Exotic Cask Finishes Scotch & Creative Food Pairing

Distillers use exotic cask finishes to age their expressions, resulting in new flavor profiles. Explore this interesting scotch lineup and choose a dram, then challenge yourself to pair those flavors with food in creative ways.

The wonderful thing about whisk(e)y in general, and scotch in particular, is the great variety that can be achieved by in what (and how long) the distillate is aged.

I’ve already written about how the scotch industry reuses casks. Indeed, much of what I’ve tasted in my experience so far are drams that have been aged in sherry casks and a few in port casks.

Given the popularity of these finishes, you would expect that the supply of available casks is competitive. Some producers are turning to other types of casks as a substitute, with the result being surprising and delightful.

Cask influence on a particular spirit varies greatly based on the wood and what was in the cask before.

And I've come to learn that choosing exotic cask finishes and food pairings with whisky both are arts requiring a skilled palate.

Fancy scotch finishes

Holly Seidewand, Gordon’s new Whiskey Specialist, recently presented a wonderful and highly informative scotch tasting seminar called Exotic Cask Finishes.

I was lucky enough not only to attend, but I was able to stretch my culinary wings a bit and provide a food pairing for one of the samples, the Glenmorangie Bacalta, a first for me! I’ll talk more about the pairing in a bit (ok, now don't forget!), but let’s get back to the finishes.

One small note…because I was also prepping and serving my pairings, my attention was distracted somewhat and my tasting notes aren't as detailed as I would like. I have added some more notes after the fact.

Exotic Cask Finishes Scotch Seminar

Presented by Holly Seidewand at Gordon’s Fine Wines and Liquors, Main Street location, Waltham, MA, April 20, 2017

Pairing food with scotch

As with everything to do with tastings, pairing a food with a particular expression is going to be highly subjective.

You can try to complement a flavor note or contrast it, going sweet or savory in the process. I had tried the Glenmorangie Bacalta before and had an idea of its flavors on my palate. In fact, the notes I gave above are from that previous tasting (again, I was busy serving so I didn’t get to try it at the seminar).

I chose to play up the apricot and menthol elements of the pour. I presented apricot tartlets featuring a homemade shortcrust pastry filled with organic apricot jam, playing up the fruity notes of the expression.

For the “green” taste, I served rosemary sourdough focaccia with a drizzle of sweet balsamic glaze. These contrasting flavors mimicked the Bacalta itself.

Everyone seemed to enjoy the snacks and several people commented favorably as to the pairing choices.

Final Thoughts

I loved the thought process involved in coming up with the food pairing ideas.

There’s that aspect of creatively using my own experiences with both food and scotch to decide what to suggest, as well as learning from others about their relationship to that particular dram.

I hope you’ll go off the beaten path and try some of these more exotically finished whiskies. They really start to give scotch a wider spectrum of flavors available.

Now to just think up a snack to have with them. Hmmm...

Related Tasting Notes

Scotland's whisky regions have such a rich and diverse array of flavor profiles and distinct characteristics from which to choose. Here's where you can find a scotch I've reviewed based on its region. Slainté!