Ah, the magical stones of Craigh na Dun. Its time-travel romance premise is daft, but we’ve been known to enjoy a season or two of Outlander, not least because Scotch whisky plays a supporting role. Between 20th-century doctor Claire (Caitriona Balfe) and Highland warrior-aristocrat Jamie (Sam Heughan), the Starz show also dishes out plenty of bawdiness to go with its visceral take on the 1745 Jacobite rebellion against England.

Drink and be free

Diana Gabaldon, author of the Outlander novels, recently hit the Scottish village of Fife, a location for the series. When in Edinburgh, the U.S. writer likes to retire to a hotel bar for a Lagavulin or a Highland Park, she tells the Scotsman’s Alison Campie.

Maybe Gabaldon can relate to literary giant Robert (Rabbie) Burns, whose poetry inspired a Season 3 episode title, “Freedom and Whisky.” As this fan site explains, whisky was an escape and a creative balm for the 18th-century Scottish nationalist. Sounds perfectly reasonable to us.