Whisky is one of the many things that I know very little about. Gin - a bit. Wine - the basics. Tea - I can wax lyrical. But for some reason, whisky has passed me by. I was very excited when I found out that Jelly and Gin were hosting CreateEatWhisky in collaboration with Jura Whisky as part of this year's World Whisky Day celebrations.
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| The Nestle Milk Factory on Leith Links - our venue for the evening. |
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| Ghost sign - the only hint of the building's former purpose. |
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| Beautiful lighting, subway tiles. |
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| Custom built candleholders. |
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| Origami lighting. |
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| Rows of tables, copper piping, paper lights. |
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| The tasting begins - whisky number one - Jura Elixir. Our place mats summarised each for us. |
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| Music plays in the background - recorded onsite at the distillery - with instructions on how to taste |
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| Our tasting glasses were not your typical whisky tumbler shape. |
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| How dark is the colour? Rich, golden, pale? |
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| As instructed, we all held up the glass to inspect further. |
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| I've never been sure how much water to add. Enough to create a "marble" effect as the liquids mix, said the chap next to me. |
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| Breathe it in deeply, edge of the glass to the bottom of the nose. |
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| What does it smell like? |
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| And now onto the taste. |
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| Take a sip. |
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| Move it around your mouth. |
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| Enjoy. |
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| Tasting notes followed the instruction video, giving us hints. |
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| Beautiful wooden tiffin boxes, containing the first food pairing. |
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| Oatcakes, Ayrshire bonnet cheese, pineapple & ginger chutney, venison salami. |
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| Whisky number two - Prophecy. The music changes, the lighting changes. |
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| A smoke filled cloche arrives. |
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| Loch Duart hot smoked salmon pate, pickled cucumber, squid ink breadsticks. |
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| Whisky number three - Origin. |
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| Tasting notes: honey. |
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| Pear compote, honey cream, pecan brittle. Coffee and liquorice scent vials. |
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| Whisky number four - Diurachs' Own. |
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| Steaming copper cauldrons, seaweed mist. |
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| Chocolates: lavender, matcha tea, salted caramel. |
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| To finish: scenes and sounds from the distillery. |
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| Jura. |
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| With thanks. |
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| Collaborators. |
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| More collaborators. |
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| CreateEatWhisky. |
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| Our hosts: Jelly & Gin. |
Four drams later, four delicious tasters, and I feel a little more confident with whisky. Turns out I like a dash of water in my malt to tone down the harshness of the alcohol. I was also surprised by the whisky I liked best - number two - Prophecy. My previous experiences of whisky had put me off strong smoke and peat flavours, but with the salmon and cucumber pickles, it really, really worked. I've already made a mental note to do something similar for a dinner party starter soon. A rather marvellous multi-sensory evening, and a great way to learn about something new.
