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Kitchen Chat and more…
Kitchen Chat and more…
WhiskyGeeks is excited to have been invited to a media tasting for the first Penderyn & Navy Island rum dinner, paired with authentic Indian cuisine. This tasting was a preview to the dinner open to attendees at the World Gourmet Summit 2019.
Punjab Grill
Finding a befitting restaurant for this dinner is crucial, as it must offer traditional authentic cuisine combined with flair, grandeur and elegance. That said, I would say that there is no place better than Punjab Grill, which has an atmosphere that was brimming with grandeur. The dishes are presented like works of art and its form allows its flavours to perform in perfect harmony on my palate.
Spirits Castle and INTERCO-MLE
Penderyn is a Welsh single malt, that has a sweet, fruity spirit character, with every drop unchill-filtered and natural colour. Penderyn is distributed in Singapore by Spirits Castle. The Navy Island rum is brought in by both Interco-MLE and Spirits Castle. Navy Island has its core range and also a Single Origin range called the 1731 Fine & Rare, highlighting terroir in rum. One bottle of rum each from the two series will be featured in the dinner.
It was a savoury dish to start, which took me by surprise, especially because of how pink it was. The various textures of the dish were so different, from the foam to the base and the cream. The Navy Habanero Mule is based on the dark and stormy cocktail with a few changes. It features the Navy Island 40% rum, Hanebo Chilli Monin syrup and a special ginger powder provided from Punjab Grill themselves. The rum itself is less sweet but has more personality than most commercial rums. The cocktail maintains the rum’s unique spirit character, whilst balancing any sweet or citrusy tones from the Hanebo Chilli Monin syrup, with an added dimension of flavour from Punjab Grill’s Chilli powder.
Tandoor Grilled Barramundi Fish Tikka in Mustard Oil & Duck Seekh Kebab, Kashmiri Rogan Glaze
This dish was a delightful savoury dish. While the Seekh Kebab with the Rogan Glaze provided more herbal and heavier meaty notes, the tender fish coated in a peppery mustard exterior was lighter and mildly spiced.
Paired with this appetizer was the Penderyn Celt, which aged in ex-Laphroaig casks.
This imparts a light but distinct smoky peat-smoke note to the sweetness of the Penderyn single malt. Penderyn’s house style was intended to be sweet and unpeated; however, the Laphroaig cask was bought and filled due to an accident which turned out to be an unintended success with how delicious it is.
This was an outstanding pairing! Due to the Islay touch, the smokiness of the Celt complemented the coastal savoury fish and the Seekh Kebab. The sweetness from Penderyn’s spirit character juxtaposed the savoury spice dish. For me, it was of both a contrasting and complementary pairing. For people who might notice the smoke then the sweetness, the nature of this pairing would change as the whisky changes for you.
Lentils & Dry Berry Pancake, Masala Prawns & Lobster Bharta sprinkled with lime leaf powder, garnished with Masala Beluga Caviar
The entrée had a very different texture compared to the appetizer. The pancake was soft and chewy, serves as a platform for the mildly spiced shellfish bharta and caviar.
The Penderyn Legend 41% pairs delightfully with this entrée. This single malt initially goes through ex-bourbon casks maturation and ends its journey in a fruity Madeira cask. This finish goes well with the sweetness of the spirit character.
The intense umami and savoury dish met its match with the Legend (no pun intended), which provided strong sweet fruit flavours to combat the entrée’s daunting flavour. This pairing was a contrasting pairing, somewhat like the clashing of the titans, but in an enjoyable way. The pairing intensified the honey and citrus notes of the whisky as well.
36-hour Lamb Chop Marinated with Herbs & Spices, clay oven grilled, served with Lakhnavi brown onion gravy
The lamb was a beautiful shank, the gravy sauce was mildly spiced and had some mutton flavours to it. The meat itself is soft, tender, and melts in my mouth.
The Whisky paired to the main is the Penderyn Myth which underwent maturation in ex-bourbon casks prior to a Red Wine cask finish. Bottled at 41%, this is a dram with notes of cinnamon spice and red berries, coupled with citrus zest, vanilla and confectionary sweetness from its ex-bourbon maturation. The spice of the dram blended well with the spices of the dish, whilst the sweetness of the Myth juxtaposed the main dish.
For seafood lovers, there is also another option for mains of having Tava Grilled Chilli crushed Jumbo Tiger Prawns, served with Chettinad & Coconut Smooth Gravy, paired with Penderyn Sherrywood.
The platter consisted of a pineapple cheesecake, lychee, caramel ice cream dusted with delicious crumble, and a warm mildly sweet paste decorated in a blueberry sauce of sorts. A dish just as pleasing to the eye as it is to the palate. The dessert is paired to the Cuban 5yo rum which is a Spanish style “Rhum” using column distillation. Regionality dictates that only Cuban molasses and sugarcane should be used, giving some providence to its terroir. The initial taste of the rum was fresh and zesty with notes of honey. However, this pairing brought out a different dimension to the Cuban rum. The sweetness of the dessert was able to accentuate an earthy note in the rum which I did not notice in the rum before I had the dessert. This pairing was a truly transformative experience.
