I'll have a wee dram if you don't mind

Next time you wonder what bottle to put on the table maybe you should reach for a malt whisky instead of a glass of red or white. At least that’s the Big Idea from drinks giant Diageo, distributor of the Classic Malts Selection™ who are energetically promoting a glossy new magazine-style food section to their website www.malts.com.

Recommended pairings include calf’s liver and sage with Oban, Lanark Blue Cheese with strong, smoky Lagavulin from Islay and bread and butter pudding served with frozen Dalwhinnie. There’s even a Thai style scallop salad (recommended, rather dauntingly, with Royal Lochnagar)

“ It’s a delusion - fostered by some sommeliers, Masters of Wine and professional wine writers who won’t try anything different - to think that wine is the only possible partner to good food” says cookery writer and former chef Richard Whittington who has devised the pairings and recipes. “Just as some wines achieve a perfect marriage with some dishes, whilst others quarrel from the start, so some fine malt whiskies deliver a transcendent partnership with certain foods”

He’s right, of course, but I’m not convinced about the virtues of drinking spirits right the way through the meal as is done in whisky dinners. The alcohol level is just too high. But Whittington’s recipes and combinations are well worth trying and I like the fact that he breaks away from the tyranny of the tumbler by suggesting serving the whiskies in wine glasses.

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