A COLLABORATIVE dinner between Uma Nota and Macallan introduced the single malt’s new bottles (though they emphasized the liquids stay the same).
On Nov. 18, Macallan showed off its new bottles, designed to streamline the appearance of the Double Cask and the Sherry Oak bottles. Double Cask used to have dark blue details, and Sherry Oak used to have black ones. Now, Sherry Oak comes in red, and Double Cask comes in black — we understand the confusion in low lighting that the old bottles would produce.
“This now makes it a little bit clearer to differentiate our two domestic collections,” said Hans Eckstein, The Macallan PH Brand Advocate, in an interview with BusinessWorld. The bottles were designed by designer and graphic artist David Carson, who was one of the pioneers behind early 1990s grunge, and has had campaigns with Levi Strauss, Coca-Cola, and other iconic brands. He emphasized, however: “The liquid is still the same.”
Asked if the new design would create demand for the older bottles, he said, “I don’t believe it’s meant to do that. But if it does happen, it might be an unexpected eventuality. The liquid being exactly the same, I don’t think it should encourage that to happen, if ever,” said Mr. Eckstein.
“But you know how people are.”
PAIRING DINNERNow, for the dinner: The Double Cask 12 Years Old was paired with Creamy Edamame — the pods have been pureed, and topped with cashews, furikake, and a Moqueca (a Brazilian seafood stew) cracker. The whisky’s scent was tantalizingly spicy and smoky, with a honey note that faded in and out. It was much gentler than expected; light-bodied but intensely warm. The creamy edamame tempered the heat, and the pairing gave what we called “this mush” some liveliness and spice. Meanwhile, the whisky cut through the fattiness of a Hamachi sashimi served on the side.
The Double Cask 15 Years Old had a grassy opening, a more solid, woody scent, and the taste of warm fruitcake. This complemented the smoky cheesiness of the Charcoal Pao de Alho (a Brazilian cheese bread), and brought out the spice in a Cassava Puff stuffed with smoked, shredded Wagyu.
There was a bit of confusion when it was announced that we would be pairing the Double Cask 18 Years Old with the fish course: a Seabass with a Moqueca-style broth, while it said on the menu that it would be paired with a Sherry Oak 12 Years Old. The Sherry Oak 12 smelled like vanilla cookies, and had a mild spicy flavor that spreads all over the tongue gently, then went down easily like a dessert in a drop. The Double Cask 18 had a very gentle, perfumed scent matching its taste, with some notes of mild spiciness. Paired with the seabass, it gave the fish some structure. When the confusion was cleared up and it turned out that the Double Cask 18 was meant to be paired with the Yakiniku Lamb Chop, we noted that with the lamb, the whisky made the meat taste cozier and spicier.
We missed dessert due to another engagement, therefore also missing out on the Sherry Oak 18 Years Old.
Mr. Eckstein shared some basics on pairing whisky with food, an activity previously exclusive to wine (though times are changing). “Whisky, understandably, is a little bit stronger. It’s a little bit more intense. It can stand up to stronger flavors. In order for it to still shine through, we don’t encourage people to pair with, let’s say, spicy food: something that’s very intensely flavored. There still needs to be a little bit of harmony going on.”
“There are some flavor notes that really go hand-in-hand with whisky,” he noted. “Specifically, it’s richness.
“It’s always a lot safer also to do a complementary pairing, rather than a contrast,” he noted. — Joseph L. Garcia