How do I get to attend the dinner?
The dinner will be available at the World Gourmet Summit 2019, with a vegetarian option. It will cost 128++ without whisky pairing and 178 ++ with whisky and rum pairing. With the 5 drinks, I think it’s worth getting the latter! You can reserve your seats at this link! Grab your seats now!
Special thanks to Zerlina of Spirits Castle for the invitation, this was an absolutely remarkable experience!
We had an awesome weekend with Michael Wheeler, Global Brand Ambassador of Welsh Single Malt, Penderyn in early March. As Wales celebrates St David’s Day on 1 March of every year, Penderyn importer, Spirits Castle Pte Ltd, decided to bring the celebration to Singapore with a couple of whisky tastings amongst other activities.
The celebration started at The Providore, Downtown Gallery, where Michael held an impromptu lunchtime tasting of two best-selling whiskies in Singapore, the Sherrywood and Rich Oak.
While most people were not keen to start drinking at noon, more interested drinkers came at around 1 pm. Michael had a good time speaking with them about Welsh whiskies, and some of them walked away feeling that they have found gold! He also spoke with two seasoned drinkers who thought that the Sherrywood was quite similar to some of their favourite Scotch whiskies!
WhiskyGeeks invited ourselves to the whisky pairing dinner at Conrad Centennial Singapore on 1 March 2019 because we had to (wink!) and of course, we were glad that we went! The event was a collaboration between Conrad and Spirits Castle with Conrad doing most of the job. When we arrived, we saw the team at The Lobby Lounge busy working on the set up for the evening. What impressed us though, was that their General Manager was helping out as well! We seldom see a GM who is so hands-on and respected the man who is so willing to serve.
The whisky dinner started with a series of canapés and the Dragon Range from Penderyn. The Dragon on each bottle represents Wales and what it stands for. The dragon is, of course, the one gracing the flag of Wales. Michael spoke about the range and intrigued audiences with tales of dragons and myths.
The Legend was the first whisky we tried. Matured in a bourbon cask before having a finish in Madeira casks, this whisky is light and fruity, with a hint of oakiness. The Myth is sweeter, with a rounded balance of fruits and candy because it is a bourbon-matured whisky that is finished in red wine casks. The Celt is the most interesting, with light peaty smoke and sweet ripe fruits. Michael explained that this whisky was finished in ex-Islay casks! All the whiskies in the Dragon range are bottled at 41% abv.
The actual dinner pairing worked with Penderyn Gold Range – a series of 5 different whiskies bottled at 46% abv. Chef Mandar worked extensively to come up with each pairing, and all of them were fantastic!
Our favourite was the Pork Belly with Sherrywood as the pairing worked so well! The tender pork belly infused with coffee enhanced the flavours of Penderyn Sherrywood, while the whisky helped to remove the sweetness of the sauce perfectly. We also like the dessert, because the chocolate cake was divine! It was so good that we almost forgot about the whisky!
Michael talked about the whiskies at every course, and he regaled tales of the distillery’s history and blunders in a humourous manner. He told us about Penderyn Peated – a mistake that turned out to become a popular whisky in the core range! It was said that the person-in-charge of buying casks for the distillery made a terrible blunder and purchased a batch of casks that were once holding peated whisky on Islay. When the distillery discovered the mistake, it was too late, and they had to release the whisky as a “one-off” experiment because they cannot just throw away good whisky. It turned out that people love the whisky so much that they begged the distillery to continue the production, and so today, it is part of the core range.
We ended the dinner with a special cocktail, one which the bartender at The Lobby Lounge did for the event. It was a Manhattan but done using the Penderyn Celt. Sweet and smoky, the cocktail was the perfect drink to end a lovely evening at Conrad Centennial Singapore.
2 March 2019 was equally exciting because Penderyn did a tasting at Wala Wala, Singapore’s iconic bar at Holland Village! We understood that Penderyn distillery (and Spirits Castle) is absolutely delighted with Wala Wala’s support of their whiskies.
Wala Wala Cafe Bar is a place that most of the 80s and 90s kids know fondly. It is THE place to hang out, and some of us did more than hang out there – we slept on the floor, drunk, of course! The event was a collaboration between Wala Wala and Spirits Castle. Again, Wala Wala was the one who did all the job of setting up!
Michael led the group gathered at Wala Wala on a journey to Wales, where he waxed lyrical about the country and the beautiful places that surround Penderyn Distillery.
The focus at Wala Wala was the five Gold Range expressions, but participants were greeted with a cocktail done with the Myth! The crowd at Wala was curious about Welsh whiskies, with many of them hearing about Penderyn for the first time. Therefore, many questions flew at Michael, who happily answered them all.
