My interest in whiskey started with the Scotland post I wrote in this site, titled “Scotland – A Dreamland“, which is among my favorite posts and where I had mentioned the scenic ‘Malt Whisky Trail‘ in Moray Speyside in the Scottish highlands. The whisky distilleries in this route, especially the sight of their beautiful estates within virgin Scottish lands, had allured me. I wondered this noble drink, the cultural heritage of the Scottish, produced in either around the Queen’s Balmoral Castle or the remote islands of Islay and Jura. Besides buying a small comprehensive whisky book, I created several occasions to take a few sips of whisky which I don’t actually drink.

I took note some of the common whisky terms I came across which might be useful. Whisky (or whiskey) is made from any grains (wheat, barley, corn and rye) whereas malt whisky is made from malted barley – a germinated cereal grain that has been dried in a process known as ‘malting’. Barley is immersed in spring water and malted. Malt is dried with smoke from a charcoal or over peat (organic decayed plant material) fire, which gives a smoky flavor to malt whisky. After drying, it is crushed in a mill, sifted and brewed in a high wooden or steel tank called a ‘mash tun‘ thus extracting sugar from the must, and is then poured into another wooden vat for fermentation (yeast added and sugars converted into alcohol) lasting about three days. I was surprised to learn that what you get after this process is ‘beer’ and that whisky is nothing more than beer before being distilled. After the beer is distilled two times, the life of whisky begins in barrels, often in old sherry casks, in which it will ripen slowly, capturing the aromas of wood and gaining smoothness over years. (parismatch.com)

I was wondering about what the sherry casks (barrels) signify and read somewhere that sherry is also aged in wooden barrels like whisky and that Scottish distilleries use the recycled sherry casks to finish their Scotch softening the flavor of their whisky with sweet, fruity notes from the residue of sherry.

The most common kinds of whisky are Scotch and bourbon. Bourbon is made from corn and mostly comes from US whereas Scotch is from barley and mostly of Scotland. Single malt whisky is a term used for malt whiskies made at only a single distillery. The opposite of single malt is blended whisky – various types of whisky blended to achieve a new flavour. Johnnie Walker and Chivas Regal are well known brands of blended whisky. (whiskyloot.com). I have found out that Irish whiskies are usually triple distilled and have smoother flavor than Scotches. Japanese whiskies are known as drier and smokier like the Scotch whiskies whereas blended Canadian whiskies made from multi-grains as lighter and smoother.

I had read a jolly article about whisky and gastronomy in Paris Match last year which I kept aside. Amandine Chaignot, the chef and the owner of “Pouliche” in the 10th arrondissement in Paris, was matching a selection of whiskeys with some dishes, desserts or other suggestions including her own recipes. Her following quote in the article can be noted:
“The whiskey offers a wide range of aromas (wood, chocolate, caramel, spices, fruits, peat, flowers, cereals, etc.), which allows all kinds of unexpected matches.” (Amandine Chaignot, Paris Match, No: 3735, December 2020)

Pouliche means ‘filly’ in English, the nickname Amandine Chaignot received when she took part in the Bocuse d’Or (annual world chef championship named for the chef Paul Bocuse that takes place in January in Lyon) at the age of 21, as she tells in the article in Paris Match. She says that filly symbolizes for her ‘the energy and joy of living that she wants to express in her kitchen‘. After spending twenty years alongside great chefs like Ducase, Alléno or Frechon in palaces and hotels like Ritz and Hotel Rosewood in London and  Maison Prunier, Plaza Athénée, Bristol, Meurice, Crillon and Raphaël hotels in Paris, she opened her own place, Pouliche, which she tells as follows in the article in Paris Match:
 “I wanted to have my own house, my team, my customers, and create a lively place… Follow my moods of the day and don’t let myself be locked into signature dishes. ”

Pouliche had been closed due to the pandemic for a period of time last year during which time Chaignot transformed her restaurant into a farmers’ market. Pouliche is now a fresh cuisine restaurant based on local products and is in the Michelin Guide France. Every day chef Amandine offers her menu according to the arrivals of her producers. The restaurant offers a 100% vegetarian menu on Wednesdays as well as brunch on Sundays. You also have an option of chef’s dinner for two accompanied by a selection of wine at Poliche, which would be a nice present to please oneself. (You may check poulicheparis.com for more details.)

In the article I read in Paris Match, Amandine Chaignot makes unexpected and pleasant pairings with a selection of different whiskies some of which I will mention here. The article also includes some recipes of her creative suggestions.

