Whisky Pairing..

My wife and I hosted a whisky nosing / tasting in Febrary 2011; we had bid on and won a private tasting for 12 presented by the Macallan / Highland Park Ambassador for Eastern Canada, Marc Laverdiere. We spoke to a local chef and arranged for finger foods / hors d'oeuvres to pair with the whiskies.

These were the whiskies we tasted: 1) Macallan 12 Sherry Oak 2) Macallan 15 Fine Oak 3) Macallan Cask Strength, 4) Macallan 18 Sherry Oak 5) Highland Park 18 6) Highland Park 25

These were the foods they were paired with: 1) Pear Chutney on Brie squares 2) Moroccan Pork Tenderloin on slices of baked apple 3) Chocolate & Ginger Truffles 4) Salmon Poppers 5) Prosciiutto & Cream Cheese wrapped Asparagus 6) 70% & 85% Lindt Dark Chocolate

All participants agreed that the pairings were great, with the Macallan Cask Strength / Chocolate & Ginger truffles arguably the best pairing. However the HP 18 with the Prosciiutto & Asparagus was excellent, too. Finishing off with the HP 25 with the dark chocolate was a special treat!

These sites have some excellent advice and recipes on food pairings for whisky: starchefs.com/wine/starspirits/… www.whiskykitchen.com/samples/index.php

Many thanks.. I had heard that a creamy blue cheese on oatmeal with Talisker was a good combination and something I am going to line up for Friday.

@Rover : I am hosting a private tasting at my house this Thursday evening -- on my lineup of whisky's: Auchentoshan 12 yr old - Old Pulteney 12 yr old - The Macallan 12 yr old - Balvenie Signature 12 yr old - Glenfiddich Solera Reserve 15 yr old.

I will likely pair The Macallan with some dark chocolate 85%, plan on using pears with the Glenfiddich Solera and will be using some smoked salmon with the Old Pulteney 12 given it's initial salty taste.

Scott

@Rover here are the pairings we did at a dinner a few years ago:

Before: Whisky: Tullibardine 1993

Appetizer: Prosciutto wrapped shrimp Whisky: Bruichladdich 12 year old 2nd Edition

Salad: Garden Salad with Balsamic vinaigrette, blue cheese crumbles, candied walnuts, dried cranberries. Whisky: Glenkinchie 12 year old

Soup: Cauliflower with mushrooms and pepitas, accompanied by baskets of rye and wheat dinner rolls. Whisky: Bunnahabhain 12 year old

Main Course (People chose one) 1 – Braised Short Ribs and braised greens, roasted carrots and mashed potatoes 2 – Salmon served with kale, white beans and bacon Whisky: Oban 14 year old

Dessert: Chocolate Ganache Tart Whisky: Macallan 18 year old (1989)

After whisky: Edradour Ballechin #4, The Oloroso Sherry Casks

@two-bit-cowboy , the whisky / Food pairing went really well. I paired up a 15yr Dalwhinnie with a good quality milt chocolate which was a favourite for everyone, especially for those who were new to whisky and the contrasting whisky was Lagulavin with Rocquefort blue cheese, what a cracker...The peatiness of the whisky with the rich blue cheese was a smash...Also had the Dalmore 12yr old with an 85% cocoa dark chocolate which was devine, a 10 yr old Oban with spicy sausage and olives and an Aberlour A'Bunah (my favourite) with xmas cake.....

@Rover sounds wonderful. Sorry I missed it!!

Lagavulin with blue cheese -- my mouth's watering. I plan to pick up some blue cheese for New Year's Eve; must do something smoky with it to make it really stand out. Thanks for the update.