5 tips for pairing whiskey with food
Get to know your whiskey
You can't pair the dish without a flavor reference, then pour yourself a finger and get acquainted with the whiskey you have decided to pair.
The first step is smell and taste for identify aromas, tastes and key textures in the glass. Write down your thoughts on paper so you can refer to them later - the more detailed, the better.
Consider where the scotch whiskey comes from
You don't have to start from scratch every time - use regional similarities to your advantage. One could say that in the whiskeys of the Speyside there is a general sense of fruity and toasted notes, perhaps burnt sugar and honey in some of these whiskeys depending on the distillery and maturation.
You can compare it to something like i whiskey from Islay, which again are all different but often have one smokiness and a salty flavor commonality, so there are a few things you can generalize about.
If you need to, reread our guide to Scotch Whiskey regions.
Highlight the underlying flavors
Sure, you might think about pairing a whisky Lagavulin with something smoky - eggplant, perhaps, or a grilled halibut - but highlighting the underlying flavors could elevate both the dish and the whiskey.
For example, a smoked whiskey might also have a hint of pineapple.
You could combine it with the smoky element of the dish or take the ingredient in a completely different direction.
The bottom line? Use the finer notes of whiskey to complement and counter.
Read also: Scotch Whiskey Zones
Experiment with cooking techniques
Smoking, seasoning, marinating, infusing, caramelizing, storing and grilling are just some of the ways you can take a specific ingredient and transform its flavor into something unique.
Don't be shy about playing with spices too, whether it's roasting, grinding or making a paste.
Don't forget the texture
You value food more and more if it has texture. Get a simple bologna sandwich. Made with oil bread, it is all soft and ends up being cloying in the mouth.
Add texture to it - change the bread to one chianca focaccia or with a freshly baked semolina sandwich - and you'll love it much more.
The same goes for your distillate. Is the whiskey creamy or silky? Keep this in mind when designing your dish.
