CUISINE

So I made it back to the local Scottish pub and had their veggie meat pie, forgetting that I was offended by it. They tried to do me a favor by burning the first one, then made me another plus a free ale for my trouble.

It was somewhat tasty though I would have preferred meat. I also learned that Innis and Gunn makes both a Scottish cask conditioned ale and a rum cask conditioned ale. have to say the rum cask is richer in flavor.

{{ That's trouble with these places Halfy, they might give you some genuine Scottish stuff, the pie might have a Scottish recipe but probably not all Scottish ingredients, and then they give you ale - you don't even get ale in Scotland, ale is English. The Sottish equivalent is Heavy.
If you walked into the average Scottish pub and ordered the sort of drink the average Scottish male would it would be either a pint of lager (probably Tennants) or a pint of Heavy (probably McEwans) and a half (a whisky to follow the pint with) usually a blend probably Bells or Grouse. Most pubs will have a behind the bar whisky selection with single malts and stuff, but they are for special occasions for most folk.
Next time you're in order 'a pint of Tennants, a pint of heavy and a half' and see if they even understand the order. That'll give you an idea how authentic they really are.}}

Wait, Innis and Gunn ain't authentic Scottish? I've been so misled...

{{ Put it this way, I had to google them to find out who they were. }}

{{ This is what I have stashed away for guests or special occasions, such as when I'm thirsty or days with a letter 'd' in them }}

{{ Put it this way, I had to google them to find out who they were. }}

mind = blown.   They are headquartered in Edinburg, just assumed they'd be an old standby.  But I see they only started in 2014, which was around the time I had my first pint of the stuff.

BTW I brought back a nice scotch from India - Amrut Fusion was recently ranked among the top in the world, which is definitely not what one would expect for an Indian distillery.  But it sure helps to keep the price reasonable.

{{ No wonder I didn't know them they only started when I was 42, I'd already been drinking for, 42 years by then (true that, was common practice back then when a baby was crying a lot and couldn't sleep to dunk the dummy in whisky). }}

BTW I brought back a nice scotch from India - Amrut Fusion- Halfy

{{ I rarely ever drink scotch, why would I living here! If I'm splashing out, or have just mugged someone, I go for a nice strong island peat, something so peaty and smooth it turns to vapour on the tongue before it hits the back of the throat and isn't so much like drinking as inhaling the smoke of a fine peat fire, only its warmth and glow is inside of you. Ah, pure bliss!}}

Who suggested you only rarely drink scotch?

Correction, Innis and Gunn was founded in 2003, they only moved to their present location in 2014.

{{ I did. I meant because I rarely drink scotch I would not know if that was a good one or dishwater.   Only scotches I've ever really tried are US ones, and they are all right for what they are, Johnny Walkers is probably the best of the bunch, but that's because it's actually Scottish, so I'm not sure if the version sold in the US is an import or if it's licensed to use the ingredients or even just the recipe. Reading up on exclusively US scotches, a lot seem to be bourbon, so whisky light? No idea never touched it.   And one whisky site just begins its US sections with 'Tenmile's whiskey is fruity and elegant, not unlike the whiskeys made in the Speyside region of Scotland. In contrast, at Westland, a distillery in Seattle, you'll find no pretense about making anything resembling Scotch.' So 50/50 there, Speyside whisky is good, that's where the bottle I have is distilled, the latter Seattle one not so good, and it seems the more common comparison from a quick glance for the bulk of US scotch. Pretty poor overall with a few notable quality -and from the listings if you're in the US rather expensive- exceptions.
But really you need the local ingredients, the local wood for the barrels and vats, and ideally Scottish peat. And then for full appreciation of it the weather has to be, well Scottish. Only when it's that relentlessly miserable, when it's rained every day for a month with outbreaks of freezing sleet and sudden stinging hail (not snow that's too pleasant and not aggressive enough) and the clouds barely scrape your head, when the wind blows in sudden surprise gusts strong enough to blow you into oncoming traffic or out to sea, when you've forgotten the feel of dry clothes or dry feet and your heating bill makes your eyes water, and life has provided more than enough to be crabbit about, only then can you fully understand the Scots national joy and solace found in a good warming glass of whisky.}}

Only scotches I've ever really tried are US ones,

Wait, what? I thought you were all up on the single malts, why would you be bothering with US scotch? Or do you mean the only non Scottish scotches you've tried are from the US?

