Virtual Boilermaker Degustation
Pairing Whisky with Beer, Food and Cigars
The vast majority of the time, I want to drink whisky for whisky’s sake.
Every now and then though, it’s fun to swap out our puristic analytical caps for raw hedonism. As many have explored through similar articles, books and indeed VPubs, whisky can enhance the enjoyment of other flavourful goods through considered application. Likewise, the use of other flavours can synergistically enhance the enjoyment of whisky, as long as a deft hand is employed. Even if we don’t always find the best pairings to enhance certain flavours, like the whisky flavour chase itself, it’s often the journey and discovery which yields the most fun. Before we dive into our pairings, let’s have a quick(ish) chat about some of the principles of pairings.
There are essentially three guiding tenets in constructing pairings. The language around them differs depending on who’s explaining them, but the terms I use can be simplified as “The three Cs”
Complimenting
This is the most straightforward of the three methods. The idea is to pair similar or same flavours between elements to bring unity to the tasting experience. A common example is coffee and chocolate, both of which have dark and roasted tones which harmonise well together and give a kind of constructive amplification.
2. Contrasting
This is arguably my favourite of the three methods to play with. Contrasting relies on two flavour spectra which lie relatively opposed to one another, but who’s interaction fills out the tasting experience in a way that no single element could. Good examples include sweet/sour combinations (ie balsamic vinegar) and bitter/salty combinations (ie salted peanuts with their skins). A more complex aromatic example would be something like sulfurous and fruity elements; either one by themself can be overwhelming, but the combination is usually pleasant (ie passionfruit or grapefruit).
3.Contradicting
These are flavours which seem independently like they shouldn’t work and/or will conflict. This is probably the trickiest of the three to manage, but when a skilled contradictory pairing is made it can be a delightful surprise. A good example is mango and salmon. These matches are hard to predict and can require significant trial and error, but typically I’ve found the most success with fusion style dishes. French/Vietnamese excels in this; bahn mi sounds ridiculous on paper, yet how many of us enjoy the beguiling combination of classical French baguette with coriander plus pate with soy sauce?
The proper gastronomists among this readership will likely be appalled at the egregious oversimplifications being made here, but I really just want to convey the generalities of food pairing so that we can get to the proverbial meat of the article below, which is of course the proposed pairings.
We should also note that the goal is to match the intensity of flavours as much as possible between components with a gradual increase in flavour intensity from one course to the next.
On a quick tangent, I’d like to make a few potentially controversial injections about the nature of food and drink pairings. In general, historically a degustation has always been paired with wines by default. There are some good reasons for doing this; wines tend to be acidic, and as any chef will tell you the interplay of fat, salt and acid (I won’t mention a common fourth element here for risk of IP infringement) is essential to constructing many dishes. There is also the aromatic nature of wine with its plethora of esters and volatile components which can be carefully selected to achieve the same pairing motifs I’ve listed above.
There are also some really bad reasons that wine becomes the default; factors like wine reps offering contracts and financial incentives to restaurants for keeping their wines on the drinks menu, wine lobbying to governments for tax rebates and the generally excellent job that the wine world has done over centuries marketing themselves into proliferation and association with luxury lifestyles.
Wine is, of course, a brilliant beverage. For food pairing though, there really is no better accompaniment (to this jaded and biassed writer at least) than beer. It has orders of magnitude more variation than wine by virtue of combinatorial factors in raw ingredient and production processes, and comes with the (usually) inherent quality of carbonation so useful for cleaning the palate by mechanical action. Moreover, the process of brewing reflects the nature of cooking with its various chemically transformative processes (maillard reactions from malting/boiling for instance) in ways that wine simply cannot replicate. Whisky, being a downstream-product from beer, enjoys many of these same qualities, though again I would argue it doesn’t come close to the stylistic variation and parametric complexity of beer.
For a far better explanation of the topic than I could ever achieve, I recommend watching this shorter video and/or this longer video from industry veteran and awarded author Garrett Oliver. If these interest you, his book “The Brewmaster's Table” is one of the most comprehensive pieces of food pairing literature I’ve yet encountered.
Now that we’ve covered the principles and justifications of our pairings, I want to throw a spanner in the works. The virtual degustation I wish to take you dear readers on is of five courses, each matched with both a beer and a whisky since this is, after all, an exploration of how whisky can work with both beer AND food. Accordingly we must consider that each exemplar course has three pairings to be made- the relationship between the whisky and the beer, the relationship between the beer and the food and finally the relationship between the food and the whisky. The combinatorial nature of these pairings mean we have a lot of spinning plates to consider, not least of which is that by the fifth and final course, palate fatigue will be completely unavoidable. The construction of a degustation then relies not just on the flavour interactions being constructed, but also that the order of the dishes gives sufficient variety, refreshment and incremental growth of intensity of flavours so that the taster doesn’t peak too early as it were. With these plethora of conditions to meet, let’s lay out the meal and see if we can’t navigate its treacherous waters.
