Upon arrival we were handed a glass of the Macallan 12 year old. I had mine with ice and a splash of water, while Miss EJ- a bona fide Whisky officianado, had hers on the rocks like a real man. I personally had absolutely no whisky knowledge at all, which made for a particularly interesting evening for me. We were being introduced to whiskies from Higland Park and Macallan by whisky brand ambassador Candice Baker before pairing them with three amazing meals, designed to compliment their flavours.
In case you were wondering (I know I was), here's the breakdown of Whisky vs Whiskey: There are loads of sub-categories within the Whisky/Whiskey world, including bourbon, rye, Tennessee, Scotch, Irish, and Canadian style whiskies. But the simple explanation on when a Whiskey is actually a Whisky and vice versa, is this: Countries that have E’s in their names (UnitEd StatEs and IrEland) tend to spell it whiskEy (plural whiskeys) Countries without E’s in their names (Canada, Scotland, and Japan) spell it whisky (plural whiskies). (source)
Notes on the tasting:
Whisky is made by starting off with a simple beer brew. The alcohol is then increased and the mixture is placed in oak casks. Around 60-80% of the flavours in whisky come from the oak casks they mature in.
A light coloured whisky is typical of an American oak while a dark colour comes from Spanish oak.
American oak also imparts flavours of vanilla, honey and citrus, while Spanish oak has flavours of toffee and butterscotch.
Macallan has been making whiskies since 1824 and is based in Scotland - which explains the spelling of their Whisky. Their spirits spend 5 times more time on the wood than any other distillery in the world and they are so particular about the wood they use for their casks that they literally know exactly which forest which cask is from. The trees they use to make these barrels are all 70-90 years old!
American oak also imparts flavours of vanilla, honey and citrus, while Spanish oak has flavours of toffee and butterscotch.
"Single malt" means that the whisky has been made with only one malt (a single malt)- in this case, barley and comes from a single distillery.
Smokey flavours in a whisky come from using a substance called peat. While the barley is wet, peat is burned underneath it while the smoke infuses it with what will later translate to smokey flavours and aromas.
Notes on Macallan:
Smokey flavours in a whisky come from using a substance called peat. While the barley is wet, peat is burned underneath it while the smoke infuses it with what will later translate to smokey flavours and aromas.
Notes on Macallan:
Macallan has been making whiskies since 1824 and is based in Scotland - which explains the spelling of their Whisky. Their spirits spend 5 times more time on the wood than any other distillery in the world and they are so particular about the wood they use for their casks that they literally know exactly which forest which cask is from. The trees they use to make these barrels are all 70-90 years old!
Their first fill casks come from sherry or bourbon distillery, which is what gives their whiskies their flavour.
Whisky was only legalized in 1798- waaaay after Highland Park started selling their moonshine. They were originally established right under a church, where they flourished before eventually being shut down by the taxman. Interestingly enough, the distillery was eventually bought by the self same tax man who shut them down in the first place.
The peat Highland Park uses for their whiskies isn't used by any other distillery in the world and they only use sherry oak casks, resulting in big, bold, sweet flavours. (At big, bold prices- with the casks costing them around R8000 a pop!)
Highland Park is distilled in a harsh cold climate. Not great to live in, but perfect if you're looking to distill world -class whisky.
Light in colour
American oak
Aged in American bourbon, American sherry, Spanish sherry (means that the casks previously held these spirits, so the whisky will have these flavour notes)
43% alcohol
No added colour
Sweet vanilla, honey, citrus flavours
Oily mouth coating
Notes on Highland Park:
Whisky was only legalized in 1798- waaaay after Highland Park started selling their moonshine. They were originally established right under a church, where they flourished before eventually being shut down by the taxman. Interestingly enough, the distillery was eventually bought by the self same tax man who shut them down in the first place.
The peat Highland Park uses for their whiskies isn't used by any other distillery in the world and they only use sherry oak casks, resulting in big, bold, sweet flavours. (At big, bold prices- with the casks costing them around R8000 a pop!)
Highland Park is distilled in a harsh cold climate. Not great to live in, but perfect if you're looking to distill world -class whisky.
Notes on the pairing:
If you're pairing whisky with food, Candice recommends adding a little water as it helps to mellow the alcohol in the whisky to not over power the food.
Kingklip Ceviche with avo & citrus salsa
Macallan 10 y/o Fine OakLight in colour
American oak
Aged in American bourbon, American sherry, Spanish sherry (means that the casks previously held these spirits, so the whisky will have these flavour notes)
43% alcohol
No added colour
Sweet vanilla, honey, citrus flavours
Oily mouth coating
Not a single malt
Paired with Kingklip Ceviche with an avo and citrus salsa. The citrus flavours perfectly mirrored the citrus notes in the whisky and really complimented the meal. The oily mouth of the whisky was a great compliment to the Kingklip, which is not a very oily fish.
Herb crusted free-range rump, coated with a Madagascan pepper sauce, served with sweet potato mash, baby carrots and fine beans
Highland Park 12 y/o
For some reason I don't seem to have made any technical notes on this whisky. From memory though, I can tell you that it's quite dark in colour with lots of smokey aromas. The flavour is smokey, spicy, Christmas, cigar box.
This steak was incredible! The sauce was peppery and delicious and had a slash of the Highland Park added to it, which brought the meal full-circle. I found the whisky a bit spicy with such a spicy sauce, but the sweet potato really complimented it.
Butterscotch and The Macallan panna cotta with a cinnamon tuille
Macallan 12 y/o Sherry Oak
The casks spends 18 months filled with sherry before it even goes to Macallan.
Flavours of toffee, caramel, dried fruit and Christmas cake
Flavours of toffee, caramel, dried fruit and Christmas cake
This was so so delicious! The smooth, cold, creamy, toffee flavours of the panna cotta were absolutely perfect with the spice from the Macallan 12 y/o. The slight hint of whisky in the dessert was a great touch and the flavours mingled in your mouth like they were dancing to their first song on their wedding night.
I've been to lots of beer & food pairings and many wine and food pairings, but this was my first whisky & food pairing and man, I loved it so much. The venue is beautiful with really great service (and a beautiful view of the city), the food was spectacular and I really enjoyed learning more about whisky. These dinners are going to be a regular thing at Petit Caveau, so I'm definitely keen to do more. Maybe next time they could do a vodka & food pairing?
Remember to take me there on my next visit. Great article.
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