Food and Whisky Pairing at SMWS: Edinburgh Queen Street Edition

It’s August and there’s lots to celebrate – it’s food and whisky pairing month at SMWS!  Maybe that’s not an internationally recognized holiday, but here in Scotland, it could be!  It comes as little surprise to most of you dear readers that delicious food is my thing.  And now that whisky is fast becoming my thing too, imagine my excitement levels to be celebrating food and whisky pairing month with the Scotch Malt Whisky Society! 

This post will be the first in a series, highlighting the events that I attended with the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, during food and whisky pairing month.  There’s still a few events left in August, so hurry and sign up for them!  Most of the food and whisky pairing events are for both members and non-members alike (probably to reel in and delight those non-members!)  For those sad folks that can’t manage, don’t worry – there are delectable food options in the SMWS Member Rooms at all times, and your SMWS Ambassador will help you make a delicious pairing with their current outturn offerings. 

My attendance at these events were graciously gifted to me by the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, of which I am an affiliate.  That means, should you choose to sign up for a SMWS membership following this post, I will receive a small commission for that referral.  All opinions and delights in this post are my own and are not influenced by the gifted tastings.  Thank you, SMWS as always!

The first food and whisky pairing event I attended was hosted at SMWS Queen Street in Edinburgh.  Executive Head Chef James Freeman created an exquisite 6 course tasting menu, with each course paired with a SMWS whisky to enhance the whisky experience.  Most people I’ve spoken to consider whisky an after-dinner drink, often considering whisky during dinner to be too heavy.  While I wouldn’t suggest it for every night of the week, on certain special occasions, it can be just the thing.

Your typical food and whiskey pairings are charcuterie platters (meats and cheeses go nicely with heavy, rich whiskies) and chocolates or desserts, where the sweet flavors enhance the soft sweetness in the whiskies. But this? One whisky per meal course? Unheard of, and so decadent!

Before I begin on that evening’s frivolities, allow me to express my great thanks to:

• Logan, our delightful host for the evening,
• Our dinner companions, who added light-hearted laughter and color to the dinner;
• And my friend, Jenny, who joined as my plus one.

Without further ado:

The SMWS Food and Whisky Pairing Tasting Menu

The evening started out with some bread to pad the stomach of the many whiskies to come.  The bread, thematically sitting on barley grains, came with two types of butter – tomato and wild garlic and fennel herb.  When it came out, my friend said “I know which butter you’re going for.”  And it’s true.  Tell me something has garlic in it, and I’m all over it!  If a recipe calls for 1 clove, you gotta put in at least 4.  Anyway, I digress.  Don’t get too excited with the delicious bread and butter, because the first course is coming.

1st course: Torched Mackerel & a Highland

Torched Mackerel with purple potato, apple, compressed cucumber, horseradish buttermilk and dill

Contrapuntal Complementarities – 52.39 (Old Pulteney), a Highland whisky – aged 7 years, at 57.9% ABV

According to Logan, the mackerel had a “bitterness to it”, where the sweet and citrus of the whisky helped to balance out that flavor.

2nd course: Tomato & burrata, with a Speyside

Isle of Wight tomato with basil emulsion, burrata, baby courgettes and wild garlic

A bee swarm on holiday – 36.165 (Benrinnes), a Speyside whisky – aged 12 years, 57.7% ABV

Fruity, vanilla, warm with cloves – a perfect pairing with the light, freshness of a tomato basil salad. The tanginess of the tomato brought out the sweet notes of the whisky.

3rd course: Salmon & a 17 year Speyside

Roast fillet of Loch Duart Salmon, lobster and summer vegetable bisque with a lemon and caper relish

Fruits of the Florist – 7.232 (Longmorn), a Speyside whisky – aged 7 years, 59.1% ABV

By unanimous decision, everyone’s favorite whisky of the evening. A little spice, custard and creme brulee. According to logan, when paired with the salmon and capers, “brings out a weirdness in the whisky.” I dunno about “the weirdness”, but it was definitely everyone’s favorite.