Note: all whisky notes were written ahead of the pairing without any food or beer present to preserve nose and palate integrity. The degustation was designed using these tasting notes, having already been written.
Hors D'oeuvres
Food- Kingfish carpaccio with pickled daikon, capers, wasabi and sesame oil.
Beer- Hitachino nest yuzu lager.
Whisky- Yoichi NAS single malt.
To my mind Japanese food and drink follows many of the wider principles of the Nihonjin. Flavours tend to be well defined, precise in execution and blended so that no one element dominates the palate. Japanese single malt tends to follow a similar trajectory; when we think of the best known distilleries, the whisky tends to be characterful but well balanced, executed with the exactness of forethought. It’s no wonder Japan has contributed more to the scientific research of whisky than just about any other non-British isles nation. The selected beer for this course exhibits many of the same virtues- being a lager, the fermentation characteristics are minimal, leading to a clean and crisp profile that allows the pilsner malt, minimal floral hops and yuzu extract to shine.
Review 1/6
Nikka Yoichi NAS Single Malt, 45% ABV
AUD$130 Paid.
Score: 7/10
Very good indeed.
TL;DR
Brilliantly composed malt
Nose
I’d forgotten how beautifully fermentary I find Yoichi. Mild pickled onion and parmesan organosulfurs with sourdough bread (partially the malt) and light grapefruit peel supporting. The peat is moderate with a mild vegetal touch, wood smoke and hints of shellfish while the oak contributes some nice vanilla and dried spices- seems American oak forward.
Palate
The citruses are dialled up considerably here while some mild passionfruit and faint pineapple joins the grapefruit thiols etc- otherwise the profile is fairly clean, lean and typical. Crisp malt, moderate pickled ginger and vanilla custard from the casks with touches of tannic dryness on the finish- some virgin oak perhaps?
The pairings
The beer-food relation is both contrasting and complementary- the mild malt sweetness, fresh/funky yuzu and mild/floral hop bitterness act as a counterpoint to the salty, umami and kokumi elements of the capers, sesame oil and kingfish respectively. On the other hand the pickled daikon, sinus clearing wasabi and yuzu work synergistically to keep both nose and palate fresh between sip and bite.
The beer-whisky relation is primarily complementary; both elements exhibit a citrus freshness with assertively crisp maltiness and mild funk; yuzu contains volatile thiols, and to my palate the coastal peat profile of Yoichi also contributes thiols. The light ABV and high carbonation also act as a palate refreshment to minimise palate fatigue due to subsequent sips of the whisky.
Lastly, the whisky-food relation. The whisky demonstrates a moderate-full coastal peat profile which acts to complement the fresh seafood components of the kingfish. The freshness of the pickled daikon pleasantly contradicts the bourbon cask flavours in the whisky from an aromatic perspective, but on the palate we see a wonderful sweet-sour contrast. Additionally, the sesame oil coats the palate and minimises the alcoholic prickle from the whisky as well as adding texture.
Yoichi is a brilliantly composed malt.
Score: 7/10 TK
Appetiser
Food- goat cheese and smashed pecan stuffed grilled figs, wrapped in maple-glazed bacon.
Beer- Saison Dupont
Whisky- Talisker 18
This course appears discordant initially, both culturally and culinarily, however please let me argue the case. Firstly, let’s look at the whisky;
Review 2/6
Talisker 18yo, Official Bottling, 45.8% ABV
AUD$150 Paid. Widely available but insultingly more expensive.
Score: 7/10
Very good indeed.
TL;DR
Loses a point for pricing
Nose
It’s more rounded and evidently more mature than the 10 by comparison, but I love this bottling for still being quintessentially Talisker; the Highland peat and worm tub influences abound with excellent wood smoked cold meats, old worn leather, hints of camphor and freshly cracked black pepper. The esters of longer maturation float to the surface with some grilled nectarines and crushed lime, while the oak offers some pleasant vanilla, a woodiness between pine and cedar plus some gentle baking spices.
