Scottish Delicacies

When I think of Scotland, I think of it's main exports to popular culture: Whiskey, Tartan, Shortbread, Harry Potter, and Haggis.

I planned on tackling all of these if possible.


Whiskey: Though my mother doesn't drink, she understood my interest in trying the official drink of Scotland.

We came across a small Whiskey shop that had it still in barrels. I tried two different whiskeys, and eventually settled on purchasing one. They filled the bottle directly from the barrel. I couldn't think of a better Whiskey to bring back as a souvenir and it was good Whiskey too.

We also visited the "Whiskey Experience", a disney-esque tourist attraction where you ride a magic whiskey barrel and learn how whiskey is made. They talk about the different whiskey-making regions in Scotland and how their various whiskeys differ.

The Whiskey Experience also houses the world's largest Whiskey Collection with over 3000 bottles of Whiskey.




It's impressive as it goes on for quite a few rooms and is very well presented.

Tartan is patterned cloth that the various Scotish Clans would use to identify themselves.




There are couple shops where you can actually see the cloth being made. My ancestors on the Scotish side come from the MacAllister Clan. Unfortunately, they don't make their pattern anymore (typical). However they did have the MacDonald Clan tartan, from which the MacAllister Clan originated.



I purchased 3 identical scarves in the MacDonald Clan tartan for my mother, my brother, and myself. This way, we might on occasion all wear our tartan and, though we are spread out all over the planet right now, think of each other.







We were able to tackle Shortbread Cookies and Harry Potter at the same time. We went to "The Elephant House" coffee shop, which is where according to legend, J K Rowling wrote the first Harry Potter book.






We ordered Lattes and an elephant shaped Shortbread cookie. We noticed several people writing in the back room no doubt seeking the same muse that inspired her.







It isn't hard to see some of the inspiration that went into the books in a place like this. The back room has a terrific view of Edinburgh Castle sitting on its granite perch. It's not hard to imagine that it is Hogwarts.

The whimsically shaped cookies helped too. . .

My mother had never had Haggis, so I knew we would have to find someplace for her to try it. We came across a Pub that advertised serving Haggis. We were starving, so I convinced my mother to give it a go.

They served it with the classic accompaniments, "Nips" (Swede turnips) and "Tatties" (mashed Potatoes). The presentation was beautiful as it was done in 3 tiers.







I also tried 3 of the local brews made in Edinburgh. They were all excellent.

I guess that actually made for 5 different Scottish Delicacies.