Whisky pairings
Whisky and food – strange bedfellows?
Not so, says Martine Nouet, long a proponent of cooking with whisky, and that’s all 3 courses. Her website is illuminating, it even gives suggestions on what food to pair whisky with.
She is not alone on that front. Cooking with whisky is a growing trend in Scotland, and the UK as a generic whole. Chefs are discovering the versatility of the drink and the flavours it can bring out in the dish, the Guardian reports.
A little closer to home, sashimi and Japanese whisky is not uncommon, Talisker works well too but is a less obvious international match. Still, any meal soothed with whisky gets me raised eyebrows anywhere in Singapore, family included. Such a pity that so many people still think whisky is stuff ‘mixed with coke to get you drunk’, when there is no reason, with its immense spectrum of flavours, it cannot be paired with a meal in place of wine. I suggest that there are even some dishes that go best with whisky. To put all these words into some action, I decided that the informal whisky tasting I am hosting for friends tomorrow can have snack pairings.
After some head scratching I came up with this:
Rosebank 12 yo Flora & Fauna – tough one, so light and delicate. I’m matching it with strawberries, green grapes and dusted almonds.
Springbank 10 yo 100 proof – coastal! To be matched with Smoked salmon and cream cheese on crackers.
Clynelish 15 yo Adelphi – Waxy high clean fruit notes. Lemon, candied ginger and macadamia cookies. Ahem self-made.
Old Pulteney 17 yo – Lightly sherried but a highlander at heart. Honey smoked ham and cucumber rolls.
Balmenach 25 yo Signatory – Fruit bomb. Goes with a nutty pistachio biscotti. Also ahem self-made.
Glenfarclas 21 yo – Tis a Glenfarclas. Dark chocolate.
Highland Park 25 yo – Sherried, bit smoky, eh by this stage, anything really.
Lagavulin 16 yo – blue cheese and smoked cheese on fig crackers.
There, I hope it goes well.
Edit —-
Success! Food was well received, though i suspect by the 5th round nobody cared what they were eating anymore…
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- Millburn 36 yo 1969 / 2005 Douglas Laing #DL2152 50% vs Glenburgie 40 yo 1963 / 2003 Signatory #4751 56.4%
- Ben Nevis 23 yo 1996 / 2019 Single Malts of Scotland for the Nectar #536 51.3% vs A Speyside Distillery 32 yo 1989 / 2022 Thompson Bros 51.4%
- Brora 22 yo 1972 / 1995 Rare Malts 61.1% vs Brora 22 yo 1972 / 1995 Rare Malts 58.7%
- Talimburg 19 yo 1986 / 2005 The Whisky Fair #1485 45.9% vs Talisker 20 yo 1981 / 2002 62%
- Caol Ila 12 yo Bulloch Lade for Zenith 43% vs Caol Ila 30 yo 1979 / 2010 Berry Bros #4604/5 55.6%
- Clynelish 29 yo 1965 Whyte & Whyte 52.1%
- Brora 21 yo 1982 / 2003 Signatory #416 58.4% vs Clynelish 27 yo 1982 / 2009 Synch Eli Daily Dram 46%
- Dornoch 5 yo 2017 / 2023 #46 ‘Jasper Broers’ 57.9% vs Shizuoka ‘private cask’ 2017 / 2022 #2017-108 61%
- Clynelish 26 yo 1993 / 2020 Carn Mor #11215 52.7% vs Bowmore 17 yo 2004 /2021 SMWS 3.327 ‘Siren’s Song’ 57.1%
- Talisker 25 yo ‘Bottle TA25 3987’ 45.8% ~ bottle code L0296CM004 bottled 2020 vs Ledaig 11 yo 2008 / 2019 The Swan Song & 1BRD #700104 58.7%
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