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 31, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q4815653. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1475, 1948 and 1999.

Critical limits

Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
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The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Atholl brose”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Atholl brose primary sources, Atholl brose archive and Atholl research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Atholl brose”?
  2. Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
  3. What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Atholl brose” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.