4th course: Quail & a smoky Speyside

Roast quail with bargoule mousse, buckwheat emulsion, crispy potato gratin, chanterelle mushrooms and a redcurrant sauce

Pleasing Sweetness, Playful Heat 64.111 (Mannochmore), a Speyside whisky – aged 8 years, 55.5% ABV

To quote one of the dinner guests, “It doesn’t taste as bad as some of the peaty ones I’ve had!” Now, if that’s not a seal of approval, I don’t know what is.

5th course: Strawberries & autumn in the Highlands

Strawberry meringue with roasted strawberry sorbet, elderflower crème fraiche and strawberry salad

When autumn leaves start to fall – Society Cask (Dalmore), a Highland whisky, aged 13 years, 58% ABV

A second fill sherry cask, and then finished in a first fill bourbon cask for 1 year – what can I say? I love a sherry cask, and its sweetness always goes with a delectable dessert. The strawberry-centric dessert was light and refreshing, perfect for a summer evening!

6th course: Decadent chocolate cheesecake & a Highland whisky

Brillat Savarin & caramel chocolate cheesecake with a dark chocolate glaze, served with vanilla ice-cream.

Raisin cane – 55.4 (Loch Lomond -Inchmurrin), a Highland whisky, aged 19 years, 55.4% ABV

I think I was too many whiskies in to appreciate the last pairing. The whisky had wood characteristics (kind of like furniture polish), with a hint of sweetness and cloves. But that dessert!! I’m a chocolate fan, so everything about this spoke to me!

Parting Thoughts on SMWS Food and Whisky Tasting Menu

Coming into this evening, I wasn’t sure how it would pan out. A six course tasting menu – did that mean there were six whiskies too? (Why yes, it does!!) The Scotch Malt Whisky Society obviously delivers on the whisky front. There’s no question about that. But could it deliver on the food front? 100% YES. The quality of the food was phenomenal and absolutely delicious. The plating was stunning, too. As one of the dinner guests said with confidence, “I’ve never had a bad meal here.”

Now, about having one whisky per course… to be fair, you don’t have to do whisky pairings. One of the ladies in our group was not a whisky fan, so she chose to have wine pairings with it. But beware – if we have six whiskies, that means she had six wines!

What I’ve learned so far about food and whisky tastings. I’m not sure the whisky enhances the food. On the contrary though, the food definitely enhances the whisky. Sometimes on a first sip, the whisky can taste sharp – rough around the edges, if you will. By taking a bite of food in between sips of whisky, the whisky smooths out. Some of the more subtle flavors make an appearance and become bolder.

The cost of the dinner was 89£ per person, which doesn’t come cheap for a dinner. However, that was a 6 course meal with 6 whisky pairings. When you add it up like that, the food and whiskey pairings definitely become worth it! Not every night needs to have a decadent meal. But for that special night out, whisky fans, consider having a food and whisky pairing at Scotch Malt Whisky Society! The food I’ve tasted so far is exquisite, and the whisky – well, that goes without saying – phenomenal!

Jokingly, a dinner guest said, “The world could end tomorrow – this could be your last meal.” And while a little on the grim side, the better way to think of that is, carpe diem! Seize the day! Sometimes you just need to treat yourself to something exquisite, and that’s perfectly ok!

Thank you to the Scotch Malt Whisky Society for gifting me this incredible food and whisky pairing for 2! Remember, there’s at least 2 more events I’m writing about from different Member Room locations around the UK. So stay tuned for the rest of food and whisky pairing month from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society!

To learn more about Scotch Malt Whisky Society, check out my other posts:

• the exclusive benefits of SMWS membership
• a society cask tasting at the Glasgow Member Room
• an outdoor tasting adventure on the Three Distilleries Path.

Travelling from London or England? Come up to Edinburgh or Glasgow on an overnight sleeper train from London Euston. Arrive refreshed in the morning and all and ready for a whisky adventure!

Until then, take care, stay safe, and slainte mhath!

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Lannie

Lannie is a perpetual wanderer and loves to share her travel adventures and the food she eats along the way with everyone.  She works during the day while bouncing around the world and dreams about new places and faces at night!  She has a home on the magical Isle of Islay in Scotland, where the whisky flows freely and happily.

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