Food Pairing Surprises From the Whiskey Washback
All photos by Aliza Kellerman.
It’s no secret that seafood and booze go well together (check out our oyster and cocktail pairing guide for proof of that), but I’m always a little skeptical of pairing heavier spirits with fish. However, I’m continually down to change my mind, which is exactly what happened when I was invited to the Bowery Collective’s Whiskey Washback event by the folks over at Sustainable Seafood Week.
The event itself is a dazzling display of 75+ whiskies - some well known, others not as much. Alongside this hooch-a-plenty were your typical small bites: sliders, chili, etc. In other words, read meat, and lots of it. So when Wendy Weisman from Sustainable Seafood Week turned me over to a section of aquatic nibbles, I was intrigued.
You see, The Bowery Collective had paired the seafood suppliers with whisky producer Bruichladdich, with a particular focus on their Port Charlotte single malt. You know, the really peated one? Yeah, it’s not exactly the stuff I’d imagine reaching for while eating something as delicate as, oh, say, salmon crudo from Crave Fishbar. However, it happened to work nicely in the accompanying cocktail – the “Tennessee Williams.”
Equal parts Cognac, Port Charlotte, and sweet vermouth, topped off with a dash or two of Breckenridge bitters, made for a deeply sweet cocktail. The honey notes of the cocktail (thank the vermouth and the Breckenridge for that) played well with the honey Bruichladdich aioli on the salmon. It could be argued that the cocktail was working with the sauce rather than the salmon, but since salmon does have a nice pungent sweetness and is often basted with sweeter glazes, I’d argue the cocktail still does its part.
Another Scotch/fish accompaniment were the oysters from Fishers Island, which were topped with Bruichladdich Islay Barley mignonette. This pairing was a little more out there to me, as the oysters themselves are highly briny and the sauce quite sugary. However, for those who are looking for West Coast oyster sweetness with East Coast brine, a Scotch-spiked vinegar atop a lean Fishers Island oyster might be of interest to you.
I should also mention another highlight of the festival: sampling the Teeling Single Malt, which is aged in a selection of wine casks. Rich and classically mellow, it’s a great food whiskey (and yes, I could see it going with salmon). From the get-go, Teeling has been a fascinating company I’ve enjoyed watching, and I’m sure we’re all excited to see what Teeling will produce when they begin selling their distilled-on-site spirits.
When it comes to pairing delicate food with Scotch, well, you can do it, and I mean that in affirmative, “you go!” way. The trick is all in the sauce. Prepare your seafood with richer sauces so the booze has something to grip onto. Likewise, mix your Scotch with sweeter elements like vermouth and liqueurs to tone it down. And of course, balance is key, don’t slosh everything with so much mixer – both food and booze-wise – that you feel like you’re eating a bowl of marinade or drinking Benedictine from the bottle.