Pairing Cocktails or Spirits with Food

[Fat Guy]

There are some foods that are best not with wine and not with beer but rather with spirits.

A friend recently turned me on to the brilliant pairing of peanut butter and Scotch.

What other foods to you think pair best with spirits?

[nightscotsman]

Champagne and potato chips. preferable cracked black pepper potato chips. In fact, most cocktails go best with fried, salty snacks.

Pineau des charentes with foie gras.

Grand Marnier with strawberries.

Port and chocolate, of course.

[CathyL]

Yonge genever and smoked fish.

Vodka and caviar.

Single malt Scotch and brownies.

[Deacon]

A friend recently turned me on to the brilliant pairing of peanut butter and Scotch.

*BLEEEACH* That statement HAS to have been made in jest! Can't I eat the peanut butter and the brownie together instead?

At least specify the Scotch. I can't see Lagavulin or any Islay single-malt going with peanut butter--but definitely with smoked salmon! Maybe you were thinking of something more like Cragganmore or Macallan~?

[mickblueeyes]

Glad you brought this up!

Smokier and heavier single malts go great with steak (Laphroaig, Ardbeg or even slightly smoky/malty Cardu)

The sherry finished scotches go great with desserts that aren't obscenely sweet (Crepes, etc.)

Bourbons go great with pecan pie and grilled foods like porkchops and sausages.

Vodka, as mentioned, goes great with caviar or any salty dishes.

Gin is in the same category as vodka.

Cognac/brandies/armagnacs can enhance heavy cheeses, light desserts and of course cigars

Tequila is an interesting pairing with any southwestern dish or spicy chinese.

It is important to note that it is difficult for spirits to be the primary drink at a meal, so have a glass of water nearby as well.

[GordonCooks]

Peaty Lagavulin or Bowmore with Rack of Lamb

Dirty Vodka Martinis with Shrimp Cocktails or Oysters

Bombay and Tonic with Szechuan Chinese

Makers Manhattan with Artisinal Cheddar

Ouzo with Gyros

Retsina with grilled calamari

Calvados with Foie Gras

*Newest* Alvaro Palacios Priorat with Twix candy bars

[Wilfrid]

Whisky, including peaty malts, with firm cheeses (English cheddar, Red Leicester and the like) and even better with smoked cheeses.

Also with smoked meats, and with unsmoked ham - but good ham, cut from the bone. Ham sandwich and a glass of scotch, please.

I drink whisky and lemonade (7UP) with curry sometimes, but that may just be eccentric.

[beans]

DISCUS hosted this event and will be featured on Food Network.

Star chef Zak Pelaccio and Esquire magazine's cocktail columnist Dave Wondrich teamed up on this new, hot trend.

The local celebrity duo prepared specialty cocktails and delectable dishes designed to give guests’ palates a unique sensation. The more than forty journalists attending were filmed by The Food Network’s new program What’s Hot, What’s Cool as they were greeted with Wondrich’s circa 1740 rum punch. The show is scheduled to air next month.

For all of you vermouth fans, check out this recipe:

The Rose

When Hemingway and Fitzgerald and all that crowd was in Paris, this dry delight was the hot cocktail. Recipe: Johnny Mitta, Paris, 1922.

Stir well with cracked ice:

1 1/2 oz French (white) vermouth

3/4 oz imported kirschwasser (cherry brandy)

1 scant teaspoon raspberry syrup or liqueur

Stir and strain into Martini glass

And for all of the Lillet fans:

The Weeski

What would whiskey taste like if it were invented in France? This is our guess, anyway. A 5 Ninth creation.

Stir well with cracked ice:

1 1/2 oz Irish Whiskey

3/4 oz Lillet Blonde (sweet wine)

1 teaspoon imported orange liqueur

2 dashes Fee’s West Indian Orange Bitters

Strain into chilled cocktail glass and attack with lemon twist.

Full press release here, along with additional cocktail recipes.

Cheers!

Splificator,

When will this air on FTV, and which episode?

[Splificator]

Beans dear--

I really don't know; I'll have to check (nobody tells me anything). But judging from their (vague) episode descriptions, it looks like Episode 2--June 14, 10:30 pm (at least I think that's what "Check out the new sommeliers--baristas!" means).

And thanks so much for the shout-out--much, much appreciated!

--dw

[EllenH]

To finish off dinner at a really lovely restaurant recently, my husband ordered pecan pie and I decided on the Cragganmore. Imagine our delight on discovering that a bite of pie followed by a sip of whisky made both of them taste even better!

So, what is your favorite cocktail/spirit and food combination?

[eje]

Was reading a nice article over at Martini Republic by the esteemed Dr. Cocktail about a "A History of the Cocktail in Seven Drinks" dinner for which he did the drinks.

His combination of the Monkey Gland cocktail with a duck course seemed particularly inspired.

I was savoring a pre-dinner Red Hook (Rye, Maraschino, Punt e Mes) the other night when we started eating and found it unexpectedly complemented some grilled asparagus.

Go figure.

Have you noticed any Alchemical combinations of food and cocktails?

Edited May 23, 2006 by eje (log)

[Sneakeater]

The kind of gussied-up Asian food they serve at Spice Market and Kittichai in New York (the latter is much better than the former) goes much better with the cocktails on their lists than with wine.