Palate
Very good savoury peat indeed- leads with the wood smoked meats again, adding in some soot and ash with the camphor. The fruits develop much better on the palate with some tropical touches; moderate mango joining the orange/lime citrus, as well as a trace green note like cucumber skin or melon rind. The oak is also more prominent, though not overdone with more vanilla, slightly savoury spices and a honey/mead sweetness tinged with an almost burnt caramel sauce- perhaps detecting the cynical e150 here?
The pairings
The beer-food relation exposes some of my beer bias; Saison Dupont is possibly the most food friendly beer I have ever had. The high carbonation scrubs rich and fatty components (bacon, cheese) from the palate, the high ester content is ideal for complementary fruit interactions (fig) and the dry composition with firm hop bitterness and implications of sweetness from the clove-esque phenols make it dynamically suitable to sweet, salty and savoury settings.
The beer-whisky relation also leans on Dupont’s versatility; the meaty and wood-smoke component of Talisker’s peat profile mesh with the clove phenol element while both exhibit an excellent terpenic pepperiness. The tropical ester and thioester components (remember, Talisker use long fermentations and worm tub condensers) in the whisky mesh with Dupont’s dominant isoamyl acetate (banana) esters.
The whisky-food relation almost needs no explanation; both elements contribute meaty, fruity, charred and organosulfur components, while the fats and oils in the food add protective coating and texture to the mouthfeel of subsequently taken sips from the whisky. Moreover, the nuttiness and slight astringent bitterness in the pecans balance the salty bacon components while the coconut/vanilla implications of the bourbon casks elevate both the pecan and grilled fig. Arguably the favourite pairings in this degustation.
Score: 7/10 (losing a point on pricing) TK
Salad
Food- Salmon, mango, avocado and grilled pineapple poke bowl with sriracha kewpie, pickled ginger, furikake, sliced radish and crispy shallots.
Beer- Garage Project White Mischief Gose
Whisky- Kilkerran 12 YO circa 2019 release
A deliberate point of lighter refreshment in a conventional degustation, yet I can’t help but be a little cheeky here. In the preface I mentioned the brilliant juxtaposition of salmon and mango, and this dish brings those elements together while managing to fuse Hawaiian and Asian elements (in my opinion at least) brilliantly. The trick is trying to find beverages which can match such a dynamic dish.
Review 3/6
Kilkerran 12yo, Official Bottling (2019), 46% ABV
AUD$95 Paid. Sometimes available.
Score: 9/10
Exceptional.
TL;DR
Malty, coastal beauty and excellent value.
Nose
Pure class, obviously of the same DNA as the 8YO bourbon CS release I’ve reviewed here. Crisp malt with farmy/fruity thiols/thioesters giving an abundance of passionfruit, grapefruit, guava, some pineapple and then a slightly sour/fusty barn hay (silage) with yeast slurry, plaster, trace horse dung and sweet, damp earth. I have a feeling the sherry component of the maturation bolsters the fermentary aspects of this over the 8YO bourbon too. With time we see a little baked apple emerge too. The peat plays support with some soft, warm wood smoke and more earthy/mulchy tones. There are also intermittent flashes of marzipan, unlit tobacco, spices and pleasantly fishy pyridines.
Palate
All of the same elements from the nose, but the fermentary aspects don’t dominate. Instead we see more of the beautifully crisp and biscuity malt accented by bursts of lemon and grapefruit citrus softened by restrained oak, lending some vanilla creme brulee and white pepper. The funk is still there in abundance of course, and the wood smoke and earthy peat elements counterbalance these beautifully with again some toasted tobacco and smoked fish indicative of moderate pyridines, pyrazines and various furans.
The pairings
The beer-food relation is simple this time around. The Gose has a low ABV, lactic acid tartness, fairly high carbonation, peach floral fruitiness and understated salinity which are designed to cleanse, refresh and pair perfectly with both seafood and fruit. As with the other beers, the carbonation helps to scrub the fats (ie avocado and salmon) from the palate while the tropical mango/pineapple and floral peach fruits complement one another. The salinity accentuates the furikake and limits bitterness from the radish.
The beer-whisky relation is skewed in favour of the whisky in this course- much like the food, the Kilkerran exhibits coastal and fruity elements which are similarly complemented by the Gose. The grainy malt and wheat component of the beer supports the malt component of the whisky too, while the beer’s lactic acidity and yeast profile in the whisky reinforce one another.
Lastly, the whisky-food relation. The sulfur components of the whisky, shallots, mango and salmon are structurally different but form enough of a pedal tone to find a common key. Some of the coastal peat tones are also accentuated by the furikake. Similarly the whisky’s ester profile reflects the tropical fruit facets of the dish and thus we see an overarching fruit-sulfur balance which unifies the course.
