There are, of course, different types of drinking songs -- the convivial variety that celebrate the social aspect of drinking, with a grand chorus to be roared out in back rooms of bars; and the (usually) solo tour de force.

For the first category I think of songs like A Wee Drappie O't and Happy Are We a' Thegither. And for the second, you need look no further than a book called The Whisky Muse (by the above-mentioned Robin Laing).

The best tour de force song I've ever heard was by Jack Foley (resident in Hamilton, Scotland) and called A Bottle o the Best, to a pipe tune whose name I have forgotten. Here's a wee sample….. verse 2!

Aye, let them stick tae a' the rest, gie me a bottle o the best --
The amber bead I'll down wi' speed; it's no' bad taste or waste - just greed.
And a whisky still I'll kill, I'll have my fill and if I spill a gill,
Ye know I will, I'll lick it aff the flair.
I'll no' touch Teachers, Grants or Haigs -- gie me Bowmore or Laphroaig,
Glenfarclas in a glass, ye want tae throw the top away;
For there's nae need tae pretend that ye'll need the cork again
When ye're breakin' oot a bottle o the best.