Scotch Taisting

Wish I could help. But scotch always tastes like medicine to me. So, unless you're having the tasting in a hospital ward, I can't imagine what it would go with.

Now if you were having a bourbon tasting.....

Never really heard of a Scotch Tasting. I know from my father that this is a beverage best enjoyed before or very much after the meal. Especially when you get into some of the Scotch's I've sent him. Hmmmm a course for a tasting. How about a cheese course. Heck of a lot more robust that a salad and could make for a very interesting meal.

Good Luck!

(Edit) After talking to my Father and upon further review...... Scotch is really one of those sipping type beverages. Never really considered to contrast a meal. But to each his own. I guess. Sounds like you're on track but as far as cheeses, consider the sharper, very robust ones. The Bleu's, Cheddars, a couple of the Scotish or Irish varieties. Just a stab in the dark. Wish I could be more help. BTW what's the choices you have so far?

You would think if this were a more normal tasting. But then again the cheese course can precede the meal with out issue. Scotch would be more suited for a buffey style of appetizer selections, But you are doing almost the impossible with such a unique and aquired tasting beverage. I for one don't really indulge in scotch and like Ky I prefer Bourbon. But this could be a very positive thing.

As far as after dinner...... Finish with some fruits and chocolate. Both go well with about anything.

Soup? Not sure what would go with scotch...any ideas anyone?

I've recently had scotch chocolate truffles that were exceptional.

OK.....think locale....
salmon?
a kajillon years ago i used to be oh so cool and drink scotch.....well and also smoked dunhills....oh, tres chic! riiiiiiight......
so scotch can be smokey, seriously....woodsy.....
I remember a cigar dinner that had a chocolate cigar with band in a crystal ashtray....you could fill it with the scotch ganoush.

it'd be fun to pun off the scotch and soda.....gellee....hmmmm or intermezzo that has some food sci fi.....bubbles of scotch "caviar".....

scotch and salad....yep, nope....nothing coming to mind.

If it's single malt, exceptional scotch you don't want to blow their taste buds out of the water with outrageous pungent cheeses. IMHPO as a past "chic" scotch drinker. :)

Cahill Farms makes a whiskey cheddar that might work for you in either a cheese course or used in a salad.

I've heard of using scotch in gravlax, pate, creamy sauces. Other thought, smokey/peety Islay would do well with toasted millet to create side. Soup? Duck/Goose w/ginger/peas/mushroom (just the ideas)

But when in Rome.. who would know better?.. There is Scottish cuisine (if your guests can live with that:roll:) and scotch is widely used in sauces, puddings and stuffings. Here is useful link, look for Balmoral steak, Black Bun, Speyside Salmon etc.
Scottish Cooking

I wouldn't go with cheese plate, flavors just annihilate each other and mold would conflict too (IMHO) - some warm crumbly desert would do better

Speaking of cigar: scotch complements ones with lighter wrapper (Connecticut shade, Nat. Sumatra, EMS) and peppery/leathery notes. I personally like Gispert, Perdomo Millenario, LaFlor Dominicana Ligero. Or Latakia pipe tobacco blends. Much easier task than food pairing, right?:smoking:

Good luck

C

If it were my menu:

Gravlax made with Dalwhinnie

Duck breast with hazelnuts and wild mushroom ragout made with Glenmorangie 18 yr.

Mesquite grilled Macallan 12 yr old whisky NY steaks.

Fresh oysters with yellow curry ,Laphroig 18 yr and braised chard..

Chocolate Decadence with Balvenie Port wood.

But these are only rough ideas. good luck.

My husband is the whisky drinker in our Scottish household. He is a member of this society About us - The Scotch Malt Whisky Society which might give you a lead on which malts to try.

He enjoys several of the Islay malts, an Orkney one - 'Highland Park' best, but also drinks several of the Speyside malts, too.

He doesn't drink blended whiskies, only single malts. :) It is also unusual to refer to it as 'Scotch' here!

BTW Coregonus - Scottish cuisine is not to be sneered at - we have many Michelin starred restaurants here, as well as some of the finest meat, fruit, veg and fish!

It is not usual to pair whisky with courses of food (except at a Burns' supper when it is drunk with the haggis) - it is usually taken before a meal or at the end, instead of brandy. It can, of course, be incorporated into any of the courses as an ingredient, such as in cranachan (a pudding dish) or haggis. An alternative would be to serve a whisky liquer like Drambuie.

Thanks for the info Ishbel. Not my post but deffinitely learned something.:)

Like I said not a Scotch drinker personally so..... Scotch tastes so overwhelming. So the more strengthy cheeses seemed to be a match. But after looking at PeachCreeks menu and what Ishbel said it kinda broadend the thought process and many things make sense. Althought I would tend to agree that a salad may be to fru fru for 300 bucks and scotch many of the other things sound appealing (except the haggis never going there again. :eek:) Not to knock it just not my taste.

"It is also unusual to refer to it as 'Scotch' here!"

That's pretty typical, Ishbel. The local whisky (or whiskey) is usually just referred to as whisky.

In North America, if you just say "whisky" you'll get some sort of rye, or a rye blend. So, if you want something different, bourbon, let's say, or, to put a point on it, Scotch, you have to specify.

Of course, if you're drinking top shelf stuff, then you just ask for it by name. The barkeep will know what's in the bottle.

Old School: FWIW, the "T" and the "H" should always be upper cased. That is, The Haggis. And when presented properly it is always preceeded by a piper.

That's interesting - particularly where you say, referring to haggis, as 'The Haggis' - I've seen it like that on Burns' suppers menus or formal occasions, but not when ordering haggis in a restaurant. There, it is usually written as 'haggis, neeps and tatties' :D

Thoughts on a Scotch Tasting

Inkedchef, I'm an amateur Scotch drinker, but I do have some thoughts on your post.

