{"id":1317,"date":"2012-07-29T12:43:50","date_gmt":"2012-07-29T19:43:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/traveltattler.com\/?p=1317"},"modified":"2012-08-27T18:51:29","modified_gmt":"2012-08-28T01:51:29","slug":"authentic-links-whiskey-on-north-americas-scottish-coastline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/golf\/1317\/authentic-links-whiskey-on-north-americas-scottish-coastline","title":{"rendered":"AUTHENTIC LINKS, WHISKEY ON NORTH AMERICA’S SCOTTISH COASTLINE"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The west coast of Nova Scotia's Cape Breton Island at Cabot Links is strikingly similar to Scotland.<\/p><\/div>\n

James Blanchard served as United States Ambassador to\u00a0Canada\u00a0in the mid 1990\u2019s after a term as\u00a0Michigan\u2019s Governor. As Ambassador, the former Congressman didn\u2019t stay ensconced in the embassy in\u00a0Ottawa. He loved traveling the great white north, and returned recently to\u00a0Nova Scotia.<\/p>\n

\u201cHalifax\u00a0is like\u00a0Boston\u00a0100 years ago but with the modern conveniences,\u201d says Blanchard. \u201cNova Scotia\u00a0is a piece of old\u00a0Scotland. The people are friendly. I love it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nova Scotia\u00a0claims to be the Celtic heart of\u00a0North America. Its\u2019 traditions date back to the 18th<\/sup>\u00a0century, evidenced by Gaelic road signs, traditional music and dance.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are fantastic fiddlers,\u201d says Jim MacInnes, president of\u00a0Michigan\u2019s Crystal Mount Resort, who grew up on Cape Breton Island, a 3.5-hour drive from\u00a0Halifax\u00a0after a direct Delta flight from\u00a0Detroit. He returned for his 60th<\/sup>\u00a0birthday party, staged there at Bell Bay Golf Club, featuring local fiddlers and pipers. MacInnes was so infused with\u00a0Nova Scotia\u2019s Scottish heritage he designed\u00a0Crystal\u00a0Mountain\u2019s centerpiece building in tribute and filled Kinlochen\u2019s bar with rare Scotch whisky, especially Glenora. The very Scottish and timelessly picturesque Glenora Inn and Distillery, in Cape Breton, offers on-site lodging, whisky seminars, and the unique opportunity to see \u2013 and taste \u2013 \u201cthe juice of the barley\u201d at North America\u2019s first single malt distillery.\u00a0www.GlenoraDistillery.com<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

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Cabot Links Golf Club<\/p><\/div>\n

And\u00a0Nova Scotia\u00a0couldn\u2019t be \u201cNew Scotland\u201d without an authentic links golf course.\u00a0Cape\u00a0Breton\u2019s new Cabot Links is just that: a rugged, rolling, sandy, seaside affair against the\u00a0Gulf of St. Lawrence. With the challenge of its\u2019 pot bunkers, treeless exposure to the ocean winds, and grassy tumbling terrain, Canada\u2019s only true links course is a reminder that golf should feel like a sport and be an adventure in nature.\u00a0www.CabotLinks.com<\/a><\/p>\n

MacInnes is also a fan of the Highlands Links Golf Course, a World Top-100-ranked course inside\u00a0Cape\u00a0Breton\u00a0Highlands\u00a0National Park, where the famed Cabot Trail winds motorists along a scenic coastal road he calls \u201cbreathtaking.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Moose Crossing on the Cabot Trail<\/p><\/div>\n

From the trail, you\u2019re likely to see native moose, bear, bald eagle, lynx and pilot whales, but USAToday.com restaurant columnist Larry Olmsted was most interested in the lobsters. \u201cThey\u2019re plentiful and available in shacks and fine dining restaurants,\u201d says Olmsted. \u201cBountiful fresh seafood makes thick, rich\u00a0Nova Scotia\u00a0chowder a signature dish. It\u2019s filled with scallops, clams and fish.\u201d All you need is a fisherman\u2019s woolen sweater and a spoon.<\/p>\n

For a Celtic connection, without crossing the\u00a0Atlantic, visit\u00a0GolfNovaScotia<\/span><\/a>, part of GolfCoastalCanada.com.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Michigan-based travel writer Michael Patrick\u00a0Shiels\u00a0may be contacted at\u00a0InviteYourself@aol.com<\/span><\/a>\u00a0or via TravelTattler.com<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

James Blanchard served as United States Ambassador to\u00a0Canada\u00a0in the mid 1990\u2019s after a term as\u00a0Michigan\u2019s Governor. As Ambassador, the former… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":1318,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3665,9,17],"tags":[112285,119284,572085,4816,119300,204,571420,485416,571733,4815],"class_list":["post-1317","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-library","category-golf","category-courses-and-travel","tag-cape-breton","tag-lobster","tag-highlands-links","tag-nova-scotia","tag-halifax","tag-canada","tag-celtic","tag-glenora","tag-distillery","tag-cabot-links"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2012\/07\/cabotLinks2.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1317","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/43"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1317"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1317\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1322,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1317\/revisions\/1322"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1318"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1317"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1317"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1317"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}