Score: 9/10 (gaining a point on value!) TK
Mains
Food- Charcoal grilled wagyu sirloin with pan seared scallops and garlic cream sauce, roasted dill potatoes on the side.
Beer- Rodenbach Grand Cru
Whisky- Ledaig 17
Things start to get properly heavy here. The main course combines rich, fatty, dairy, smoked and seafood components while the beer displays high levels of acidity and bacterial/wild yeast fermentation characters. Let’s see how the whisky stands up and then look at the pairings.
Review 4/6
Ledaig 17yo, Single Malts of Scotland, 2004, Refill bourbon hogshead, 56.8% ABV
AUD$185 Paid. Limited availability.
Score: 8/10
Something special.
TL;DR
A savoury delight!
Nose
The fermentary house character is well developed; fish sauce, lanolin and funky cheese (somewhere between parmesan and a sharp medium-soft blue) with a touch of the usual autolytic amino tones and some residual acetic character. The peat profile is dirty, coastal and driven with some halogenation too- rock pools, ash, farmy phenols (p-cresol) and lightly medicinal plus "Green" feeling terpenes a la lemon/lime peels and pine sap. There are also some slight pyrazine hints which implicate fleeting nuances of lit tobacco and cut chilli.
Palate
This is where the age’s impact is really apparent- the oak influence is still quite low, but essentially all the volatile new make is gone, though some acetic character and the brettish phenolic tones remain.
There's a nice fatness with more farmy lanolin and yeasty/bacterial cheese implications, while the coastal tones have moved to fish sauce, kippers and other smoked fish. The smoke aspect of the phenols are prominent and indeed there's some cigar ash and sootiness which join the medicinal and disinfectant phenolic qualities, while the citrus tones become even more green and piney. With a little water (~5% dilution by volume) there’s even a pronounced South-East Asian food vibe; fish sauce, fresh cut chilli, kaffir lime, lemongrass and galangal. That is to say, generally aldehydic and terpenic with flourishes of pyrazines and sulfidic elements.
The pairings
The beer-food relation here is the most straightforward dynamic- Michael Jackson himself compared both the colour and acidity of Rodenbach Grand Cru with the famous Burgundian red wines with whom West Flanders once shared territory. The high acidity and carbonation cleave the fats from the palate while the red fruit fermentation and stewed malt sweet characteristics lend a contrasting balance from bite to sip. Likewise the sulfur components of the dish (seafood, garlic, meatiness) both compare and contrast to the sulfur elements in the beer from the bacterial fermentation.
The beer-whisky relation relies primarily on the fermentary characteristics of both beverages. The lanolin and funky cresol elements of the whisky pair with the various phenols and organosulfur characteristics from the beer, particularly the action of brettanomyces; both beer and whisky share an excellent organosulfur/phenol intertwined farmyard character.
As with the other two pairings, the shared sulfur elements of the whisky-food relation compares nicely, as does the shared smoke profile between the peat and charcoal grilling. The coastal peat and seared scallops also compare nicely, while the medicinal cresols and SE Asian tones pleasantly contradict and freshen (respectively) from the creamy and sweet components of the garlic sauce and potatoes.
The least cohesive collection of pairings in this line up to be sure, however palate fatigue in this course is significant, so louder and more juxtaposing flavours are acceptable in the interest of maintaining the taster’s attention.
Score: 8/10 TK
Dessert
Food- 85% cacao chocolate ganache layered on a blackened biscuit, topped with flambeed marshmallow.
Beer- Firestone Walker Parabola
Whisky- Firkin Caol Ila 7YO
Review 5/6
Caol Ila 7yo, Firkin Whisky Company, 2010, hybrid bourbon and marsala cask staves recoopered to a firkin format, 48.9% ABV
AUD$140 Paid. Very limited availability.
Score: 7/10
Very good indeed.
TL;DR
Caramel and smoke; best beer match-up!
Nose
To summarise, smoked caramel- there, done.
No but really; bonfire and warming fireplace smoke, caramel simmering on the stove with spiced vanilla sponge cake baking in the oven. There's the suggestion of a few dried fruits but the American oak is leading the charge along with the smoke. There's a slight coastal tone in the peat profile too, something approaching beach kelp.
Palate
Pretty similar to the nose, though the coastal peat elements are dialled up somewhat- I'm sure others would say salty. Some roasted cacao joins the vanilla lead spice and caramel oak tones which play perfect counterpoint to the wood smoke. Some very subtle dried red fruits join the spices, meanwhile white pepper, whispers of dill and lemon spritz keep things fresh.
