[Airbornelawyer]

Originally posted by Roguish Lawyer
Might have to switch to Talisker or something for a night after that . . .

The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders recruit from a region stretching from the Western Isles to the Firth of Forth (above Edinburgh). Argyllshire and Sutherland are only parts of that area. Due to all the amalgamations over the years of Scottish regiments, the regiments that are still around recruit over a larger area.

Talisker comes from the Isle of Skye, which is in their recruiting area. Terry's recommendation, Springbank, comes from Campbeltown, though, which is actually in Argyllshire proper. Glen Scotia also comes from there. Laphroaig comes from the Isle of Islay, part of Argyllshire. While Argyllshire has a number of distilleries, Clynelish is the only one in Sutherland.

Glenfiddich and Macallan come from Banffshire, which is Gordon Highlanders recruiting area. The Gordons are now part of The Highlanders Regiment, formed from the amalgamation of the Seaforth, Gordon and Cameron Highlanders. So don't toast the A&SH with Glenfiddich or Macallan.

Originally posted by NousDefionsDoc
Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,

Right battle, wrong poem. Defending the approach to the British supply base at Balaklava , 500 men of the 93rd (Sutherland) Highlanders, forming a long line rather than a square in the face of a Russian cavalry brigade numbering several thousand, held off and routed the enemy. London Times correspondent W.H. Russell wrote that nothing stood between the Russian cavalry and the supply base but "the thin red streak tipped with a line of steel". This became the "Thin Red Line," the regiment's nickname, that Kipling referred to in Tommy, probably the greatest poem ever on the soldier's lot:

I went into a public-'ouse to get a pint o' beer,
The publican 'e up an' sez, "We serve no red-coats here."
The girls be'ind the bar they laughed an' giggled fit to die,
I outs into the street again an' to myself sez I:
O it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, go away";
But it's "Thank you, Mister Atkins", when the band begins to play,
The band begins to play, my boys, the band begins to play,
O it's "Thank you, Mister Atkins", when the band begins to play.

I went into a theatre as sober as could be,
They gave a drunk civilian room, but 'adn't none for me;
They sent me to the gallery or round the music-'alls,
But when it comes to fightin', Lord! they'll shove me in the stalls!
For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, wait outside";
But it's "Special train for Atkins" when the trooper's on the tide,
The troopship's on the tide, my boys, the troopship's on the tide,
O it's "Special train for Atkins" when the trooper's on the tide.

Yes, makin' mock o' uniforms that guard you while you sleep
Is cheaper than them uniforms, an' they're starvation cheap;
An' hustlin' drunken soldiers when they're goin' large a bit
Is five times better business than paradin' in full kit.
Then it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, 'ow's yer soul?"
But it's "Thin red line of 'eroes" when the drums begin to roll,
The drums begin to roll, my boys, the drums begin to roll,
O it's "Thin red line of 'eroes" when the drums begin to roll.

We aren't no thin red 'eroes, nor we aren't no blackguards too,
But single men in barricks, most remarkable like you;
An' if sometimes our conduck isn't all your fancy paints,
Why, single men in barricks don't grow into plaster saints;
While it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, fall be'ind",
But it's "Please to walk in front, sir", when there's trouble in the wind,
There's trouble in the wind, my boys, there's trouble in the wind,
O it's "Please to walk in front, sir", when there's trouble in the wind.

You talk o' better food for us, an' schools, an' fires, an' all:
We'll wait for extry rations if you treat us rational.
Don't mess about the cook-room slops, but prove it to our face
The Widow's Uniform is not the soldier-man's disgrace.
For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Chuck him out, the brute!"
But it's "Saviour of 'is country" when the guns begin to shoot;
An' it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' anything you please;
An' Tommy ain't a bloomin' fool -- you bet that Tommy sees!