{"id":195781,"date":"2026-04-13T18:52:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T18:52:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/195781\/"},"modified":"2026-04-13T18:52:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T18:52:07","slug":"outlanders-sam-heughan-says-goodbye-to-jamie-fraser-at-the-nyc-tartan-day-parade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/195781\/","title":{"rendered":"Outlander’s Sam Heughan says goodbye to Jamie Fraser at the NYC Tartan Day Parade"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you had the chance to spend five minutes with Sam Heughan, the hunky Scottish star of the global television series Outlander,<\/a> what would you ask him? The show is halfway through its eighth and final season<\/a>; I got an exclusive with the swoonworthy actor this past weekend at the 28th annual NYC Tartan Day Parade<\/a>, where he was leading hundreds of marchers, bagpipers, dancers, and dogs (really) as Grand Marshal while thousands of Outlander fans lined the barricades down 6th Avenue in New York City. This was his second time reprising the role of Grand Marshal (the first time was in 2016).<\/p>\n

“I was the Marshal in 2016 at the beginning of Outlander. To be back now for the final episodes… it\u2019s a full-circle moment.”<\/p>\n

I caught up with the star \u2014amidst a sea of kilts and howling Scottish Terriers\u2014 to talk about his “rogue” cocktail of choice, why Jamie Fraser would hate the New York weather, and the “full-circle moment\u201d of saying goodbye to Outlander.<\/p>\n

On the full-circle finale<\/p>\n

Marisel : \u201cNYC Tartan Week is heating up\u2014kilts, bagpipes\u2026 and yes, Scotland\u2019s most charming export has entered the chat. I\u2019m with Sam Heughan from Outlander! So, how are you feeling today being the Grand Marshal of the NYC Tartan Day Parade?\u201d<\/p>\n

Sam: \u201cSo proud, so honored to be back here. I was very lucky to be the Marshal in 2016. It\u2019s a full-circle moment. That\u2019s when the beginning of Outlander started; we\u2019re now in our final season, the last few episodes<\/a> now airing. So, amazing to be back here, but also not only representing Scotland but representing the South of Scotland, which is where I\u2019m from, and the Sassenach distillery,<\/a> which is obviously our new distillery.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sam\u2019s “rogue” Manhattan after-party cocktail<\/p>\n

Marisel: \u201cWhat are we going to drink with Sassenach Spirits<\/a> to celebrate the end of the parade? Do you have a cocktail for us?\u201d<\/p>\n

Sam: \u201cWe are actually hosting the after-party here [at NYC Tartan Week]. We\u2019ve got a variety of cocktails we\u2019re making using our amazing award-winning whisky, our new fine Scottish vodka, our gin as well\u2014the Wild Highland Gin. We\u2019re doing a Rob Roy,<\/a> actually, with the whisky. It\u2019s based on a famous Scot who was a hero \u2014 but also kind of not. He was basically was a bit of a rogue and a criminal. But the cocktail itself is essentially a Manhattan, and being in Manhattan, it felt appropriate, but we\u2019re using Scotch whisky in our Manhattan, so it makes it a Rob Roy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jamie Fraser takes Manhattan<\/p>\n

Marisel: \u201cIf Jamie Fraser were to drop down here in the middle of New York City in the Tartan Parade, do you think he\u2019d fight it or would he\u2014?\u201d<\/p>\n

Sam: \u201cOh, I mean, he\u2019d be in his element. He\u2019d probably be disapproving of the weather, it being gorgeous and sunny out there. He wouldn\u2019t quite understand perhaps the technology around him, but he would be wholly supportive and enjoying every moment. I mean, the atmosphere out there is incredible. You can feel it buzzing, and honestly, when you hear those pipes when you\u2019re walking down Sixth Avenue, it rises something inside you.\u201d<\/p>\n

“If Jamie Fraser were here [in New York City], he\u2019d be in his element\u2014though he\u2019d probably be disapproving of the weather being so gorgeous and sunny.”<\/p>\n

Where he eats in New York City<\/p>\n

Marisel: \u201cWhat are your favorite places to eat at when you\u2019re in New York City?\u201d<\/p>\n

Sam: \u201cMy favorite place uptown would be Passarine.<\/a> It\u2019s Indian fine dining, but it\u2019s like really accessible, an amazing Michelin-star chef, totally different kind of food than you expect in New York, but absolutely incredible. Or our good friends down at Chinese Tuxedo<\/a>\u2014Paul Dorley, who\u2019s a fine Scotsman and a really great friend, serving up amazing, amazing modern Chinese food with also some cocktails as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sam\u2019s one-line pitch for Scotland<\/p>\n

Marisel: \u201cOkay, so last question: If you had to give me your best one-liner as to why people should visit Scotland so that they\u2019ll fall in love with it \u2014 or you \u2014 what would it be?\u201d<\/p>\n

Sam: \u201cScotland has so much to offer. It really is the most beautiful landscape, has amazing history, incredible produce from obviously the salmon and the deer and the beef, but also, of course, our chief export, which is our whisky. You know, come visit Scotland, but actually, come to the South of Scotland\u2014it\u2019s the best part!\u201d<\/p>\n