Skalk

Last updated

The skalk refers to the Scottish Hebridean tradition of drinking a dram of whisky as an aperitif before breakfast. The word is an anglicization of the Scots Gaelic word sgailc meaning literally "a blow, knock, or skelp." The tradition was notably observed by the English writer Samuel Johnson during his tour of the Western Isles of Scotland. In his A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland , Johnson remarks that "A man of the Hebrides, for of the woman's diet I can give no account, as soon as he appears in the morning, swallows a glass of whisky; yet they are not a drunken race, at least I never was present at much intemperance; but no man is so abstemious as to refuse the morning dram, which they call a skalk." [1] In modern usage, the term skalk is used in Scotch whisky drinking culture to refer to a casual glass of whisky in the morning.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hogmanay</span> Scottish celebration of New Year

Hogmanay is the Scots word for the last day of the old year and is synonymous with the celebration of the New Year in the Scottish manner. It is normally followed by further celebration on the morning of New Year's Day and, in some cases, 2 January—a Scottish bank holiday. In a few contexts, the word Hogmanay is used more loosely to describe the entire period consisting of the last few days of the old year and the first few days of the new year. For instance, not all events held under the banner of Edinburgh's Hogmanay take place on 31 December.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scotch whisky</span> Malt or grain whisky distilled in Scotland

Scotch whisky is malt whisky or grain whisky, made in Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whisky</span> Distilled alcoholic beverage

Whisky or whiskey is a type of liquor made from fermented grain mash. Various grains are used for different varieties, including barley, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky is typically aged in wooden casks, which are typically made of charred white oak. Uncharred white oak casks previously used for the aging of port, rum or sherry are also sometimes used.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Akvavit</span> Flavored Scandinavian spirit

Akvavit or aquavit is a distilled spirit that is principally produced in Scandinavia, where it has been produced since the 15th century. Akvavit is distilled from grain or potatoes, and is flavoured with a variety of herbs. It is also popular in Northern Germany.

The dram is a unit of mass in the avoirdupois system, and both a unit of mass and a unit of volume in the apothecaries' system. It was originally both a coin and a weight in ancient Greece. The unit of volume is more correctly called a fluid dram, fluid drachm, fluidram or fluidrachm.

<i>Raw Spirit</i> 2003 book by Iain Banks

Raw Spirit: In Search of the Perfect Dram is a nonfiction book by Iain Banks, first published in 2003. It is his only nonfiction book.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drambuie</span> Sweet, golden coloured liqueur made from Scotch whisky

Drambuie is a golden-coloured, 40% ABV liqueur made from Scotch whisky, heather honey, herbs and spices. The brand was owned by the MacKinnon family for 100 years, and was bought by William Grant & Sons in 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bruichladdich distillery</span> Scotch whisky distillery on Islay, Scotland

Bruichladdich Distillery is a distillery on the Rhinns of the isle of Islay in Scotland. The distillery produces mainly single malt Scotch whisky, but has also offered artisanal gin. It is owned by Rémy Cointreau and is one of nine working distilleries on the island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kilchoman distillery</span> Scotch whisky distillery on Islay, Scotland

Kilchoman distillery is a distillery that produces single malt Scotch whisky on Islay, an island of the Inner Hebrides. Kilchoman Distillery is in the northwest of the island, close to Machir Bay. Kilchoman was founded by Anthony Wills and remains an independent, family run distillery. It is the smallest on the island but since obtaining Rockside Farm in 2015, is in the process of expanding.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ramblin' Wreck from Georgia Tech</span> Fight song of Georgia Institute of Technology

"(I'm a) Ramblin' Wreck from Georgia Tech" is the fight song of the Georgia Institute of Technology, better known as Georgia Tech. The composition is based on "Son of a Gambolier", composed by Charles Ives in 1895, the lyrics of which are based on an old English and Scottish drinking song of the same name. It first appeared in print in the 1908 Blueprint, Georgia Tech's yearbook. The song was later sung by the Georgia Tech Glee Club on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1953, and by Richard Nixon and Nikita Khrushchev during the 1959 Kitchen Debate.

David Daiches was a Scottish literary historian and literary critic, scholar and writer. He wrote extensively on English literature, Scottish literature and Scottish culture.

In Scottish, Northern English, and Manx folklore, the first-foot is the first person to enter the home of a household on New Year's Day and is seen as a bringer of good fortune for the coming year. Similar practices are also found in Greek, Vietnamese, and Georgian new year traditions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glen Grant distillery</span> Whisky distillery in Moray, Scotland, UK

Glen Grant distillery was founded in 1840 in Rothes, Speyside, and produces single malt Scotch whisky.

A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland (1775) is a travel narrative by Samuel Johnson about an eighty-three-day journey through Scotland, in particular the islands of the Hebrides, in the late summer and autumn of 1773. The sixty-three-year-old Johnson was accompanied by his thirty-two-year-old friend of many years James Boswell, who was also keeping a record of the trip, published in 1785 as A Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides. The two narratives are often published as a single volume, which is beneficial for comparing two perspectives of the same events, although they are very different in approach---Johnson focused on Scotland, and Boswell focused on Johnson. In that biography, Boswell gave the itinerary of the trip as beginning at Edinburgh after landing at Berwick upon Tweed, then to St Andrews, Aberdeen, Inverness, and Fort Augustus. From there they went on to the islands of the Hebrides: Skye, Raasay, Coll, Mull, Inch Kenneth, and Iona. Returning to the mainland in Argyll they visited Inverary, Loch Lomond, Dumbarton, Glasgow, Loudoun, Auchinleck in Ayrshire, and Hamilton, and then finished the journey by returning to Edinburgh. Boswell summarised the trip as, "[Johnson] thus saw the four Universities of Scotland, its three principal cities, and as much of the Highland and insular life as was sufficient for his philosophical contemplation."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black & White (whisky)</span> Scotch whisky brand

Black & White is a blended Scotch whisky produced by Diageo in Scotland. It was originally produced by the London-based James Buchanan & Co Ltd, which was founded by James Buchanan.

The Edrington Group Limited, trading as Edrington, is a privately owned international spirits company based in Glasgow, Scotland. It produces single malts such as The Macallan, Highland Park, The Glenrothes, Naked Malt, and The Famous Grouse blended Scotch whisky. The spirits portfolio also includes Noble Oak Bourbon of Independence, Kentucky, and Brugal, the leading golden rum in the Caribbean. It also owns shares in Wyoming Whiskey, an American whiskey made in Kirby, Wyoming, and No. 3 London Dry Gin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ardnahoe distillery</span> Scotch whisky distillery on Islay, Scotland

Ardnahoe distillery is a Scotch whisky distillery on Islay, in Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harris distillery</span>

Harris distillery is a Scotch whisky and Gin distillery in Tarbert on the Isle of Harris, Scotland. The distillery was the first legal distillery ever built on Harris.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saxa Vord distillery</span> Scottish distillery

Saxa Vord distillery is a Scotch whisky and gin distillery on the island of Unst, part of the Shetland islands. The distillery takes its name from its location immediately south of RAF Saxa Vord, an RAF station and headland. The distillery buildings are adjacent to the SaxaVord Spaceport.

References

  1. Johnson, Samuel; Murphy, Arthur (1801). The Works of Samuel Johnson, LL. D. Nichols and son. p.  275.