I Drank Scotch Whisky with Japanese Food. And It Was... Pretty Good!

 

I don't doubt that diners in Japan routinely drink Scotch whisky straight through dinner. And more traditional sake may be regarded as old fashioned in some quarters these days.

Scotch is quite popular in Japan, and has been for decades. I'm quite fond of Japanese cuisine, especially sushi, and I like whisky (especially Bourbon). I just haven't crossed the two before last week. I was pleasantly surprised with the pairings provided by Glenglassaugh distillery in cooperation with Shinmai Restaurant right here in Oakland, a terrific restaurant with a full bar based in Uptown.

This Scotch whisky with Japanese food proposition was presented by Rory Glasgow, Brand Ambassador for Glenglassaugh, a Scotch whisky producer founded in 1875. 

A distillery in the Highlands region, near the border of seaside Speyside, Glenglassaugh used to sell whiskies to larger companies that were ultimately blended into brands like Cutty Sark and The Famous Grouse, so it didn't really have a lot of public-facing brand recognition. It was not unusual in that way. A lot of small distilleries sold their wares to larger brands to be blended and marketed internationally. As certain brands emerged in Single Malt Scotch emerged in the1980's and early 1990's, some small distilleries fell on hard times. In 1986 the Glenglassaugh distillery was shuttered. 

Eventually Glenglassaug would pass through a few hands, was upgraded, and was ultimately sold to Louisville, Kentucky's Brown Forman company, the company that owns Jack Daniel's and several Bourbon brands like Old Forester and Early Times, Herradura Tequila, Finlandia vodka and more.

Now Glenglassaugh is beginning a new era as a better-funded brand of Scotch.

The Glenglassaugh distillery's complicated history helps to account for some older stocks of whisky, some newer styles, and everything in-between. The three base-level Scotch whiskies are pretty diverse and all very good. The distillery is based in the Highlands region with some influences from the North Sea.

Is whisky better with sushi than sake? I would say it is probably a less subtle coupling, but can it make for interesting pairings with a broad variety of Japanese dishes that range far beyond sushi.

 

The relatively young, but very rich Glenglassaugh Revival whisky was paired with lamb chops with mushrooms as well as a couple of the sweeter nigiri preparations of hotate (scallop) and amaebi (sweet shrimp).  Pairing this whisky with the lamb didn't seem much of a stretch, but Revival's notes of caramel, toffe, red wine, caramel and orange worked remarkably well with the sweet scallop and raw shrimp. It was a great pairing of a sweet, fruity Highland single malt with sweeter nigiri offerings. I was definitely impressed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Glenglassaugh Evolution whisky was paired with some leaner dishes, like kampachi nigiri. Its is a lovely, medium-weight whisky, aromatic with hints of butter, vanilla, banana, fruit salad syrup and cracked barley. This was on its face a relatively lean, pale whisky, but the flavors are pretty generous and fruity once it hits your palate. This medium-weight whisky paired surprisingly well with some of those leaner fish, and the flavor of the fish really shone though on the finish - it wasn't buried by the whisky, and I was more than a little surprised. For me, this restrained whisky proved to be very versatile with food.

The Glenglassaugh Torfa was different entirely. It had a much smokier profile, but curiously not so much of a peaty smoke as more of a wood smoke, with a campfire-like smokiness to it. Some of the people on the call compared it to Mezcal, but I think that's slightly off the mark, maybe because this is a grain product and the tone of the smoky smell is a little different. Underneath all those woody campfire aromas, it had nice pineapple, honey and cigar box notes that gave it a lot of complexity. I loved with the Ikura (salmon roe) on sushi rice, even if it was a bit tame with the mildly smoked salmon. There was something about the salinity and umami of the salmon eggs that really made the smoky flavors of Glenglassaugh Torfa really work for me.

This very diverse trio of Glenglassaugh whiskies was superb for $45-$50 a bottle, and trying them paired with Japanese food was a real revelation. 

    - Tim Teichgraeber