Scotchy Scotch Scotch
I'm starting to spread my horizons...
...on alcohol that is. I would always steer clear of dark liquors & only drink barefoot riesling - I know terrible. I've gotten past the riesling stage (thank goodness) and never turn down a good bottle of Cab Sav. Now, whiskey & scotch are the lucky two that I have been attempting to be more accustomed to.
My home away from home, Blackstone , was accompanied by Dan Crowell from Glenmorangie & Ardbeg distilleries to spend an "evening in Scotland" while tasting some great scotch paired with delicious food. I was 100% in.
The night started off with scotch lesson 101 - how to taste scotch. Head here to find a similar step by step process to hold your own with the Scotch aficionados.
Following the tutorial, we had a penicillin cocktail - glenmorangie 10 year, honey, candied ginger, ardbeg & 10 year smoke float. This cocktail on its own was amazing, the candied ginger & honey really pull the sweetness through and then it was infused with the 10 year smoke float. The smoke really did bring some of the smoky flavors that is embodied in the ardbeg 10 year.
Thenn the real fun started - the food pairings.
First up - Growing Wise
The glenmorangie 10 year & ardbeg 10 year expressions paired with shrimp etouffee - classic cajun style, shrimp, rice.
The cajun took you straight back to N'awlins and gave you a little spicy kick with the rice to calm everything back down. we paired this with two very different scotches from the east & west - definitely gave a strong start to the night.
Second course: Beef wellington & Glenmorangie 3 ways
1 - Lasanta 12 year paired with double mushroom ragu wellington. 2 - Nectar D'Or 12 year paired with green pepper corn wellington. 3 - Quinta Ruban 12 year paired with almond bacon chutney wellington.
This dish made polishing off three wellys a little too easy. The pairings between the bitter of scotch with the different form of cream or fat from each wellington really worked out well. My favorite was the green pepper corn, I was on the verge of licking my plate clean.
Third course: Sweet & Savory
Glenmorangie Mislean aged in ex-bourbon & re-toasted former wine casks paired with a double brined buttermilk fried chicken slider with honey aioli & slaw on a potato bun.
For starters, we were informed this mislean will only be made once, once the bottles run out - it's out. So we got to feel fancy as we gave this a special taste (which it was really good - probably my favorite...behind the penicillin cocktail). But this sandwich yall...hands down the best fried chicken I've ever had. First things first, it was a chicken thigh, which I am all for. Then, the honey aioli paried with a jalapeno slaw on a doughy potato bun...I wish I could describe its goodness but I just have no words.
Fourth & final course: Pick - Me - Up
Coffee cocktail - Glenmorangie 10 year, java house cold brew, pipe tobacco, & grand marnier 100 crema paired with a housemade tiramisu cupcake.
At this point I was pretty damn full from the rice, 3 beef wellingtons, and a fried chicken sandwich...but let's be real everyone has room for a little dessert. This coffee cocktail reminded me of an iced Irish coffee (which just made me get nostalgic and want to go back to San Fran with my family and drink Irish Coffee's at The Buena Vista ) and I appreciated the pick me up after some scotch tastes & a major food baby. One of the guys at our table decided to swipe the whipped cream from the coffee cocktail & top the cupcake with it...we all followed his lead. It was a perfect energizing & sweet ending to a delicious night.
This night in general was such a great treat - the scotch & food was superb but the company was even better. Dan Crowell was beyond enlightening on how to drink scotch, what to eat it with, when you should add water & how long to wait, I mean the list goes on and on. I was particularly lucky with my table company - I mentioned my blog and we got on the topic of pizza for a good portion of the night. We dished out our favorite pizza spots in town as well as certain tips & tricks from our own pizza making. per usual, blackstone did not dissapoint.