Taste of the Month – A Special Bourbon and a Very Special Cheese - May 2008
Near the end of April, I hosted a whisk(e)y and cheese tasting at Coupe Space , a funky Toronto event venue on the city’s east side. (Note for all who attended: I forgot to mention, but the extra “e” is added to most whiskeys in the United States and all those from Ireland. Canadians, Scots, Indians – we sampled one very nice Indian single malt! – and the Japanese all spell it whisky without the “e.”) It was during that experience that I discovered May’s TOTM.
In prepping for the event, I spent some time pondering which cheeses to pair with which whiskies, eventually developing a distinctive mix that included Woodford Reserve, a big and round, almost luscious bourbon, and Brillat-Savarin, a French triple cream cheese so utterly decadent that my late aunt used to refer to it as simple “sin.” I anticipated that the richness of both food and drink would make the two quite complementary, but I had no idea the degree of indulgence I was courting. Until, that is, I sampled the pairing at Coupe Space.
Layers of luxurious bourbon rolled over the tongue, compounding, rather than cutting, the full creaminess of the cheese. Then the cheese came back and brought forth all the vanilla-soaked fruitiness of the whiskey. Then it happened all over again with the next sip. And the next bite.
In the end, I simply said to the audience that if anyone needed to spend a little time alone, I and the rest of the participants would understand. Yes, it really was that good!
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