Shenachie Norman Turnbull shares his recipe for Clootie Pudding for the holidays. Have you got a favorite Scottish recipe to share, send to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.at Turnbull Clan for insertion into this web site.
Okay then, enough already about castles, battles, and dead people. Let’s get serious and learn about something important. Scotch! Where it came from, how it’s made, and of course, the proper method for consuming this nectar of the peat bogs.
The word whiskey comes from the Gaelic usquebaugh which means Water of Life. Over time the pronunciation evolved into usky then, with the influence of the English, whisky. Whether called Scotch Whisky, Scotch, or Whisky (as opposed to Whiskey) the water of life has found a market around the world.
Scotch is exclusively Scottish. The term is internationally protected by Scotland. For whisky to be called Scotch it MUST be made in Scotland. Scotch cannot be made anywhere else in the world but at home in Scotland. Other countries may produce what is called whiskey but not Scotch whisky.
Where did the idea come from that a person should stuff the innards of a sheep into said sheep’s stomach, jam in some oats and boil it for hours then eat the bloody thing? Possibly from the Irish? They gave us the bagpipes didn’t they? (They’re still laughing about it, too.)
Haggis is similar to the way we stuff our Thanksgiving turkeys, in consistency at least. It’s a kind of pudding, using the English term; it is savory and full of flavor. Haggis was my first meal when visiting Scotland several years ago. It was an excellent repast, one that I would gladly partake in again.
The famous Turnbull usquebae (from the Gaelic uisge beatha - water of life) more commonly known as whisky is back in production. John Ross Turnbull Irvine has recently taken over and merged the running of his grandfather’s (John Fisher Turnbull) business James Turnbull Exports Ltd, proprietors of Turnbull’s whisky, with his own export business JR Exports. In doing so, he is able to preserve the Turnbull’s brand and continue producing quality blended whiskies from their pull of secret family recipes.
