Today, April 6, is National Tartan Day, which began in 1998 to celebrate people of Scottish and Scottish-Irish roots. With over 11 million members, the Scots are the eighth largest ethnic group in America. Rob Roys, Rusty Nails, and Drambuie Collins may be the go-to cocktails when thinking of Scottish cocktails — but try out these wonderful recipes instead. As a bonus, you know we had to include a traditional Scottish stew and a couple of wonderful desserts to round out this occasion.

Royal Highlander
created by Glenfiddich Ambassador Allan Roth
2 parts Glenfiddich 12 Years Old
½ part sweet vermouth
½ part Cocchi Americano
1/2 oz. Benedictine
sparkling wine

Pour ½ ounce of Benedictine in a coupe; swirl and discard. Add the remaining ingredients, except the sparkling wine, to a mixing glass and stir with ice. Strain into the Benedictine rinsed coupe. Top with approximately an ounce of sparkling wine.

The Highland Fling
created by Hendrick’s Ambassador, Mattias Horseman
1 ½ parts Hendrick’s gin
1 ½ parts gunpowder green tea
¾ part small batch whiskey
½ part lime juice
½ part simple syrup

Muddle, shake, and strain all ingredients into a hurricane glass. Top with soda. Garnish with a cucumber and grated black pepper.

Tam O’ Shanter
courtesy of GlasgowGuide.co.uk
3 parts whiskey
2 parts French vermouth
3 parts orange juice

Shake well, add a little nutmeg and serve with an olive.

The Catholic Guilt
Courtesy of Blackbook.com
2 oz. Black Grouse blended whisky
¾ oz. ginger syrup
¾ oz. lemon juice
dash orange bitters
dash fig bitters
Fernet Branca
lemon or orange twist

Shake the all ingredients except the Fernet Branca with ice. Next, strain into an ice-filled rocks glass and float the Fernet Branca on top. Garnish with a lemon or orange twist and serve.

Laphroaig Plaid and Peated
courtesy of SusiedrinksDallas.com
1 part Laphroaig Quarter Cask single malt scotch whiskey
1/2 part dry vermouth
1/2 part Cynar
1/2 part elderflower liqueur

Combine all ingredients in mixing glass with ice. Stir well and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

The Bramble
courtesy of bartender Ciarán Russell
1 ½ oz. dry gin
juice of one lemon
1 oz. simple syrup
blackberry liqueur crème de mure (or cream de cassis)

Build over a mound of crushed ice before blackberry liqueur crème de mure is trickled down the ice as a final touch. It is said to resemble that of a bramble bush, from where the cocktail is thought to have attained its name. (We used an absinthe glass, which is why the crème de mure gathered in the bottom reservoir.)

These next three recipes are from rampantscotland.com

Suitor
1/2 oz. Drambuie
1 oz. orange liqueur (such as Gran Marnier)
1 oz. Bailey’s Irish cream
2/3 oz. milk

Pour in order into a rocks glass and serve.

Umbrella Man Special
2 oz. vodka
2 oz. Kahlua
2 oz. Bailey’s Irish cream
2 oz. Grand Marnier
2 oz. Drambuie

Mix all ingredients in a shaker. Serve with straw and ice cubes and put a cocktail umbrella beside the straw in the glass.

Don’t think warm milk is for old geezers. They just might have this one in their mug!

Warm Woolly Sheep
1 oz. Scotch whisky
1 1/2 oz. Drambuie
warm milk

Mix scotch and Drambuie. Top with warm milk; settle back and enjoy.

These two desserts are traditional Scottish recipes from rampantscotland.com

Dornoch Dreams Buns
2 oz. butter
1 cup flour
6 oz. water
3 eggs
12 oz. raspberries (whole or lightly crushed—we used a package of frozen raspberries)
4 oz. honey
2 Tbsp. Drambuie
1/2 pint heavy cream
confectioners’ sugar for decoration

Place the butter and water in a saucepan and heat until the butter has melted. Remove from the heat and stir in the flour. Beat until the mixture forms a ball and leaves the edges of the pan cleanly. Beat the eggs and slowly add them, a little at a time, beating well between each addition.

Spoon the pastry mixture into a large piping bag with a plain nozzle and pipe 12 round cakes onto a lightly greased baking sheet. We used muffin tins in ours. Bake in the center of a preheated 400 degree oven for 20-30 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the oven. Pierce to allow the steam to escape and leave to cool.

Mix the raspberries and honey. Stir the Drambuie into the whipping cream and whip until firm. Split the buns and fill with the raspberries and cream. Dust with the confectioners’ sugar and serve. We added a walnut half on the top of ours.

Drunken Crumble
1 1/2 pounds raw rhubarb (Rhubarb isn’t in season right now so we used frozen cranberries. You can also use apples.)
3 oz. whiskey
grated lemon and orange rind to taste
1 cup of light brown sugar
1 tsp. Allspice

Topping:
2 cups flour
3 oz. butter
1/2 cup sugar
zest of 1 lemon
1 tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. allspice

Clean and chop the rhubarb into pieces and put in a deep pie dish. Add the other ingredients for the filling and stir well.

Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl and cut in the butter with a fork until the mixture looks like small breadcrumbs. Add the sugar, grated lemon rind, coriander, and Allspice; mix well. Sprinkle the topping over the rhubarb.

Bake in a pre-heated oven at 400 degrees until golden brown. Serve hot with custard or ice cream. You can also opt for the Drambuie Whipped Cream from the Dornoch Dreams Buns recipe above.

Highland Beef with pickled walnuts
courtesy of bbcgoodfood.com
1 package ready-rolled puff pastry
1 egg, beaten

For the stew:
3 ½ lbs. stewing beef, cut into ½ inch squares
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1 bay leaf
14 oz. of dark stout beer
3 oz. butter
3 Tbsp. olive oil
3 ½ oz. smoked bacon, roughly chopped
3 large red onions, finely chopped
2 Tbsp. flour
2 oz. port wine
1 ¾ cup jar pickled walnuts, halved (reserve 2 tbsp pickling vinegar)
3 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley, plus extra for garnish.

First, make the pastry puffs. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry a little thinner and stamp out sixteen rounds. Note: you can also get pastry puffs in little bowl shapes to avoid cutting them out. Put the rounds on a baking sheet and brush with the egg. Sprinkle with salt and bake in the oven for 5-7 minutes or until puffed and golden brown. Cool on a wire rack until ready to serve.

Make the stew. Put the beef, garlic, and bay leaf in a large non-metallic bowl and pour in the stout. Cover and leave to marinate in the fridge for at least an hour.

Preheat the oven to 150 degrees. Drain the meat and pat dry on kitchen paper. Set aside the marinade liquid. Heat both half the butter and oil in a large lidded ovenproof casserole dish or an iron skillet/pot with a lid. Over a high heat, brown the beef in batches until each piece is sealed and dark brown. Remove the meat with a slotted spoon as you go. Set aside.

Wipe the dish with kitchen paper, melt the remaining butter and oil and fry the bacon and onions for 10-15 minutes until the onions are golden brown, very soft, and well reduced. Stir in the flour until blended, add the port, parsley, walnuts, vinegar, and reserved marinade ; then return the beef to the dish. Bring to the boil. Next, cover with a tight-fitting lid and cook in the oven for 2½ -3 hours or until the meat is very tender (no need to season). Ladle into bowls, top with a couple of pastry puffs, and sprinkle with a little chopped parsley.