Match of the week

Roquefort and Lagavulin

Having been on Islay for the jazz festival all weekend I've been thinking about nothing but whisky and jazz but there is as good a combination : Islay whisky and strong blue cheese

I actually had to wait until I came home though to try the classic pairing of Lagavulin and Roquefort as there are no cheesemongers or even cheesemakers on the island.

Those of you who are familiar with the Lagavulin 16 y.o won't need telling it's an extraordinary combination of sweet and smokey - a huge-flavoured, yet subtle whisky that needs a equally characterful partner to set it off. You might think that a pungent salty Roquefort would be too extreme but there's a wonderful alchemy between the two - as there is in all the best food and drink pairings, the Lagavulin adding a subtle smokey overlay to the cheese, the cheese making the whisky even more intense and mysterious. For me it's better than Roquefort and Sauternes.

You could I'm sure pull the same trick with other peaty Islay whiskies such as Ardbeg or Laphroaig and with alternative sheeps' blues like Lanark Blue or Beenleigh Blue but it is one of the all-time greats of food and drink pairing.

I attended the Islay Jazz Festival as a guest of Lagavulin.

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