[raxelita]

I've always been a fan of a dry gin martini with my burger and fries. The gin cuts through all the fat and cleanses for the next bite.

[slkinsey]

I've been known to stick with either a Martini or a glass of Wild Turkey at Peter Luger.

[donbert]

I helped a friend with his final project for FCI this weekend, a tasting menu of dishes all inspired by cocktails:

Floridita #3

Scallops "cooked" in a Floridita # 3 over night on a bed of Floridita #3 granita.

Martinez

Juniper cured foie gras terrine with a sweet vermouth aspic and maraschino aspic. Maraschino preserve and sea salt on the side.

Old Fashioned

Porcini mushrooms reconstituted with rye, sauteed with fennel and bitters.

Negroni

Red snapper en papillote over israeli couscous cooked with gin and small onions confited in sweet vermouth and aperol (campari was too bitter).

Jack Rose

Duck breast marinated in bonded apple jack (alcohol burned off) with a pomegranite glaze and jack rose reduction sauce.

We didn't get around to making the last couple of courses:

Aviation - salad dressing.

Ramos Gin Fizz - a scoop of Gin and orange blossom sorbet, sweet cream ice cream, and lemon/lime sorbet in a tall collins glass with soda water on the side to be poured in as a float.

edit - more pictures can be found here.

Edited June 20, 2006 by donbert (log)

[Splificator]

Donbert--

That is very, very cool.

--DW

[KatieLoeb]

My hat's off to you. That was truly inspired.

[Bree20]

I'm sure there has been a thread on this topic and if someone could point me in that directin would be great as this is what I am looking for on this topic.

I read about the neatness idea of having cocktails and tappas that match one another as in where ever the cocktail was invented aka country or city and the food to match. Since I am a novice (not in drinking - but cooking and drinking)

Like pina colas (for example) - do I go sweet or savory - and what type of cocktail book would anyone suggest as I want the cocktails to be done correct and not heavey handed on the spirits - also would like to use fresh ingredients for my drinks. I also would like really great food to match.

Any suggestions and help in this direction would be very nice - a few friends and I have decided this might be great for a girls (o.k. woman now that we have hit the over 35 mark) night. We are looking to kick back sip and nibble and laugh, cry and celebrate 20 years of us.

[Chris Amirault]

I've been wondering about good cocktails in preparation for a trip to the Cape, during which I'll enjoy an annual ritual of steamed clams and lobsters. We've usually gone for crisp white wines, but this year I'm thinking about a clean and bright cocktail. I've got a few gin-based possibilities (White Lady, Corpse Reviver #2, Obituary) but I thought I'd see what else people have in mind.

[kitwilliams]

I know you're looking for a cocktail, Chris, however I'm finding that I am very fond of cider where white wine might be the usual recommendation. It is much easier, these days, to find some interesting ciders, be they British, French or American. And both apple and pear are my preference -- the "other" fruity ones don't appeal, with the exception of an apple and black currant made by Fox's.

mmmmmmmmmmm. cider and crustaceans!

[muichoi]

Chinese food and cognac.

Thai food and thai whisky.

Massive generalisations of course, but these cuisines aren't for wine at all.

[JAZ]

I know you're looking for a cocktail, Chris, however I'm finding that I am very fond of cider where white wine might be the usual recommendation.  It is much easier, these days, to find some interesting ciders, be they British, French or American.  . . .

←

If the idea of cider appeals to you (I think it's a great match with shellfish) you might try a light dry cocktail with Applejack -- maybe an applecart topped with a splash of soda or sparkling wine.

[KD1191]

I'm bumping this up due to the recent discussion in the Cynar thread about pairing cocktails/liquors and food.

What I see above are a lot of recommendations for particular liquor/food pairings, and a few ingenious ways of melding cocktails and food, but I don't see nearly as many cases of a mixed drink being said to pair with a particular dish or type of food as I would expect.

I discussed this topic too briefly with a more learned eG member (hopefully he'll chime in) and found it interesting that he believed there was an inherent difficulty in pairing cocktails with food (as opposed to scotch or wine, I guess) due to the "balance" that is trying to be achieved in a well prepared cocktail. By introducing food, do you change that equation? Must ratios be adjusted or re-thought?

[Kent Wang]

Most food menus with cocktail pairings I see are scams by restaurants with an ambitious (but usually poor) cocktail program.

Not that it's not possible, but I would say it's very difficult.

[slkinsey]

I think Kent's point is well made. I've never had a dinner/cocktail pairing that I really thought worked. And part of the problem may be a lack of true crossover experience. People who are trained and experienced in pairing beverages with food usually hold 90% (if not 100%) of this knowledge with respect to wines, and usually know little-to-nothing about crafting quality cocktails. Mixologists, on the other hand, know plenty about crafting quality cocktails but frequently know little-to-nothing about pairing beverages with food. More to the point, among the few people who really do have significant knowledge and expertise in both these areas, there is typically not much cross-pollination between these two areas. Most of the best cocktails being crafted today simply can't work with food on the kind of level where one would do a beverage pairing, so even a mixologist with extensive wine-pairing experience may not find that their cocktail crafting experience translates easily into this other area. Sure, a great cocktail like the Gin-Gin Mule is refreshing to have at a backyard cookout and would work great in that context, but not so much alongside something like "veal tenderloin, sweetbread stuffed tomatoes, crispy calfs head terrine with chanterelles, and saffron rice."