First, do you need to pack a dinner around your tasting? Scotch goes very will with certain hors d'oeuvre-type foods, and as an after-dinner drink. So a Scotch-tasting-cocktail-party set up might show it off well. (Some things that go well with it would be Scotch woodcock, Welch rarebit, other cheese items, etc.)

Second, if you are going to do a complete dinner, does Scotch need to be the beverage that accompanies every course? For the same reasons as above, it might go better with an appetizer, main course, and savory - the E***ish (sorry, Scottish people) post-dinner course, and leave certain courses either un-beveraged or served with wine.

Third, if you are going to use Scotch as a beverage for all of the courses of a dinner, it will probably go best if the dinner employs Scottish dishes. I have tried a few that go surprisingly well with Scotch. Where I actually have recipes, if I can figure out how to export the recipe from Master Cook, I'll post them below.
- Salmon, served with a "skirlie mash". "Skirlie mash" turns out to be mashed potatoes with leeks and shallots (sort of like the Irish concannon), plus steel-cut oatmeal mixed in. I have a recipe for that, and a white wine sauce for the salmon.
- Cranachan - a semi-sweet dessert that is a parfait of fresh berries (the recipe I originally saw used raspberries, but just about any red berries would do) layered with what is essentially steel-cut oats soaked in honey and Scotch and then folded into whipped cream. I was surprisingly impressed when I tried this. (I bought a can of Scottish steel-cut oats without realizing what they were, then had to locate recipes to use them, since I'm not a big oatmeal fan.)
- You can play around with Scottish recipe websites. Here are a couple with interesting things: http://www.electricscotland.com/food/recipes/; Traditional Scottish Recipes - Scottish Culture.

Finally, there are at least a couple of major categorie of Scotch (if didn't already know this), and they vary in how peaty they are. Highland Scotches (like most of those with "Glen" in the name) generally are the lightest, and Islay Scotches (like Laphroaig) are the heftiest. Once you get past the peat, the highland Scotches can be surprisingly sweet. The Islay Scotches rarely let you get past the peat.

Sorry to be so wordy, but I just got going and couldn't stop myself.


Salmon with Skirlie Mash & Dill Cream Sauce
Skirlie Mash:
4 russet potatoes (about 3 lbs.) -- peeled, cut into 2" pieces
1/2 cup unsalted butter (one stick)
2 large leeks (white and pale green parts only) -- chopped
2 large shallots -- chopped
1 1/4 cups water
1/3 cup Scottish steel-cut (pinhead) oatmeal
1/4 cup whipping cream
Dill-Cream Sauce:
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 large shallots -- chopped
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup chilled butter -- cut into 8 pieces
1 tablespoon fresh dill -- chopped
Salmon:
6 5-ounce salmon fillets -- with skin
2 tablespoons olive oil

For Skirlie Mash: Place potatoes in a large pot. Cover with cold water
and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook until tender, about 15 minutes
once boiling. When done, drain and return potatoes to the pot. Stir over
medium heat until dry, a couple of minutes.

Meanwhile, melt butter in a medium pot over medium heat. Add leeks and
shallots and saute until soft. Add 1 1/4 cups water and bring to boil.
Add the oatmeal. Reduce heat to medium and cook until the oatmeal is
tender, but still firm to bite, about 6 minutes.

Mash the potatoes, and stir in the cream. Stir in the oatmeal mixture.
Season to taste with salt & pepper. Keep warm. (This can be made 2 hours
ahead, standing at room temperature and being rewarmed for serving.)

For sauce: Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add
shallots and saute until starting to brown, about 3 minutes. Add wine and
boil until reduce by at least half. Add the cream. Simmer to reduce the
consistency to a sauce. Gradually whisk in the butter. Stir in the dill.
Season to taste with salt & pepper.

For Salmon: Preheat oven to 400 F. Sprinkle salmon with salt & pepper.
Drizzle flesh side with oil. Place flesh side down on a rimmed baking
sheet. Bake until just opaque in the center, about 8 minutes.

To serve: Divide the skirlie mash among plates. Top each with a salmon
filet. Drizzle with sauce.

Cranachan
10 1/2 ounces fresh raspberries or strawberries
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons good quality honey
2 tablespoons scotch whisky
3 tablespoons oatmeal

In a dry skillet, toast the oatmeal over medium to medium-low heat, until
it is golden brown. This process could take between 10-20 minutes.

Once the oatmeal is brown, turn off the heat and let it cool in the pan.

Place the cream in a bowl and whisk up until it makes fairly stiff peaks
and is relatively thick.

Combine the honey and scotch whisky in a small bowl.

Fold the oatmeal and honey-scotch whisky mixture into the cream.

To serve, choose any of the following methods:
a. Fold the berries into the cream mixture carefully, keeping out a few
to serve as garnish.
b. In a parfait glass or martini glass, alternately spoon the cream
mixture and berries to make layers. Start and end with cream mixture.
Top with a decorative berry or two.
c. Put the cream mixture into two serving bowls, and garnish with
berries.

Can be served relatively immediately, or the oatmeal-cream-whisky-honey
portion can be held in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight -
but not more than one night.

scotch and food

Would highly reccomend a Cranachan for desert:-
Softly whipped double cream mixed with Fresh raspberries, honey, Toasted medium oatmeal and a good slug of the good stuff topped with more toasted oatmeal. a Scots classic

It's not The Cuisine, it's unprepared and, possibly, unexperienced patrons that triggered sarcasm. I, myself, envy them profusely!

C