An Example of My Whisky and Food Pairing

Ahead of the first bottling of Captain’s Reserve (a Glenlivet single malt matured in bourbon and sherry casks and finished in cognac casks), I had the honour of being asked by the Chivas team to develop a menu of finger food for the launch of the whisky as well as individual dinner menus to suit the culinary cultures of the company’s key global regions. I was approached because of my knowledge of spices and the traditional cuisines of these culinary cultures, as well as the fact that I was actually in situ, living and breathing the Glenlivet ‘water of life’ every day! Captain’s Reserve is unique because of its cognac finish and is named after Captain William Smith Grant, the great grandson of George Smith, the founder of The Glenlivet. Captain Grant fought in the First World War in France and later took part in the battle against Prohibition, reviving The Glenlivet after the Great Depression of the 1930s. So not only did I have the complexity of flavours emanating from the maturation and finish in different casks to reflect in the food, I also had the courage of a man who fought in France and returned home to save The Glenlivet.