Whisky and Cheese Tasting Notes ...
Notes on a Whisky and Cheese Tasting ...
Up first was the floral Yamazaki 10 year old against the
salty and creamy Gruyere en Compte. This proved to be a promising start, our
tasters thought that the whisky provided a good background to the forward
flavours of the cheese. The pairing seemed to create a multi-dimensional
quality and an increased depth of flavour.
After a short break we cracked on with the final three pairings. The Irish Redbreast 12 year old with Cropwell Bishop Shropshire Blue was a great combination, the tang of the blue cheese sliced through the sweetness of the pot still whiskey, allowing the two elements to work in harmony. Hailing from Shropshire myself, I was disappointed to discover Shropshire Blue actually originates from Inverness, but still a great cheese.
The oily Springbank 12 year old cask-strength with the smoked Dorset Red. The whisky gave the cheese a more interesting coastal flavour without diminishing the delicious smoky power of the cheese. Contrary to what I expected, we found that a highly peated whisky didn’t match this cheese particularly well.
Last was the classic pairing of Lagavulin 12 year old with the superb and famous Rocquefort. Lagavulin is a big whisky boasting lots of peat and strength, this and the full-flavoured blue saltiness of the cheese created a perfect conclusion to our evening.
There was plenty of great feedback, some of the pairings were quite magical, some prompted intense discussions.
