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

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