Dark so early

[Stuart M]

It's not so much the cold you have to worry about..it's the wandering polar bears. You can take a few precautions though, Don't leave food out where they can smell it and hire a bear gun from any Scottish Polar bear Protection Office (Usually found in the same building as your Igloo planning office)

Astonished you didn't mention the real worry for visitors - the haggis are starting to develop their white winter camouflage plumage now, so they're harder to spot coming round the hills.

this is why we have a feast on haggis on January 25th - by that point the hunters are catching so few, they've become a prized delicacy.

[Beowulf]

Astonished you didn't mention the real worry for visitors - the haggis are starting to develop their white winter camouflage plumage now, so they're harder to spot coming round the hills.

Well I didn't want to scare her too much. Sure Haggis attacks are on the rise during the winter months but they're not so common in the inner cities (just stay out of parks.. or anywhere they're playing bagpipe music)

But every cloud has a silver lining.. at least the wild haggis keep the numbers of polar bears down..

this is why we have a feast on haggis on January 25th - by that point the hunters are catching so few, they've become a prized delicacy.

indeed. The best hunters bathe in whiskey and lie in the gutter muttering incoherently mimicking the mating call of your female Haggis. You can often see people in the gutter in Scotland ,stinking of Whisky and muttering to themselves. it's a long proud tradition and it's great to see so many young Scots keeping up the practice .. especially around Hogmanay !!

[Crazy Shark]

The best hunters bathe in whiskey and lie in the gutter muttering incoherently mimicking the mating call of your female Haggis. You can often see people in the gutter in Scotland ,stinking of Whisky and muttering to themselves. it's a long proud tradition and it's great to see so many young Scots keeping up the practice .. especially around Hogmanay !!

I found that funny!! I've only heard about Haggis but never tasted it!! So just wondering what does it taste like?

[Beowulf]

hmm depends.

it can be quite spicy / peppery from some butchers (that's the kind I like!) some is smoother than others, and you can even get pretty decent/ passable vegetarian haggis these days

(Vegetarian Haggis are obviously ones that DON'T eat polar bears... they exist entirely on a diet of Potato (Tatties) and Turnip (Neeps) )

The BEST haggis IMHO comes from Stonehaven.. the little butcher's there (I forget the name) I've yet to find a store purchased haggis that compares.

The best suggestion is to get a small one from a supermarket, Cook some mashed potato, a little mashed turnip and try it. If you get a small one and don't like it.. well you've not wasted much.

I'm not much of one for "Being Scottish" hate bagpipes , kilts , whiskey etc but I do like a bit of Haggis in the winter though.. my one concession to being a Scot

[Stuart M]

I'm not much of one for "Being Scottish" hate bagpipes , kilts , whiskey etc but I do like a bit of Haggis in the winter though.. my one concession to being a Scot

Clearly, since you can't spell whisky properly. Now, repeat after me:

l-a-p-h-r-o-a-i-g = whisky

Some alternate spellings, such as "m-o-r-t-l-a-c-h", or "d-a-l-m-o-r-e" are acceptable. But not "whiskey" or, God forbid, "Scotch"

[Crazy Shark]

hmm depends.

it can be quite spicy / peppery from some butchers (that's the kind I like!) some is smoother than others, and you can even get pretty decent/ passable vegetarian haggis these days

(Vegetarian Haggis are obviously ones that DON'T eat polar bears... they exist entirely on a diet of Potato (Tatties) and Turnip (Neeps) )

The BEST haggis IMHO comes from Stonehaven.. the little butcher's there (I forget the name) I've yet to find a store purchased haggis that compares.

The best suggestion is to get a small one from a supermarket, Cook some mashed potato, a little mashed turnip and try it. If you get a small one and don't like it.. well you've not wasted much.

I'm not much of one for "Being Scottish" hate bagpipes , kilts , whiskey etc but I do like a bit of Haggis in the winter though.. my one concession to being a Scot

Yeah i'll try that thanx. Hope tesco or sainsbury sells them. I like the kilts and whats underneath it sometimes Plus i like the accents Its not what i hear often, i usually hear the 'surf Landon' accent.....i don't sound like that!!

[drathzel]

Someone must be listening to me. Its not getting dark yet today!!!!

[Beowulf]

Clearly, since you can't spell whisky properly. Now, repeat after me:

l-a-p-h-r-o-a-i-g = whisky:

That's obviously the Irish in me.. It's the Irish spelling apparently. I don't drink the stuff .. mind you I don't drink anything.. now you don't get more un-scots than that!

I like the kilts and whats underneath it sometimes Plus i like the accents

Well I hate to be a disappointment. I rarely get accused of being a Scot !! Lived near Stranraer for 18 years.. moved to Dumfries for 6 then up to Aberdeen for MANY years.. and Still I get accused more often of being IRISH or ENGLISH (and on one occasion WELSH) than I do of being Scottish.

