Burns Night
Poetry competition
If you make us laugh, cry, sing, or applaud with your poetry you could win Scotch whisky for Burns Night!
Master of Malt Burns Night Poetry Competition 2026
Our annual 2-week Burns Night poetry competition has returned for 2026!
This competition has become a regular fixture in the whisky calendar as thousands of you enter to try and get your hands on delicious Scotch whisky and have the honour of being named a poet of Burnsian prowess.
Last year we gave away 10 whiskies to poets who wooed us. This year we’re giving away 5 whisky prize bundles in total, each containing 70cl bottles of; Loch Lomond 24 Year Old 2000 Open Course Collection - 152nd Royal Troon 2024, GlenAllachie 15 Year Old, Scapa 10 Year Old, Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old, The Glendronach - Ode to the Valley, and Ledaig 9 Year Old Bordeaux Red Wine Cask Matured. But not to those who use AI. Only to those who would compete with honour and integrity.
Think you weave words in the style of one of the greatest Scots ever to live – Robert Burns? Then enter now! We wish you the best of luck. Wi’ usquabae, we’ll face the devil!!
Burns Night Poetry Competition Rules
Make sure your poem meets the following criteria or we can’t accept it. Sorry. We don’t make the rules. We just dictate and enforce them.
Competition Rule
Prizes
Winner Categories
Here are the rules: tl;dr NO AI
The format of the poetry competition is as follows:
Entries are sent by completing the form below. To protect the integrity of the competition and encourage genuine creativity, strict rules will apply.
No AI allowed: Poems written by AI will not be accepted. Clear warnings will appear on the entry page.
1,500 characters maximum: Each poem must not exceed 1,500 characters.
Restricted terms: Certain phrases will be banned due to repeated AI usage in previous years. Restricted terms include:
- amber hues
- in amber depths
- titles beginning with ‘an ode to’
ENTRIES ARE NOW CLOSED!
Thank you for your interest. Our judges are currently sorting through the entries and making some difficult decisions.
Good luck to everyone who entered!
With thanks to our partners in poetry and drams
Supporting great words, great whisky, and questionable life choices. Slàinte!