He also showed them some interesting elements of the distillation method at Penderyn and explained why the whisky tasted so different from the others.
Michael also had a chance to speak with our guest writer of WhiskyGeeks – Hongfu aka Panda. He was delighted to find someone who loves whisky so much that questions came nonstop! It was enjoyable to see them interact with each other and to know that WhiskyGeeks will always have someone to fall back on should we fail to deliver in future! Hahaha!!
All of us enjoyed ourselves at Wala Wala, and we are awed by the generosity of the owner – Stanley when platters upon platters of food came from the kitchen after the presentation was over. It was an endless parade of food, and needless to say, we were all stuffed by the time the event ended. So many questions, so much food…Whisky flow aplenty as well, and out of the five, Sherrywood naturally came out tops, again!
We had an enjoyable time, and appreciated the efforts that Wala Wala had put in to make the event so fun!
The weekend rendezvous with Penderyn was excellent, and we hope to do it again! Conrad’s dinner pairing was a luxurious, one of a kind event and Wala Wala’s laidback environment was a complete opposite to it. Both events left deep memories of the place, the whisky and the food. We can’t wait to do this again! Till the next time, folks!!
The Old Pulteney is not a new distillery; neither are its single malts strangers to everyone. However, the old range of 17 and 21 have disappeared in the market, and a shiny new range has taken over. It consists of the good, old 12 Years Old, a new NAS called Huddart, a 15 Years Old and an 18 Years Old.
How did these new expressions measure up? We found out in a recent media launch with Mr Malcolm Waring, the Distillery Manager of Old Pulteney.
Malcolm Waring is the distillery manager at Old Pulteney for the past 12 years. He is the perfect choice for the job because of his many talents. Raised in Wick, Scotland, Malcolm started as a boat-builder, but his destiny was determined otherwise. He joined the Pulteney team in 1990 and worked his way through all areas of the distillery – maturation warehouses, the mash room and the stills. He learned the craft of making fine single malt whisky and his skills in the job made him brewing manager, and later on assistant distillery manager. In 2000, he moved to Knockdhu as the manager for six years before returning to Wick, and Old Pulteney as the distillery manager.
The classic 12 Years Old is an old favourite among many, with its sweet vanilla and citrus notes. The tinge of salt from the sea is subtle but noticeable, so it is definitely one of the Maritime Malts.
Price: SGD $135
The Huddart celebrates the birthplace of Old Pulteney – Wick, Scotland. Known for its excellent fishing spot, many fishermen came to Wick during the fishing season in the past. As a result, the town grew to what it is today. Huddart is a peated malt, but not like the ones that we are used to from Islay. Huddart is matured in American ex-bourbon casks and finished in ex-peated casks. The whisky is mellow and brimming with wood smoke, honey, and bacon. Vanilla cream, crisp green apples and burnt toffee come in after a while. Sitting the whisky for about 30 minutes brings out the musky, soil-like notes of peat.
Price: SGD $160
The 15 Years Old is a new expression that replaces the old 17 Years Old. As far as replacements go, I think the 15 Years Old tops it all. The intensity of the flavours found in the 15 Years Old is excellent, with green apples, citrus orange, honey, vanilla cream and the hint of white tea flowers. The use of sherry casks in the maturation process also brings out rich, dried fruits and milk chocolate. The finish is long and oaky. This dram is appealing and the balance exquisite. I find myself liking this very much.
Price: SGD $180
The last expression in the series is the 18 Years Old. The distillery matured this expression in ex-bourbon American oak cask and Spanish sherry butts. As a result, the flavour profile of this whisky is balanced. Earthly sweetness with some spicy greets the nose, but the palate is soft and mellow. The caramel sweetness of the dram reminds one of sweet dried red berries and raisins. It is a balanced dram but perhaps will appeal best to the sweet tooths.
Price: SGD $215
We had an excellent lunch prepared by Chef Jeremy from Restaurant Jag (more about it below). The menu was meant to pair with the whiskies that we were tasting.
It was evident that each course was prepared with much care and love for both the food and the patron. I enjoyed the risotto and venison especially, due to the excellent pairing it did for the whiskies. Nothing quite prepared me for the dessert though; I probably had not eaten such fantastic ice cream in my life. The smoked dark chocolate ice cream was silky, and it worked so well with both the 18 Years Old and the Huddart!
The venue of the media launch was Restaurant Jag, a bespoke French restaurant helmed by Chef Jeremy and owner Anant. The cosy restaurant nestled among the many shophouses along Duxton Road, and it is easy to miss it if you are not looking out for it. The establishment takes up two floors, with the main restaurant on the ground level and an intimate bar on the second floor. It is a beautiful place and one which you should visit if you are looking for an excellent place to chill and relax.
Address: 76 Duxton Road, Singapore 089535
Reservation Number: 3138 8477
11311 Harry Hines Blvd
Dallas, TX, United States
(555) 389 976
dallas@enfold-restaurant.com