Game terrine and London dry gin

I’ve already written about how well game terrine pairs with oloroso sherry. Now I’ve discovered an equally good, if not better pairing: London Dry Gin.

The pâté I tried the other day - again from Stephen Markwick of Culinaria - was a hare one which was stronger than the previous guineafowl and pheasant version. It worked with a rare dry oloroso but I suddenly thought it would be interesting to see if I could pick out the juniper notes with a gin. The one I had to hand was Beefeater but any traditional London dry gin would do. (I say traditional because some newer gins like Whitley Neill accentuate other aromatic notes such as citrus.) Mine was at room temperature but I think it would be even better served cold like a frozen vodka shot. You could try the same pairing with a cold game pie.

If you want to make your own terrine - and I predict we're all going to be getting into home-made charcuterie next year - there’s a great master recipe (see right) in the book I’ve written with Stephen called A Very Honest Cook. You can still get it in time for Christmas if you ring the restaurant in time for them to catch the post today (0117 973 7999). Otherwise there’s always after Christmas . . .