Ol na Chuaich (how to drink/ Toast from a Quaich)
The Cuaich is the cup of friendhip so often lauded in verse. Here is how a toast with the Quaich is performed. This ritual which is performed between 2 people at a time can be used to strengthen friendships and loyalty bonds, as well as for unifying companies together. It is often also used to conclude bargains, and as a way to "seal the deal" in a similar manner to the Russians, the Norwegians, the Ukrainians, ect.
For the sake of example i'm going to use the scenario of a Warrior/Hunting band about to set out on their respective foray. They want to establish their loyalties to the group, and pay respects to the parted members before begining their expedition.
Toaster one begins with a toast to the company, and their victorious dead awaiting them in the hall of the feast of ages. S/he then fills the quaich from his/her own flask, and holding it in his/her left hand (the hand of the heart) extends the right hand to shake under the quaich. The toastee takes the quaich by the hand in their left hand, and graps the right hand extended with their right. The toaster offers a salutory toast ("Slainte", "Good-Health") and drinks the first part of the whiskey (to show that it isn't poisoned, Scots are such a trusting lot), then the salute is returned by the toastee who then finishes the drink, and the hand is shook. The toastee now becomes the toaster, and turns clockwise to present to the person next to them in the circle, and the toast is repeated. This goes on until everyone in the circle has been toasted in (it is also a means of setting magic circles), one this happens the cup will inevitably return to the initial toaster, who upon taking the last draught turn the quiach upsidedown, places it on his/her head and pronounces braodly to the assembly "Gum bu slan sinn oirn e, 'S air ar Daoine" ("may it be well with us, and our people")
A toast to the King over the water
In the aftermath of the Battle of Culloden, when the Jacobite cause was broken and the Highlands placed under watch, even the simplest gestures of loyalty became dangerous. Public gatherings were scrutinized, and the ritual of the loyal toast—drinking to “the King”—was no exception. Refusal to participate could invite suspicion, punishment, or worse.
Yet the spirit of the Gael is not so easily extinguished.
Among Jacobite sympathizers, a subtle and ingenious custom arose: when called upon to toast “the King,” they would comply—but with a hidden meaning. A glass of water would be placed upon the table, and the drink—whether wine, whisky, or ale—would be passed over the water before being drunk. To outward observers, including government informants or Hanoverian soldiers, the gesture appeared obedient. But among those who knew, the meaning was unmistakable.
They were not toasting the reigning monarch of Britain.
They were toasting “the King over the water”—the exiled Stuart claimant, most often Charles Edward Stuart, who had fled overseas after Culloden, aided in his escape by Flora MacDonald.
Symbolism and Practice
This act was both literal and symbolic. By passing the glass over water, the toast itself was redirected—transformed—so that its allegiance lay not with the Hanoverian king, but with the Stuart king in exile.
The practice became widespread in Jacobite circles and took on ritualized forms:
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A jug, bowl, or glass of water would be placed centrally on the table.
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The drinker would raise their glass and pass it deliberately over the water before drinking.
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The spoken words—“The King”—remained unchanged, preserving plausible deniability.
This ambiguity was essential. In a time when open dissent could be fatal, meaning had to be layered, coded, and shared only among the initiated.
Historical accounts confirm that this was not merely folklore, but a documented custom. Jacobites “would stand for the loyal toast to ‘the King’ but pass their drink over a glass or jug of water… symbolising ‘the king over the water’.”
A Gesture of Defiance
What makes this practice remarkable is its quiet boldness. It is resistance expressed not through arms, but through ritual and symbol—a form of cultural survival.
So widespread did the custom become that it reportedly influenced etiquette at the highest levels. Finger bowls, commonly placed on dining tables, were avoided in royal settings because they could be used for precisely this act of subversive toasting.
In Jacobite clubs and private gatherings, the toast evolved into a kind of sacrament of loyalty. Special glasses were even engraved with Jacobite symbols, and in some traditions, glasses were broken afterward so they could not be used for any lesser allegiance.
The Quaich and the Shared Cup
While the “over the water” gesture is most often associated with wine glasses, it sits within a broader Scottish tradition of communal drinking vessels such as the quaich—a two-handled cup symbolizing trust, unity, and shared bond.
Though not exclusive to Jacobite ritual, the quaich embodies the same spirit: that a drink is never merely a drink, but a covenant—between kin, between clans, and, in this case, between a people and their exiled king.
Legacy
Today, the toast “to the King over the water” survives as a romantic echo of Jacobite loyalty—re-enacted at commemorations of Culloden and remembered in story, song, and tradition.
But beyond its historical curiosity, it stands as something deeper:
A reminder that even under surveillance, even under conquest, a people may still speak—
if only in symbols,
if only in whispers,
if only in the quiet passing of a glass over water.