Culinary Adventures

My first Scottish taste adventure was, of course, scotch whiskey during my Arcadia orientation. We were taught how to appreciate a good draft of whiskey, how to appreciate the colour, the body, the smell, the bouquet, the way the taste stays in your mouth after you've swallowed it. It was an interesting experience, to be sure, and I really enjoyed it. The whiskey was good; learning about the history afterwards was also fun. And there are so many places to go on the Royal Mile to find and taste more whiskey that it would take an entire day to visit them all, after which I am sure you would be slightly drunk.

Next came McEwan's beer, a locally-brewed classic whose profits built the beautiful McEwan Hall on campus. It's a light beer with a nice, refreshing taste that can be enjoyed many places here in Edinburgh, but most especially at McEwan's Pub on Nicholson Street. This is a beer to be enjoyed on tap, rather than in a bottle or can, surrounded by old men who stop and stare when six university-aged students walk in at 5:00 on a Sunday afternoon, taking a short break from the newsroom in the basement of the student societies' building, the Pleasance.

Irn-Bru (pronounced Iron Brew) follows, a bright orange soft drink that outsells Coke in the UK. It is not an orange-flavoured pop: rather, it tastes a lot like bubble gum, with only the slightest hint of citrus. A drink often mixed with vodka or whiskey by the over-18 population, it is supposedly sold in Canada, South Africa, Singapore, Russia, and Australia, as well as the entirety of the UK, Ireland, and the Middle East. They've also come out with Irn-Bru 32, an offshoot that is meant to rival Red Bull, and something which today near the student union Irn-Bru representatives are passing out free to get students addicted as soon as possible. I was given two cans, and I have yet to crack open either one.

Finally, we come to the famous HAGGIS. What can I say about haggis? A group of went to a greasy-spoon restaurant (called City Restaurant, how creative) after clubbing one night. Charlie and Eve shared an order of haggis and chips, I shared a pizza with Kate and Ally, and Joni just got a plate of chips to herself. Well, remembering that I, the foreigner, had never tasted haggis before, everyone decided it was time I had a bite. It looked like a sausage, tasted like black pepper and ground beef, and had the consistency of ground beef and thick oatmeal mixed together. That is, of course, essentially what it was. As wonderful as it tasted, it's not something I am going to actively search out in the future.