PAIRING LIQUOR & FOOD WRITTEN BY PAUL HUGHES, PH.D.
SCOPE, POSSIBILITIES, & LIMITATIONS
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should confess that when I started looking into liquor and food pairing I was not convinced that pairing liquor with food was a practical construct. As an aperitif or an after-dinner sip (i.e., before and after eating, not during) I could understand. But I have come to realize that my thinking has aged with me, and that there are some pairing opportunities based on both historic and more recent observations. Food-pairing is inherently simple: Put out a plate of food and a glass containing the liquid of choice, and voilà. However, assigning random foods with a liquor-based drink may not be successful. For instance, I’m not sure that there is much room on a cocktail menu for Cognac and tomato juice! In recent years there have been growing efforts to establish a framework for pairing, as exemplified by the book The Art & Science of Foodpairing by Coucquyt, et al. (2020). It is worth noting that pairing can refer to pairing wines, beers, or spirits with food, but each liquid has its own physical and chemical properties that need to be considered. For instance, liquor with spicy foods can emphasize spicy heat, which may not be the intended consequence that the consumer expects or appreciates. Distilled spirits are often more W W W . ARTISANSPIRITMAG . C O M
flavorful than beers and wines, so from a balance perspective, the food should stand up to the drink and vice versa. Heavier spirits, such as Scotch whiskies, bourbons, Navy-strength gins, and aged tequilas often work well with rich, fatty, or boldly flavored foods. In contrast, lighter spirits, such as white rum, vodka, and dry gin generally work better with more delicate foods, including seafood, light cheeses, and raw vegetables. Although not strictly part of this discussion, there is often a need to pair the components of the drink itself. One example is the classic gin and tonic. The distinctive botanical flavors of gin are delicate and, as such, can often be swamped by flavors commonly found in tonic water: sweet sugars, bitter quinine, and carbon dioxide. Try comparing gin and water, gin and soda, and gin and tonic. The first is not especially edifying, but compared with the carbonated variants, it should be evident that a water addition offers the best conditions for gin sensory evaluation, if not as a social lubricant. There does not appear to be any hard and fast rules concerning pairing, but the term “flavor bridges” is increasingly common, referring to shared flavor components in potential
pairs. We might refer to this as “cognate flavors” — that is, flavors in common even for apparently disparate food and drink products. The first example in Coucquyt et al. (The Art & Science of Foodpairing) text is the pairing of kiwi with raw oysters, based on some commonality of volatile aldehydes and fruity esters between the two matrices. Without the chemical composition hypothesis, the pairing of these two foods does not appear obvious. Interestingly, other fish and shellfish contain similar organic compounds, implying a whole family of pairing opportunities. For the rest of this article, I will call out examples of what are considered to be good pairs, new pairing opportunities, and red flags that may help avoid a culinary disaster. Vanillin is a common flavor compound found in wood-aged spirits, such as whiskeys, brandies, tequila, rums, etc. The sweetness of vanillin makes it a good candidate for pairing with caramelized foods such as grilled corn. The botanical flavors in gin, aquavit, and absinthe are mainly derived from various herbs and spices. Aquavit, the Scandinavian botanical spirit, is sometimes flavored with dill, a common herb used during the cooking of fish. Dill is also used in the Greek yoghurt-based
THERE DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE ANY HARD AND FAST RULES CONCERNING PAIRING, BUT THE TERM “FLAVOR BRIDGES” IS INCREASINGLY COMMON, REFERRING TO SHARED FLAVOR COMPONENTS IN POTENTIAL PAIRS. 89