New Yorker cartoon on Bagpipe Day

[tubino]

I don't think it's an Outlander reference, directly. For one thing, they don't wear modern kilts. Just "if a Scot wanted to make a mixtape for his girlfriend, how would he do it?" (But I agree with all the other comments.)

Mixtapes were a thing - you would spend hours compiling a meaningful journey of songs on a cassette to give your girlfriend. Now it's just a playlist.

But yes, I think the joke is to throw the word into a pre-electronic context. The translation means you don't hand over a tape; you have live musicians performing a set of songs -- and bagpipes are always funny?