Diary of a Shopkeeper, 16th May
Saturday was World Whisky Day, so it felt very apt to be sitting in the Eunson Room at Highland Park, taking a series of guests through a series of whisky and cheese pairings.
‘Whisky and cheese?’ you cry. ‘Sacrilege! Cheese and wine is a classic match, but whisky is meant to be enjoyed in splendid isolation. A drop of water if you insist. But no ice cubes, no Fanta and certainly no cheese!’
I’m with you on the Fanta. But I’ll allow anyone a couple of ice cubes – as long as they drain the dram before the ice melts and dilutes it. And I’m willing to swing from Highland Park‘s pagoda to defend the idea of eating cheese with whisky.
Cheese and wine matching is a centuries-old tradition. There are hundreds of articles and even whole books to tell you which wine goes well with which cheese and why. But pairing whisky and cheese seems to be a more recent notion. Apart from a few articles online – several of them by South Ronaldsay expert Rosemary Moon – and the odd page in whisky guides, there’s little written about it.
So this weekend, with a few dozen intrepid guests and three knowledgeable, enthusiastic guides from the distillery itself, I plunged into relatively unknown territory.
And what did we find?
First of all, these two characterful substances can go well together. Not every combination works, but some do – beautifully.
Maybe an old friend has dropped by the house (it’s allowed now!) and you pour a quick dram to celebrate. Have an oatcake and cheese to go with it. Or maybe you’re planning a special reunion meal, with a carefully chosen cheeseboard at the end. Port or red wine might be a more traditional choice, but whisky provides an exciting alternative.
On one hand you can try and find cheese and whisky that have similar flavours. A fine example of this at the weekend was Westray Wife cheese with 18 Year Old Highland Park. The complex flavours of the cheese matched the multi-layered whisky perfectly.
Alternatively, you could go for a combination with contrasting flavours. Parmesan – or Parmigiano-Reggiano DOP to give it its full Italian name, in deference to Sergio, HP’s irrepressible brand ambassador – is intensely savoury, full of umami flavours. These develop over at least two years of maturing, and make a wonderful contrast with the sherry-and-heather sweetness of 12 Year Old HP.
The most popular pairing of the weekend was of an oak-smoked cheese called Dorset Red, with the limited-release expression Twisted Tattoo. This is a whisky where there’s very little peat-smoke on the nose: the unusual casks have toned the smoke down till it’s imperceptible. The smokiness of the cheese acted as the missing piece of the jigsaw. This was definitely a case of 2 + 2 = 5. Joyous!
(Smoked Orkney Cheddar would do a fine job with this one too.)
Least popular was the famous French cheese Brie de Meaux, paired with a 16 Year Old Wings of the Eagle. My thinking was that the creaminess of the soft cheese would provide a soothing backdrop for the spicy whisky. Well, most folk liked the cheese and almost everyone loved the Eagle, but the combo didn’t set off fireworks for the majority.
Never mind, it was very enjoyable trying.
Finally on the cheese board, we had a wonderful Spanish cheese called Murcia al Vino. Its snowy white paste contrasts with its purply-red rind, result of the cheese being bathed in red wine as it matures.
I’d thought that the Spanish origin of the cheese, and its winey aromas, might make it a good match for Twisted Tattoo, but the marriage made in heaven turned out to be with Twenty One Year Old. This whisky had citrussy, orangey aromas, and a fruity finish, and that paired wonderfully with the lactic, sour-cream bite of the cheese, and its red-winey rind.
This was a bold cheese to finish with, as it’s made with goat’s milk. That always splits opinions, and so it was this weekend. Some loved the cheese, some found it hard to even try – and some were heard to say, ‘I don’t usually eat goat’s cheese, but I really like this.’
Everyone liked the Twenty One Year Old.
About half our guests were local folk, and half visitors. There was one very well behaved stag night, and one lively birthday party for a gentleman even more mature that HP’s recently released 50 Year Old (which we didn’t get to sample…)
Covid restrictions means that numbers were strictly limited. With only two households being allowed to mix, sometimes we had just two folk on a tour. Commercially this meant it wasn’t a great money spinner, but in terms of conversation and conviviality it was fantastic.
Frequently I felt like I was sitting in the living room at home, glass in one hand, slice of cheese in the other, having a lively conversation with old friends. And what could be better than that? Slàinte Mhath!
This diary appeared in The Orcadian on 20th May. Other diaries continue to appear weekly. I am posting them in this blog a few days after each newspaper appearance, with added illustrations., and occasional small corrections or additions.