Once again as part of the Newcastle Eats Festival , The Whisky Lounge and Blackfriars Restaurant joined forces to give us another Seafood and Whisky extravaganza ! Eddie served up the Whisky Selection and Dan served up the food…….
1st Course…….
(click on pictures to see larger version)
North-Sea Clam Chowder, Ham Hock , Soft Boiled Quails Egg
Kavalan Classic 40% (Taiwan)
A great start to the meal , all the ingredients went together perfectly (mind you i think quails eggs could go with anything !) , the whisky was the surprise of the night , haven’t tried Kavalan before but both myself and Mel were both well impressed with this 3yo whisky , superb and looking forward to it’s availability in this country . For a 3yo it’s as smooth as a babys bum and goes down well ! As Eddie said pretty close to Glenmorangie 10yo and i agree .
2nd Course……
North-Sea Cod & Smoked Mackerel Ceviche, Lemon, Tomato, Tarragon
Hakushu 12yo 43.5% (Japan)
A nice mixture of two fishes from the North Sea , they went very well with the lightly peated Hakushu , which , to me , is quite costal and actually reminds me of Glen Scotia in a way (but without the strong Fishermans Friend kick of some releases) . Another good match of seafood and whisky .
3rd Course……
North-Sea Scallops, Home-made Black Pudding , Ardbeg & Paprika Butter
Connamara 12yo 40% (Ireland)
Probably one of my favourite Seafood meals , i love Scallops and when served with Black Pudding….. This Home-made Black Pudding was one of the nicest i’ve ever had and btw that is a brown sauce next to it…… The Connamara wasn’t one of my favourites of the night , i don’t like the nose on any i’ve tried , always smells rubbery and almost artificial , thankfully it tasted slightly better but i still prefer my peat from islay……
4th Course……
Home Smoked : Smoked Salmon, Smoked Haddock Paté, Smoked Rainbow Trout Mousse,
Boisdale Bowmore 2000 46% (Islay)
Now if you’ve ever had the Old Kilns Fantastically Fishy Salad this one is right up your street , superb smoked fish beautifully served , only criticism , needed more croutons ! With all the smoked fish , a nice smoked whisky was needed and this one matched the credentials , not overly peated and quite fresh on the palate , a very nice combo !
5th Course……
North-Sea Monkfish, Gateshead Bacon Floddie, Pea Purée, Scottish Girolles
SMWS 76.89 57.1% (Mortlach, Speyside)
This was the dish with perhaps the strongest of flavours , The Floddie (a sort of rosti) and the Girolles ( hand foraged ) were incredible with the meaty Monkfish . Eddie managed to hand forage some Mortlach to go with the Girolles , it need a strong meaty dram to go with this ensemble , now i’ve always been wary of SMWS Mortlachs , i’ve had too many really meaty Mortlachs (meaty on the SMWS tasting notes usually had one meaning to me – sulphured ) . This one was meaty in the right way and was quite a nice dram .
6th Course……. The Pudding !
Crème Brûlée, Tynemouth Garibaldi Biscuit
Balvenie Single Barrel, 15yo 47.8% (Speyside)
A cracking way to end the meal . the Crème Brûlée was beautifully smooth with a lovely thin crust on top , the biscuit was delicious and melted beautifully on the palate . What has Tynemouth got to do with Garibaldi biscuits , have a look at where he was in 1854…… The Balvenie was a nice way to finish the meal off .
We had to leave before the Coffee to catch our bus , another fantastic meal , we look forward to the next one…… Hopefully in November !
And Melanies Thoughts ? “Absolutely Fantastic , didn’t think they could improve on last year but they did ! Wonderful !!!! “
