ITS TARTAN DAY

[macaroonie]

And to celebrate I'd like to buy every member of the forum a dram of whisky.
If you care to meet me in the Clachan Bar in Drymen Square at 6pm this evening I will honour my pledge. If you cannot make it this will have to do.

[Krunchy]

Why Thank You Mac! May your Day be Magnificent :applaud: That does look very inviting, I will join you in spirit :D
Dont think its the propper glass but it will have to do in short notice.
Got My Harris Tweed hat on and my Tartan (at least I think its Tartan, I know there are strict rules about this) and I'm ready to roll :)

C h e e r s!

[Krunchy]

BTW it was 6:00 EST when I posted that picture which of course has no relevance to 6 oclock in Scotland but the intention was there :D

How long has this venerable tradition (Tartan Day) been around for, does it coincide with the invention of Tartan itself? Or is it more recent in its inception?

[loach71]

A tip o' the hat to you from the Isle of Skye...

[hjames]

And to celebrate I'd like to buy every member of the forum a dram of whisky.
If you care to meet me in the Clachan Bar in Drymen Square at 6pm this evening I will honour my pledge. If you cannot make it this will have to do.

Sad as it is we cannot make it there, but we pulled out a few bottles (a couple due to your tips a few years back!) and had a taste of Abelour to all of you!

[macaroonie]

We have tartan day every day, It has been on the go now for 8 years I think and is prob a collaboration between NYC and the Scottish mafia to try to compete with Paddy's day. It is purely a US event.

[hjames]

We've gone to the Highland Games and Celtic Festival in Richmond VA (http://www.richmondceltic.com/site.asp) when we have a chance - Emma 's family is Clan Chattin (http://www.clanchattan.org/) (the name was bastardized a bit at Ellis Island, no doubt), so she's got a bit of a taste for it already ... tho we always have to hunt down meat pies with HP sauce ...

[macaroonie]

You hit it on the head there Heather

[richluvsound]

Guy's

don't forget the deep fried Mars Bar

Rich

[macaroonie]

You should be starting to feel sick by now

[hjames]

You hit it on the head there Heather
ummmm, meat pies ... gahhhhh

Delicious pies ... we GOT the HP sauce - import 4 bottles a year!

The pies? Can't FIND them 'round here, except during festivals!
... Emma did found a company in Utah (Utah???) but it'd cost a bit to ship east to DC from Utah ... (prolly cheaper from Glasgow!!)

The Utah folks claim they are Scotts - but we think they be Mormons!

http://www.morrisonmeatpies.com/history.htm

"Thomas Henry Morrison brought something unique and valuable with him from New Zealand - an old family recipe for delicious Scottish meat pies. Thomas and his wife started making these meat pies in 1883 in their own kitchen."

http://www.morrisonmeatpies.com/history.htm#

Morrison Meat Pie Company is a part of Utah history. It is said to be the oldest food processing plant west of the Mississippi.

Thomas Henry Morrison was born November 16, 1847 in Wellington, New Zealand. He immigrated to the United States and then directly to Utah in about 1880. He married Susana Baker on the 27th of March in Salt Lake City.

Thomas Henry Morrison brought something unique and valuable with him from New Zealand - an old family recipe for delicious Scottish meat pies. Thomas and his wife started making these meat pies in 1883 in their own kitchen. They had a small pushcart and each day he would push the cart all the way to downtown Salt Lake. This cart was heated with hot bricks to keep the fresh pies warm.

[macaroonie]

That the USDA or whoever it is would let me send you anything like that, -------- But I could try. HP no prob just ask. Pies frozen wrapped and boxed with insulation should stay cold for a week. Or inside a BOSE 901 even, they have to have a use surely:D

[John]

Maybe I should export the HP down to you from Canada? A lot closer than over the pond.

[hjames]

Maybe I should export the HP down to you from Canada? A lot closer than over the pond.

I get HP sauce from a NJ firm - we buy it 4 at a time - its the real UK HP sauce, not that rebadged A-1 Steak sauce they sell here ... ugh!

http://www.englishteastore.com/hpsauce255g.html $3.85ea

[hjames]

Well, we finished off the Aberlour last week, so on Friday we went to get something new to try ...
... we found this new-to-us brand at the Virginia ABC (Alcoholic Beverage Control) - Scapa 14 year old (http://www.scapamalt.com/)

Its a single malt from the north, the Orkney Islands - drank straight-up, of course, quite nice and not too expensive.
Quite a tasty drink, it seems the distillery was mothballed and in danger of closing when (in 2004) they decided to resurrect it
(the soda can is not significant, t'was just a point of reference for that white flower from our 80 foot Magnolia Tree out back ...)

[JBL 4645]

Guy's

don't forget the deep fried Mars Bar

Rich

Wouldn’t it melt in the deep frying pan? I like Mars, Ice-Cream, but after looking at some of these tasty, scummy pies yummy.