The article states that chef Amandine is interested in exceptional French whiskies which have forged a style in a few years. She chooses ‘DOMAINE DES HAUTES GLACES 2016‘ among them, a single malt whisky that smells of cereals, flowers and wax and a limited edition of the French brand, which she pairs with her dish ‘Duck Breast With Cabbage‘. She comments on this pairing as follows:
“With whiskey, you need dishes that have flavor and length in the mouth. This will pair well with a powerful yet delicate duck breast. … ”

CARDHU AMBER ROCK single malt Scotch is another whisky chosen by chef Amandine. The article mentions that Cardhu is one of Scotland’s oldest distilleries (1824), later bought by Johnnie Walker. It is explained that Cardhu whiskeys are aged in sherry barrels and known for their soft, intense, fruity and vanilla side. Amandine says that this is a simple and easy whisky and she would serve it as an aperitif, with a fatty, soft and full-bodied Swiss cheese, of the Appenzell type.

Among the bourbons from Kentucky, Amandine chooses WOODFORD RESERVE MASTER’S COLLECTION,  a rare one from a very old distillery from 1812. In addition to traditional corn of Kentucky, 15% malted and roasted rye had been added to enrich the aroma of this bourbon. Chef Amandine matches this whisky with chocolate tart explaining as follows:
“It’s really a dessert whiskey… You can smell mocha, caramel and cedar, the mouth is very chocolatey: a fine dark chocolate tart from Peru is a must!” (Amandine Chaignot, Paris Match no: 3735)

The last whisky I will mention among the ones chosen by chef Amandine Chaignot is ‘ABERLOUR 14 Year Old Single Malt Double Cask Scotch‘ which has matured for fourteen years in oak barrels that have contained bourbon and sherry, thus with notes of sweet blackberry and spices. Chef Amandine matches this whisky with a fabulous French dessert, ‘baba’, which looks so delightful – perhaps the strongest reason that drew me to write this post.

Baba dessert, often called as a rum baba, is defined as ‘a small yeast cake saturated in syrup made with hard liquor, usually rum, and sometimes filled with whipped or pastry cream‘. The article in Paris Match says that when Amandine tasted the Aberlour Scotch, she immediately had the idea of making a baba with light syrup, vanilla whipped cream and maple syrup. Chef Amandine highlights the maple syrup as:
“A uniquely Canadian product that I like very much, healthy and natural, whose woody notes go well with whiskey.”

I also like the maple syrup, made from the sap of beautiful maple tree of Canada, with a fresh aroma unexpectedly sharp as for any gifts of nature. I coincidently had pancakes with maple syrup as breakfast at a cafe yesterday and did notice the woody notes of the syrup Amandine mentions. In chef Amandine’s version of baba dessert, the baba is soaked for hours in a mixture of syrup and Aberlour. She says: “The whiskey brings a different energy and liveliness.” (Paris Match, No: 3735)

I want to finish this post with Amandine Chaignot’s recipe of ‘baba’ dessert, very creative and delightful, which I think would also be a very good Christmas or New Year dessert.

BABA AU WHISKY (BABA WITH WHISKY) RECIPE (Translated from the article in Paris Match No: 3735)

THE BABAS: 100 g of sugar • 3 eggs • 150 g of flour • 70 g of butter • 1 sachet of baking powder.
THE SYRUP: 50 cl of water • 50 cl (or more depending on the quality) of maple syrup • 15 cl of whiskey.
THE CREAM: • 100 g of whipping cream • 1 vanilla pod.

Mix the sugar, eggs and melted butter with a mixer with a hook. Add the flour and baking powder. Let knead 15 min at medium speed. Pour this paste into the molds halfway up. Bake at 180 ° C for 15 min. Lower the temperature and continue cooking if necessary. Meanwhile, prepare the syrup: boil the water and add the maple syrup, let cool and add the whiskey. Whip the cream and add the scraped vanilla. Soak the babas with the syrup. Let them rest on a wire rack to avoid excess liquid. Serve each baba with a nice quenelle of cream and the bottled whiskey to sprinkle as much as you want … (By French Chef Amandine Chaignot)

NOTES: I do not intend to encourage the consumption of alcoholic beverages with this post. On the contrary, I think that alcohol consumption should be done consciously and in moderation also to enjoy the delicacies I mention here.

You may also check my older post titled “Scotland – A Dreamland” where I mentioned Malt Whisky Trail and Scotch whiskies including the ones of Jura and Islay islands of Scotland.

You may check the books “The Complete Whiskey Course“, “The World Atlas of Whisky” and “Bourbon” in Amazon. You may also check the book “Whisky Collector (French Edition)” by Patrick Mahé recommended by Paris Match magazine.

You can find the book “Chocolate Obsession” co-authored by chocolate master Michael Recchiuti, the founder of Recchiuti Confections in San Francisco, here in Amazon.