WHISKEY AND FOOD

After the season of goodwill and overindulgence, it’s time for a little calm

Stripping back your pairings for the perfect tasting

Complicated is not sexy. Not with relationships, finances and above all Bourbon tastings, which of course sometimes rule over both relationships and finances, but that is for another magazine author. All I know is that in my many years of food and beverage training, beginning with my jaunt in the hotel industry, countless experts in wine and other products tried to show who was smarter. Often they would do this by complicating and intimidating us poor trainees with tons of moxy-talk that just made tastings and pairings, well… complicated. Truly, you do not have to have a sophisticated palate to enjoy a good pairing. Possibly just a little imagination and above all simplicity. Simplicity can be elegant and so can your tastings.

You will always find certain flavors in a Bourbon that might be universal in nature and will appeal to the senses at the same time. The reason behind this is the array of inherent flavors produced in the production process. Take barrels for example – flavor descriptors usually speak to the cherry, clove, vanilla and smoke notes. The majority of cask wood used for Bourbon speaks to these, with yeast, a nutty, doughy note and hints of bright fruit.

Here are some very traditional flavors we find in Bourbon, which may delight or surprise you somewhat, but hey, that’s whiskey showbiz… we all have varied taste profiles we like. Lovely to meet you, says the simple food to the Bourbon and then the spirit can embrace politely, or bite back a bit to guide your tasting experience.