I recently visited a bottle shop to source some malt and bourbon whiskies for the dinner. The proprietor raised an eyebrow when I mention what we were doing, suggesting it was not possible to conduct such an event "properly" because the olfactory senses (your sense of smell) would be knocked out by the huge amount of alcohol in the whisky. I am not too sure what "properly" means but from my experience and the experience of the guests I invite, we certainly get a great understanding of the different styles of whisky - matched with wonderful food. Everyone's encouraged to try the whisky in different ways (neat, with ice, water or soda) to both match the food and their pallet. While not every whisky is a "hit" with everyone, most people have a favourite and a favourite match. To me that is a successful evening.
Mention malt whisky to bottleshop proprietors and "tweed jacket", "older gentleman" and "establishment" are words that come to the fore. Certainly that's the traditional market. Whisky is not typically drunk at the dinner table with a meal. I believe there's an opportunity for a new vocabulary and certainly new occaision for whisky and our whisky dinners are just one way of broadening the scope.
If your interested in attending or hosting a dinner, contact the distillery and I'd be happy to discuss the dinners with you in more detail.
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