Wow that was a great evening! I teamed up with the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, the Tortilla Guy and The Gone Away Bar to offer a Taco and Whisky pairing.
Big thanks to everyone who was involved including Tanja Hall for the photos.
www.tanahall.de www.smws.com www.goneawaybar.com www.thetortillaguy.de
For the nerds here’s what I paired with what and why:
51.7 - Come in from the Cold
Pairing method: Contrast
Pairing: Salmon Tostada, chipotle mayo and home cured salmon.
Idea: Although Bushmills is close to the sea it doesn’t have any maritime notes. It
does have an intense fruity lightness. The idea here was to bring the sea to
the distillery. A good introduction to those who haven’t taken part in a food &
whisky pairing before.
Effectiveness: 7/10
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100.20 - Kermit’s kale knackwurst
Pairing method: Complement
Pairing: Vegan, mole árabes, dukkah and braised carrot.
Idea: This was crying out to be mirrored with sweetness, spices and Mexican/north
African inspired flavours.
Effectiveness: 9/10
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36.147 - Midnight Contemplation
Pairing method: Contrast
Pairing: Chicken tinga tostada, avocado leaf and black beans.
Idea: I decided that the flavours were influenced by the woody jammy notes in the
whisky. These matched very well to the crispness of the tostada, sweetness of
the chicken and earthy qualities of the black beans. Each one alone had very
mellow flavours but combined created an intense explosion.
Effectiveness: 8/10
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70.28 - A Seashore Sunrise
Pairing method: Contrast and Complement
Pairing: Slow cooked beef brisket, salsa negra and onions.
Idea: Sometimes more is more! The idea here was to take the flavours and multiply
them. This was the first real introduction of smoke to the evening, perfect to
match with the syrupy smoky spicy flavour of the salsa negra. The sweetness
of the white maize and the coastal sweetness of the whisky were perfect
companions. This divided the group as the flavour combination was extremely
intense.
Effectiveness: 10/10 for 70% of the guests 6/10 for the rest. My personal favourite.
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10.146 - Sweet smoky succulent sensation
Pairing method: Contrast
Pairing: Mole poblano and mole árabes served with a bundle of warm tortillas, freshly
pressed and grilled while the guests waited.
Idea: Festival whisky with the traditional festival food mole. The idea here was that
the flavours are so intense that harmony is the only way to go. Chocolate and
smoky whisky is almost a no brainer, so this was an easy pairing to set up but
probably the most well loved and