REVIEW : Usquabae 'Taste of Scotland' whisky and food

It’s easy when you know how. Here’s how to pronounce Usquabae …try it ….Ooh - ska - bay!

Us Scots call it whisky; the water of life but its also called the amber nectar, malt or scotch and is worth £5.5 billion to the Scottish economy. Yes, we love our whisky but so does the rest of the world too!

Usquabae Whisky Bar and Larder is located in the West End of Edinburgh and is one of Edinburgh’s best whisky bars having picked up many awards over the years.

Usquabae is filled to the brim with whisky and most of the lovely private booths are lined with whisky bottles featuring whisky from the 5 regions in Scotland - the Highlands, the Lowlands, Speyside, Islay and Campbeltown. They also stock blended malts, grain and world whiskies too, so the choice is vast.

USQUABAE WHISKY BAR

We went along to sample their ‘Taste of Scotland’ Highlands and Islands menu. It’s a six course tasting menu paired with single malts.

Taste of Scotland runs until Sunday 24th November 2019. The six course seasonal tasting menu costs £26 and an additional £24 if you want the paired whiskies with it.

We were seated in their wee snug, one of the vaulted alcoves surrounded by a library of whisky. The lighting is low and romantic. Ideal for a whisky loving couple!

PS I have to inform you that this particular snug has rocking chairs. I wasn’t too sure about this at the start but a few whiskies down and the rocking just comes naturally.

The whiskies are from the Highlands and Islands.

Whisky from the Islands includes Jura, Talisker, Highland Park and Arran. Although Islay is a Scottish island it is considered a separate region due to the high concentration of whisky on the island; but for this pairing, Usquabae have included an Islay malt in the Island region.

Whisky from the Highlands is also a tricky one as it includes whiskies from Speyside which are really a sub-region of the Highland malts. Whiskies such as Dalmore, Balblair, Glengoyne, Macallan and Old Pulteney are considered Highland whiskies.

A review of the Taste of Scotland menu from Usquabe, Edinburgh

Course 1 - Wee Scottish Bites. Beetroot meringue, horseradish cream kedgeree arancini, game and pear terrine.

Paired with - Pear and Allspice Cocktail

The cocktail is most certainly a whisky based cocktail! One sip and it takes your breathe away, but leaves you with that ‘pringles’ effect - once you start you cant stop.

The beetroot meringue was fun - melt in the mouth, chewy centre and a wee hint of sweetness. The arancini was yummy and the terrine well balanced.

The cocktail enhanced all the flavours of the bites and I thought this was a really good pairing.

Course 2 - Sausage Roll. Atholl Estates Highland game sausage roll, piccalilli puree and pickled Autumnal vegetables.

Paired with - Laphroaig Lore.

The sausage roll was tasty with a lovely combination of pigeon and venison. The pickled carrot ribbons, which are soaked in a pickling jus, retained their crunch and provided that sharp sweet flavour contrast against the softness of the sausage roll.

I am not a fan of Laphroaig. The phenol count is too high for me (most Laphraoig’s are around the 45ppm {phenol parts per million}) but the Lore comes in at a very strong 86 ppm. Phenol is the peat count - the higher the ppm the more heavily peated a whisky.

However, the rich smokiness of the Lore does compliment the gamey taste of the sausage roll and the pickles match up in flavour punches to the mouth.

Course 3 - Loch Duart Salmon. Highland park whisky cured Oban salmon, seaweed emulsion and cucumber relish.

Paired with - Highland Park Valknut

A pretty dish of lovely colour contrasts with three thickish slices of cured salmon. Unfortunately, I couldn’t taste the whisky cure on this and felt that the seaweed emulsion lacked any punch. The cucumber relish however was light and fresh and did compliment the salmon nicely.

Although not a peaty whisky, this is smokier than most Highland Parks. Matured in American Oak Sherry casks, give it a good whiff and you’ll smell honey, smoke, pepper and vanilla on the nose, sip and you’ll taste cloves and aniseed.

The smokiness and sharpness of the whisky cuts smoothly through the oiliness of the salmon and when eaten with the salmon and the cucumber, it’s most pleasant. Amazing how whisky cant change the flavour profile of food.

Course 4 - Cock-a-leekie. Corn-fed Chicken Supreme, leek gratin, puffed wild rice, prune and bacon jus and baby leeks.

Paired with - Glen Garioch Founders Reserve

This was my favourite dish of the night. The leek gratin was scrumptious, very light and just char-grilled giving the gratin a nice smokiness. The chicken was soft and succulent.

The whisky is a no age-statement release from Glen Garioch and I would say it tastes like a young whisky as it gives off a fair amount of ‘burn’. Some interesting notes you’ll pick up - perhaps blue cheese, gingerbread and nutmeg, but it is smokey, fairly chocolatey with a touch of saltiness about it.

A good contrasting pairing I found. Sometimes, drinks don’t have to compliment or match the food and for me this was the case. I thoroughly enjoyed this match.

Course 5 - Crowdie and Strawberry Cheesecake. Crowdie Highland cream cheese mousse, almond crumble, Blackeyside strawberries with coulis and sorbet.

Paired with - Tomatin 14 year old Port Wood Finish

An absolutely delightful way to finish of dinner minus the petite four afterwards. The cream cheese mousse was smooth and creamy paired with the strawberries that weren’t overly sweet. The tuile was thin and crunchy and worked well with the almond crumble to add that bit of needed texture.

Tomatin have matured this whisky in bourbon barrels as well as specially selected Port casks, imparting wine-like sweetness to the whisky. It’s smooth and sweet and almost comes across as a Port. There’s red berries, toffee and honey in there with maybe some raisins and plums.

This is a perfect match for dessert. All those berry flavours just have a party on your tongue!

Course 6 - Fruit Pastille. Bramble flavoured childhood favourite finished with coffee.

Soft, gooey and fruity; this went down a treat with an espresso.

Whisky and food pairings are most definitely a match made in heaven. Whisky is so complex on the nose, the palate and the finish, that it is quite challenging to match with food. Luckily, Scotland has the most incredible larder, and has a vast array of whiskies from peated and smoky, to salty and nutty that it’s easy to find food and whiskies that pair well, either complimenting or contrasting.

Usquabae Whisky bar, have done a great job with this menu and pairing. It gives you a true taste of Scotland; and showcases their commitment to the best of Scotland.

I highly recommend the ‘Taste of Scotland’ food and whisky pairing menus. Go on get yoursel a dram!

Usquabae, Hope Street, Edinburgh, EH2 4DB. Tel : 0131 2902284 www.usquabae.co.uk

My Spoon Award : Gold Spoon 9/10