Your Amazing Race: Outlanders in the Shetland Islands
By Catlin Allen
Bottoms Up!
While most locales require a foreign stomach to adapt to the food, visitors to Scotland might want to prep their liver for Scotch whiskey. This libation is most common referred to simply as Scotch. By law, distillers must follow certain regulations for their end product to bear the title of Scotch. All end products must be barrel-aged for at least three years. However, with many types of alcohol, the older, the better.
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Like American whiskey or bourbon, each Scottish region produces a distinct product. While in the North, stop by a pub and sample some the Highland variety whiskey. This variety is generally heavier and drier than other regions. Expect to taste nutty notes mixed with honey and heather. It doesn’t get much more Scottish than that flavor profile. Visit Scotland has a great map on their website of the distilleries they recommend. Remember when ordering, the proper term when ordering a drink is a dram.
Test Your Boundaries
A famous, and not for the faint of heart, Scottish food is haggis. This traditional dish is made with sheep’s heart, liver and lungs which are mixed with onions, oatmeal and spices. The mixture is then packed into a sheep’s stomach and then boiled for three hours. Yummy right? The dish is actually quite tasty.
I have purposely omitted a recipe for this dish since most states have a ban on many of the ingredients, primarily the offal, that are used to make this dish. The US has had a ban on importing haggis and sheep lung since 1971. So as the old saying goes, When in Rome!
Next time you find yourself in a Scottish pub, ask your waiter for a ration of haggis and a dram of whiskey!
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