The pairings
The beer-food match is again pretty self explanatory- the burnt biscuit, chocolate and charred marshmallow edges all pair with the roasted mocha tones of the beer, meanwhile the vanilla, coconut, toffee and stone fruit esters of the beer contrast those same flavours in a synergistically sweet manner without actually contributing any sugar, thus avoiding any compoundingly cloying effects. The mouthfeel combination here is key too; the coating aspect of the ganache melds with the high viscosity and soft carbonation to coat the palate luxuriously.
The beer-whisky combination is one of my favourites in this whole line up. The bourbon cask elements of both drinks match nicely while the roast and mocha tones of the beer compare synergistically with the clean peat smoke tones. Similarly we see a pairing off between the orchard fruit tones from the beer’s ester profile and the whisky’s understated residual marsala influence, all underpinned by a warm thread of baking spice.
The whisky-food pairing is a tricky one- generally speaking, I’m ill-disposed to pairing whisky with sweet foods, even chocolate. Sugars on the palate can have a strong masking effect for the sweeter malt and fruit elements which can render the whisky a little hot and unbalanced. The design for this pairing then was to build a dessert with sufficient bitterness to inherently counteract the sweetness and allow the virtues of the whisky to shine, while simultaneously finding a clean peat profile which matches some of the bitter/burnt tones found in the food. Moreover, the spicy and fruit elements of the marsala cask and an almost berry compote vibe to the chocolate ganache which ties the course together immensely.
Score: 7/10 TK
Whew, there we go. Five courses, fifteen pairings done and dusted. It’s hard work living the hedonist lifestyle, but goodness what a journey. I do, however, have a last set of pairings to finish this virtual experience with a wee flourish. I’m not anything at all like a regular smoker, and it is only on quite rare occasions that a cigar is procured, but this is the kind of event that merits the act I think. So, to end this wondrous hypothetical evening…
Digestif
Cigar- Punch Coronation (Cuban)
Beer- Alesmith Wee Heavy
Whisky- Lagavulin 16
Review 6/6
Lagavulin 16yo, Official Bottling, 43% ABV
AUD$110 Paid. Currently widely available but woefully overpriced (~AUD$185+).
Score: 7/10
Very good indeed.
TL;DR
It’s a 6/10 at current prices
Nose
Rich malt (somewhere between vienna and munich) with lemon oil, kippers and just generally a smokey, phenol driven peat. Continues to unfold with traces of soft black olives, the prototypical lapsang souchong, cigar room note (yes, I swear!) and subtle bromophenols a la seaweed and rock pools. Mild caramel and vanilla supporting fairly unobtrusively.
Palate
Read the nose back word for word, add in some lime with the lemon plus a subtle white pepper and some sweet earthy tones. I maintain that I do not find salt in whisky, but this is extremely coastal- that smoke, citrus and seaweed combination is dynamite.
Credit to Diageo, many of their classic malts seem to deliver very consistent nose/palate experiences, although one wonders if that’s partially due to their fairly abusive treatment of the malts after disgorging. At any rate, this cements itself as a classic, but the price point is (as well discussed in the community ) ludicrous.
The pairings
At the risk of sounding like a “Good ol’ boy” there are some combinations that just work. These three tie the bow perfectly on an already decadent line up; the cigar is medium-full intensity with notes of heavily roasted coffee, oak, mild leather and some dry nuttiness.
The beer is fermented to dryness, however the malt and residual unfermentable sugar tones are rich in caramel, toffee and maillard goodness. Some subtle roast and smoke complement the cigar nicely while moderate esters support the implied sweetness of the malts. If you can find one of these beers with a year or two’s cellar time under its belt, all the better; the melanoidins from the maillard processes in malting and boiling slowly oxidise over time and can contribute positive dry sherry/almond tones.
The mature and stately peat profile of the Lagavulin serves to marry everything perfectly- of course the smoke from the cigar dominates the phenolic aspect, but that only goes to emphasise the rich malt character of Lagavulin.
Some classics really do deserve their dues.
Score: 7/10 at price paid, 6/10 if you’re paying today’s hiked prices. TK
TK
-
Dramface is free.
Its fierce independence and community-focused content is funded by that same community. We don’t do ads, sponsorships or paid-for content. If you like what we do you can support us by becoming a Dramface member for the price of a magazine.
However, if you’ve found a particular article valuable, you also have the option to make a direct donation to the writer, here: buy me a dram - you’d make their day. Thank you.
For more on Dramface and our funding read our about page here.