Oh and I wore a kilt ONCE for my sisters wedding. I wore boxers underneath and I wouldn't be seen dead in a kilt again.. much to Poor Twirly's displeasure!

[Crazy Shark]

Well I hate to be a disappointment. I rarely get accused of being a Scot !! Lived near Stranraer for 18 years.. moved to Dumfries for 6 then up to Aberdeen for MANY years.. and Still I get accused more often of being IRISH or ENGLISH (and on one occasion WELSH) than I do of being Scottish.

Oh and I wore a kilt ONCE for my sisters wedding. I wore boxers underneath and I wouldn't be seen dead in a kilt again.. much to Poor Twirly's displeasure!

Hmmmm i wonder what you sound like as you're being accused of being irish and english??? Whats wrong with wearing kilts?

Btw i saw the poster for your new film called Beowulf no lie!! Its being released in november.

[SteveK]

The BEST haggis IMHO comes from Stonehaven.. the little butcher's there (I forget the name) I've yet to find a store purchased haggis that compares.

I reckon that the best haggis comes from Geoge Cockburns in Dingwall - makes me homesick just thinking about it (allegedly the 1st Champion Haggis Maker in Scotland)

Clearly, since you can't spell whisky properly. Now, repeat after me:

l-a-p-h-r-o-a-i-g = whisky

Some alternate spellings, such as "m-o-r-t-l-a-c-h", or "d-a-l-m-o-r-e" are acceptable. But not "whiskey" or, God forbid, "Scotch"

Agree on the spelling of whisky, but am not sure about Laphroig being typically Scottish. I got the impression that it's the English who prefer it - isn't the Scottish preference for something a bit milder like Highland Park or Glenmorangie (provided that you know how to pronounce it correctly)

[Stuart M]

Agree on the spelling of whisky, but am not sure about Laphroig being typically Scottish. I got the impression that it's the English who prefer it - isn't the Scottish preference for something a bit milder like Highland Park or Glenmorangie (provided that you know how to pronounce it correctly)

Who said anything about national preferences? Last time I looked, Laphroaig (note spelling...) was distilled on Islay, which has Paisley postcodes so it must be part of Scotland. I like Bushmills, but that doesn't entitle me to call it a whisky. It's a whiskey. Anyway, as for the taste, Laphroaig couldn't come from anywhere other than Islay. OK it's not typical Islay, but it is extreme Islay...

I don't really care what nationality prefers what whisky, I just wanted to string someone up for using incorrect spelling, regarding the Scottish stuff. And to talk about whisky.

Actually, It's interesting that the Scots spelling is generally the one adopted by formative malt whisky industries, such as that of our English cousins. And the Swedish. And the Welsh (lovely stuff, this!). And the Japanese. And even your lot ...

It's just those upstart Yanks and the bloody Irish who insist on sticking an "e" in, really. But the Irish can be excused on the grounds that they invented the stuff .

[Beowulf]

Ok.. consider the E dropped

besides.. when I DID drink (and to be honest, you need SOMETHING to do during the long dark winters in Scotland) I used to drink Tennessee sour mash bourbon (Whiskey) .. Or Jack to his friends

I went to the bushmills distillery once with my family. At the end you got a free shot of their produce.. neither Myself, My mum nor my sister liked Irish Whiskey so we all poured ours into Dad's glass.. I disitnctly remember dad having a nice red glow on the bus back to the ferry and Stranraer


Back on thread (sort of) it was REALLY dark coming into the office this morning at 7:00 .. was standing at the bus stop thinking I should get my winter woolies out. With the clocks going back this weekend it'll be lighter in the mornings for a little while but I'm going to be coming home in the dark again..

[SteveK]

Who said anything about national preferences? Last time I looked, Laphroaig (note spelling...) was distilled on Islay, which has Paisley postcodes so it must be part of Scotland. I like Bushmills, but that doesn't entitle me to call it a whisky. It's a whiskey. Anyway, as for the taste, Laphroaig couldn't come from anywhere other than Islay. OK it's not typical Islay, but it is extreme Islay...

What I was trying to say that it isn't representative of most of the whisky drunk in Scotland; I recall reading somewhere that most Laphroaig is sold/drunk south of the border, whilst a much higher percentage of say Glenmorangie's sales is carried out in Scotland?

[Stuart M]

What I was trying to say that it isn't representative of most of the whisky drunk in Scotland; I recall reading somewhere that most Laphroaig is sold/drunk south of the border, whilst a much higher percentage of say Glenmorangie's sales is carried out in Scotland?

Laphroaig's sales are possibly skewed, by virtue of it being the only malt whisky to bear a royal seal of approval (Prince of Wales IIRC) - that probably gives it leverage in markets where those crests actually mean something (London hotel bars and the like). You're probably right - I've never seen comparitive sales figures of malts, nor do I pay much attention to them TBH as they'll have no bearing whatsoever on what whiskies I like!

Maybe I'll ask someone at Whisky Live next weekend.