Single Malt party

In general, the rule is to not overpower the single malt, so relatively plain food, with lots of water to cleanse the palate is a good idea. I've done three single malt tasting events now, and have served the following (in no particular order, and not all at the same event): smoked trout, oak cakes (both sweet oak cakes, which are more like cookies, and some drier, more cracker-like oat cakes), ginger-pear upside down cake, crackers (various types), cheese (extra-old white cheddar, a gouda cheese-ball, and some plain cream cheese, blue cheese, old cheddar), chocolate (dark chocolate with caramel crystals, milk chocolate with salted caramel crystals, dark chocolate with chili powder and dark chocolate with sea salt), olives, bread, Polish sausage, bacon and mushroom cheese quiche squares on a shortbread-cheese crust, fresh dates wrapped in candied, applewood-smoked bacon (I had recipes for both bacon wrapped dates and candied bacon, so I thought that dates wrapped in candied bacon would be an interesting experiment), shortbread, and a chocolate whisky cake with chocolate drizzle.

PIZZA AND NACHO CHEESE DORITOS!!!

On a serious note - I've been wanting to host a lil'scotch whisky gathering myself...Only problem is that the only folks who'd attend is my mom, and myself...Ok - my dad would be there too.

Even more serious note - I really don't know many folks who I'd invite for such an occasion; my mother's sisters/brothers (aka my aunts/uncles) always enjoy "tipping a few back" - however it would turn into another family gathering instead of a gathering meant to discuss scotch whisky (not that it would be a bad thing - just that it would defeat the purpose of hosting an event meant for discussion of whisky).

With all that said - I've always thought "keeping it simple" would be key (as Yaklord pointed out - not wanting to overpower, or take anything away from the single malts)...My ideas: tray of cheese, crackers, and summer sausage (I live in Wisconsin - enough said), maybe some meatballs simmering in a crockpot (maybe in a 'lighter' flavored bbq sauce), and one of my favorites - artichoke heart dip (a warm, and very cheesy dish that is surprisingly delicious).

For a dessert - how about something light in flavor such as angelfood cake with Hershey's chocolate syrup drizzeled over?...A little vanilla ice cream as well?

I also have a nice espresso machine so ending an event with an espresso, or latte is a must!

This by the way is just my dos pesos.

@YakLord How 'bout an invite to your next one? Wow.

Heartily agree with the chocolate varieties. Would add salmon to your trout dish too.

Do you recall which whiskies paired well with the cream cheese?

• Various 'neutral/mild' cheeses (brie, mild/young cheddars)

• deli slices (particularly roast beef - an excellent suggestion by 'Victor' that was a hit at our get together in December - black forest ham, and pastrami)

• fairly neutral crackers such as those box collections of wheat/grain crackers where you get five or six varieties

• water, water, more water

• carrots/celery or other 'neutral' (there's that word again) vegetables.

All these suggestions are with an eye to keeping the palate cleansed and unaffected by non whisky items, and the body hydrated and fed.

@two-bit-cowboy - next one is tentatively being planned for October...we're thinking about doing a "Battle Of" similarly priced and/or type of malts - Glenlivet vs. Glenfiddich / Ardbeg 10 vs Laphroaig 10 / Glenlivet 15 French Oak vs. Compass Box Oak Cross / Macallan 12 vs Glendronach 12 / Oban 14 vs. Clynelish 14 - not necessarily all of those (I think we're going to limit it to six total), but you get the idea. If you somehow find yourself in Ottawa at that point, we'll see about getting you an invite!

Smoked salmon would work just as nicely as the smoked trout - we served it on fairly plain crackers (from the kind of package @Pudge72 described) with plain cream cheese and paired it with an Islay...I believe it was Ardbeg 10 at the first event, and Compass Box Peat Monster at the third. Not sure if the cream cheese on its own would have gone well with any of the malts, but combined with the crackers and the trout, it was quite good.

For most pairings I try to find something that either complements the flavour (like the ginger-pear upside down cake with the Compass Box Spice Tree), or something that contrasts (like dark chocolate with sea salt served with an Islay).

@YakLord Thanks for the thought; not likely I'll be in Ottawa anytime soon. Pity.

I like your idea of "contrasts." Sometimes the "compliments" blur the flavors a little.

I host many tastings. Fortunate to be surrounded by whisky-loving mates and malt hoarders. We have had some spectacular events and brilliant lineups.

Keep it simple. Take your cue from events you may have tended. They tend to be quite basic. Best are:

Almonds, breads, good cheese (cave-aged gruyere, nice old cheddars, blues, smoked gouda, etc), dark chocolate (Lindt with chili...mmmm!), some bits of decent sausage, smoked or candied salmon, dried cranberries, fairly simple bland crackers. Should just be to refresh/cleanse/wipe the palate.

As has been stated...lots of water. And ground coffee to sniff helps to clean the sinuses.

Oh yeah...and did we say lots of water?

I just ate dinner, but reading this post is making me hungry! Some great suggestions on here, but thought I might add a couple.

Goat cheese bites (wrapped in a light pastry, baked in the oven until the pastry is lightly browned and crunchy with the warm, melted cheese inside) pairs very well with the standard distillery bottling of Glen Elgin 12 year old. (the goat cheese bites are pre-made and available from time to time at our local Costco in the cheese aisle).

Another favorite is Salmon (grilled or smoked) which pairs exceptionally well with Talisker!

@YakLord I almost always follow a dram of Oban 14 yr with a dram of Clynelish 14yr to compare/contrast (the things I do in order to advance my knowledge of single malts)...And another Speyside single malt with a Highland twist that I recently discovered is the Cragganmore 12 yr (now I'm 'forced' to compare all three)...btw - Go Wings!

Not exactly answering your question but i recently put on a dinner for my whisky drinking buddies, each with a spirit from Islay. Started off with Oysters topped with Lagavulin 16, then salmon gravalax using the botanist gin from bruichladdich, then the main was roast duck breast, a confit duck leg stuffed with Ardbeg uigeadail apricots and finishing off with white and dark chocolate parfait with bowmore tempest caramel. And very good it was too!

I would also say that having the lagavulin 16 with smoked muscles is very nice and brings out some really good sea sidey flavours and the bowmore darkest is brilliant with high coco content chocolate.