{{ Think the confusion here is that there is no such thing as scotch in Scotland. True whisky under complicated international trading rules has to be made in Scotland or Ireland, where it's just called whisky, or whiskey if it's Irish (like how anyone can make a sparkling white wine, but only the Champagne region of France can call it Champagne). Anyone else that make a whisky anywhere else in the world, US included has to call it scotch or something else like Bourbon. So when I say I haven't tried many scotches I mean why would I drink other countries imitations of what I have the genuine article of right here? And of those I have it's only be a few US ones many moons ago when the US Navy was still here and I was but a teenager with access to it, well American friends with access to their parents drink cabinets, same thing! }}

Aside from the drop-dead gorgeous young mother, I also get a kick out of how her little girl's hands and mouths are absolutely into everything she's doing. She's dipping a spoonful of milk into one little girl's mouth and then nonchalantly dipping it back in for the next girl. This is probably perfectly healthy within the family farm environment but I like how she's putting it out there to the world.

{{ Technically this isn't exactly cuisine, but first and most importantly- Figg- this post is not for you. Turn around and walk away from the thread immediately! It's for your own good! Do not click!

Spoiler:

Hmm, we have some Irish stores here I know of, not Scottish. That doesn't mean they'll carry it. Or perhaps it's pan British?

{{ UK wide so you might find it, or at least a tin of quality street. Though after that so called Scottish pub I am becoming suspicious about the authenticity of any of the Uk based stuff over there. }}

So I've discovered the chocolate covered version of McVitie's digestive biscuits, which I understand is an essential ingredient in British Tea culture. It's the kind of thing you eat at first and say "this is okay, better than nothing". Then you go get another under the impression that it's somewhat healthier than other equivalent things with chocolate. Eventually you are totally addicted to the damn things. I've definitely been addicted to worse, but as an import these cost about 50% more than I'd like them to.

{{ Add tea to the mix halfy. Not your American version, that's like the tea Arthur Dent gets served on the Heart of Gold, it tastes almost but completely unlike tea! You probably don't have a proper kettle because you're in America and the powers hopeless, but boil up the water in a pot - do NOT microwave it to heat it, there's part of the UK they hang a person for that sort of behaviour. Now there are options from here, but if you want an average UK cuppa most of us have when you're not being fancy, just grab a mug stick one or two teaspoons of sugar in it to taste and a teabag, an actual teabag you'll probably have to import - I recommend Yorkshire Tea myself, but other common day brands are Teetley (also a north of England brand) Scottish Blend (you kind of need to be here for that one though really as its allegedly blended specifically for the type of water we get here) Typhoo, and a bit posher Twinnings. Any of those will do though.
Add the water when it's boiling, not as it's boiling, not after it's boiled, as it's boiling- it needs to be boiling water or the tea will not infuse. Now stir the teabag round and round in the mug till the water goes a nice dark brown, this doesnt take long, none of this stirring for minutes you'll just stew it and it'll be horrible and tannenny. Give the teabag a squeeze against the side for extra flavour and extract, then add milk (you can add milk first if you wish, there is some debate over the order for the milk, before or after the water, I prefer after as you can more easily see the turn of the water from clear to tea brown). When it comes to the milk add more than a splash but not enough to make it milky, you're wanting to cool it so you can actually drink the stuff and not have to gently sip it, but you don't want to drown out the flavour, this may take a little experimenting to find your personal milk level, so start with a splash taste and add a little more if you feel it needs it. It ranges wildly here from those who don't take milk at all (I don't recommend that myself) to just a drop all the way to milky enough you can pretty much gulp it down. The most common working man variant, the 'Builder's Brew', is two sugars and milky, sweet for energy, enough milk you can drink it in the span of a five-minute tea break. I'd try that as your target combo and work from there.

And now after taking your first refreshing drink of tea, dunk your McVities chocolate digestive and thank me later. But probably not for the bill of the imported goods you'll be getting for then on. And Eru help you if you ever discover the chocolate coated Hobnobs!! }}

We get got both Tetley's and Twining's here. But we tend to prefer Bigelow's because the foil wrapping keeps the tea fresher.

{{ Tetley would be the far most common of those here for everyday use. Twinnings is for the middle classes and I've never even heard of Bigelows. }}

I didn't feel that Lance did a deep dive into describing Texas BBQ when he was there, though he sampled Salt Lick (which I recommended for ambience as much as food) and discovered the Patio. But this Brit couple is absolutely adorable as they try Black's BBQ in Hancock, TX.

There's nothing fancy here, just incredible depth of flavor.