I tend to like to go opposite. If my tobacco is smoky, I lean toward unpeated Scots whisky (I will not call it "Scotch" her out of respect for my Caledonian friends). For Kentucky blends, I tend to keep it Continental and go with Kentucky Bourbon. I tend to smoke Virginias and Va/Per during the day, and they go well with coffee or tea. I find that doubling up on peat and latakia tends to mask the flavors of both.
Drinks that pair with English blends?
- Thread starter MontyTX
- Start date
Not a bad approach at all. Being an expatriate Lousiana native myself, I find that a well-poured sazerac (the actual traditional cocktail, not the company) also goes well with a Va/Per. The combination of the bitters and the absinthe do a nifty dance with the Va sweetness and the Perique kick.
“Yes if you want to run cool you need heavy heavy fuel” Mark KnopflerLaphroaig is a primary component of my blood, like plasma.
I enjoy Ardbeg too, but the under-10-yo expressions tend to be fairly woolly. I think Ardbeg created Wee Beastie a few years ago in order to fill a market niche for a lower-priced alternative. Unfortunately, a 5-yo heavy-peat scotch tends to be a little rough around the edges, even if it is theoretically drinkable.
I'm far from proclaiming myself as an "expert" on anything other than my day job, which does not involve scotch or pipes, or tobacco.
However, I've actively researched, collected, pursued and enjoyed scotch for almost 35 years, so I've been around the block a bit, as well as the Scottish countryside itself. I've never limited myself to one region/style of scotch, but much like tobacco blends, each regional style has its own distinct character and charm, and I love the variety. I love talking scotch and sharing drams with anyone else who shares the passion for uisge beatha, no matter how much or how little they know. At the end of it, enjoyment is the end goal, not one-upmanship or snobbery.
I am partial to Islay and Campbeltown malts in particular, but I have much love for Highland, Speyside and Lowland malts as well. My philosophy when it comes to choosing scotch can be summed up as: "Why dance with only one lady, when you can dance with them all?"
Here's a pic of me on one trip to Laphroaig about 10 years ago-- this is the day they literally put me to work cutting peat in one of their peat bogs... well, at least they provided occasional refreshment between the labor!
nice pic, I wouldn’t have guessed but makes sense looks like a peat bog! I filled a form to own 1 square foot of that, a gimmick of course…. Dream trip one day. just drinking some Oak select, formally select which was a watered down Laphroaig when first on the market, but this new batch is pretty good. I like all regions too, but Islay and Highlands tops for me.
The square-foot ownership is real. Yes, it's a gimmick of sorts, but the ownership is logged with the distillery and they keep records. I've been there, planted my own flag on my square, and collected my annual "rent", which is a complimentary dram at the distillery directly across the road. Laphroaig has multiple peat bogs around Islay, and that photo of me was taken about 5 miles away from the distillery itself in one of their active bogs.
Fortunately, they haven't harvested peat on the "Friends of Laphroaig ownership" stretch of land for quite some time. It is a nice, open pastoral field with various flags and little markers scattered about, although parts are quite soggy at times!
Hope you can make the trip someday. If you get to know the right people, they may take you into warehouse #1, which is basically a cave at/below sea level, filled to the brim with barrels of aging whisky.
Oh, by the way, I also have friends at Ardbeg... here's one of them--
Islay is truly a magical place.
A good dark roast coffee or a Stout beer. I will say I tend towards the coffee most of the time.
We took a trip to Scotland 2 summers ago and spent 4 days on Islay. We stayed in Portnahaven. Laphroaig is my favorite of the Islay whiskies and the distilleries themselves (although going down to the waterside at Caol Ila is nice). Rusty Nails with the 10 year Laphroaig is my go-to cocktail. I need to go back and plant my flag on my square foot. Also want to take a bottle and some spring water out on a hike to the top of Beinn Bheigeir.The square-foot ownership is real. Yes, it's a gimmick of sorts, but the ownership is logged with the distillery and they keep records. I've been there, planted my own flag on my square, and collected my annual "rent", which is a complimentary dram at the distillery directly across the road. Laphroaig has multiple peat bogs around Islay, and that photo of me was taken about 5 miles away from the distillery itself in one of their active bogs.
Fortunately, they haven't harvested peat on the "Friends of Laphroaig ownership" stretch of land for quite some time. It is a nice, open pastoral field with various flags and little markers scattered about, although parts are quite soggy at times!
Hope you can make the trip someday. If you get to know the right people, they may take you into warehouse #1, which is basically a cave at/below sea level, filled to the brim with barrels of aging whisky.
Oh, by the way, I also have friends at Ardbeg... here's one of them--
Islay is truly a magical place.
All that said, I do not like scotch with pipe tobacco. Water, Diet Coke, or lager beer works best for me on English blends.