[macaroonie]

Well thats a new one on me. Not the still but the age, I've only ever seen/tried the 10 year old. I thought the 10 to be a bit lacking in character but the 14 that you have looks to have taken on some maturity judging by the colour.
That is very often the case , that the extra few years just does the trick and the dram becomes more full and rounded.
My nearest still is Glengoyne and it is very much like that , at 10 years it is pale and uninteresting however they do a 17 which is splendid. By then of course the price is way up.
That my dear is why I recommended Aberlour , because even the youngest offering has a lot of character and smoothness that belies its age and price.
If you get the chance invest in a bottle of A'bunadh from the Aberlour range , its just wonderful. Cask strength and unfiltered it is huge in every way.

Here are some comments -
a'bunadh
"I recently tasted the Aberlour a'bunadh at one of our tasting evenings - it was quite extraordinary."
Michael Ackermann, Canada

"a'bunadh! Ahhhhhhhh! Finest liquid gold available!"
K Bremner, Canada

"I just bought a bottle of a'bunadh and it's a mindblowing experience to drink such an excellent whisky. It's gold again."
Evert Hoven, The Netherlands

"Just got a bottle of a'bunadh. It was just like a revelation when all the tastes exploded in my mouth. The most fantastic whisky I've tried."
K Oestraatt, Norway

"a'bunadh is by far the grandest spirit I have ever had HANDS DOWN. At 120 proof I was a little sceptical as to the smoothness but after one wee dram I knew I had made a friend. It was fantastic."
Roderick Gebensleben, USA

"I knew 10 and 15 years old but now I know a'bunadh. IT IS GREAT."
Fabrice Laurent, France

"a'bunadh . . . the best I ever tasted."
O Wahlberg, Sweden

"I have been so lucky to meet a'bunadh. I'll never die because I drunk the best whisky in the world."
Mario Maresca, Italy

"a'bunadh has an incredible true taste of what a single malt should taste like."
Kevin Phillips, Canada

"a'bunadh, a taste from heaven."
Koos van Duijn, The Netherlands

No affil I might add .

[hjames]

We took our bottle of regular Aberlour to Richmond last week and finished it after Emma's Dad's funeral, but I checked and the A'bunadh IS available from the Virginia ABC store (state controlled hooch distribution). Maybe next payday (the one that doesn't go to the Mortgage!) I'll get a bottle. We did buy some Balvenie Single barrel in Richmond last week, left that with Emma's sister as she really enjoyed it.


Well thats a new one on me. Not the still but the age, I've only ever seen/tried the 10 year old. I thought the 10 to be a bit lacking in character but the 14 that you have looks to have taken on some maturity judging by the colour.
That is very often the case , that the extra few years just does the trick and the dram becomes more full and rounded.
My nearest still is Glengoyne and it is very much like that , at 10 years it is pale and uninteresting however they do a 17 which is splendid. By then of course the price is way up.
That my dear is why I recommended Aberlour , because even the youngest offering has a lot of character and smoothness that belies its age and price. If you get the chance invest in a bottle of A'bunadh from the Aberlour range , its just wonderful. Cask strength and unfiltered it is huge in every way.

No affil I might add .

[Earl K]

Heather, please pass on to Emma, my condolences for the loss of her Dad . :(

<> Earl K

[Earl K]

If you get the chance invest in a bottle of A'bunadh from the Aberlour range , its just wonderful. Cask strength and unfiltered it is huge in every way.

Mac, thanks for the headsup about this single malt . In a couple of weeks I'll be in Calgary ( our national home of "best-price" ) single malt opportunities .

<> :)

[macaroonie]

As you know I wouldn't muck about on this particular subject. There are loads of great drammies and also there are as many not so wonderful.
I am no fan at all of Glenfiddich yet it is one of the biggest ( volume ) sellers of Malt in the world.
Now, we here can equate that to the speaker market and know fine well that the more that is spent on promotion then the less is spent on the product that you buy.
You nice folks will like this wee true tale though. --- Very near where Glenfiddich is made there is a little stand alone pub called The Fiddichside Inn.
It is tiny, from the front edge of the bar to the opposing wall at most would be 8 ft. There is an open fire on the opposing wall. This place is mostly frequented by huntin shootin fishin folks, ghillies and black Labradors. Sometimes you can go in there and it is Black Lab carpet and smelly too from the hill.
However the really interestingthing about this place is old Dot who runs it. She was born in the building, went away during ww2 and came back and still owns it and runs it daily at the age of ( last time I saw her ) 89.
There is a bottle of Macallan behind the bar that is at least 50 years old.Prob worth $20k because of its provenance yet it just sits there on thetop shelf.

If any of you are in Scotty land on a visit it is worth a detour

[macaroonie]

:) and old Dot and Robbie. Strangely last name Brandie.