REVIEW : EAT - Whisky Dinner with Martine Nouet, Isle of Islay

At the end of September, Islay and Jura held their Inaugural Taste Islay and Jura food, drink and foraging festival.

What a place to have a food and drink festival - 9 whisky distilleries, an abundance of gin producers, as well as wine, rum and ales plus cheese, venison, lamb and seafood.

The weekend was a great success, so much so that local feedback has included a need for a producers market once a month!

Besides Chocolate Making Workshops, Foraging Walks, Talks with Gillie Basan and a Community Fun Day there was of course the ever popular whisky tastings at the large distilleries including Laphroaig and Bowmore.

Whisky and food pairing dinner with Martine Nouet

There were also two whisky suppers; one hosted by whisky legend - Jim McEwan (Master Distiller at Bruichladdich for 50 years and now helping to set up the latest distillery on the island, Ardnahoe) and the other with whisky author and writer, Martine Nouet at the Port Charlotte Hotel.

Martine is one of the ‘world’s top five’ taster and commentator. She lives on Islay but travels around the world with her work.

Canape - Oysters with a spray of Laphroaig 10 year old

Oysters - were large and plump and filled with tastes of the sea; quite salty.

Laphroaig 10 year old - is a sparkling gold hue and on the nose you’ll pick up smoke, spice, liquorice, salt and iodine, whilst on the palate you’ll taste seaweed, spices with a surprising amount of sweetness.

Salty and sweet work and with spraying this on the oysters, you can control the depth of whisky you want to taste.

Starters - Pan seared Islay Scallops with spiced lentils and orange puree paired with Ardbeg An Oa.

Scallops - although delicious it was a disappointment that these scallops were dredged rather than hand dived considering our location. They worked well with the orange flavouring and the puy lentils gave a lovely earthiness to the dish.

Ardbeg An Oa - this whisky spends some time in Ardbeg Gathering Vats - this is where whiskies from several cask types - including; sweet Pedro Ximenez; spicy virgin charred oak; and intense ex-bourbon casks, amongst others - familiarise themselves with each other.

On the nose there are creamy notes of butterscotch, tobacco and citrus whilst for the taste, you’ll get golden syrup flapjacks with treacle and choclate.

The orange sauce in the scallops really enhances the citrus notes in the whisky and the creaminess of the scallops and the butterscotch of the whisky is a great pairing.

Mains - Loin of Islay Venison, fondant potato, poached pear, caramelised cauliflower puree, blue murder cheese and spinach paired with Isle of Jura 18 year old.

Venison - this was an outstanding piece of venison. Soft and succulent, expertly well cooked and seasoned. The nuggets of pear and cheese were genius, although I would have preferred more.

Isle of Jura 18 year old - Aged for 18 years in bourbon casks before a finish in red wine casks. On the nose it reminds you of Christmas - sweet spiced bread, orange peel, brown sugar with a hint of toffee. On the palate there is dried fruit, chocolate and candied lemon. There’s a soft smoke flavour that lingers on the finish then fades.

The venison is big and bold enough to handle this whisky and the soft char from the whisky enhances the cooked meat, the sweet candies tastes of fruit in the whisky are emphasised when eating the pear and the cheese.

Dessert - Kalamanzi lime tart, pink peppercorn Italian merigue and apple sorbet paired with Caol Ila Moch

Dessert - wonderfully citrus, light and tasty with a superb base.

Caol Ila Moch - Moch is Gaelic for dawn and this is a whisky that’s not giving you the full punch of peat but still delivering big flavours. On the nose you’ll smell lemon sherbert as well as on the palate. There is subtle smoke there but it won’t blow you away and it is rather sweet.

A great pairing - lemon for lemon.

Martine, has a wealth of knowledge and has a great sense of humour. We were absolutely delighted to have been invited to attend this dinner.

Martine’s latest book is out now called ‘a table - whisky from glass to plate’ and is available on Amazon.

Many thanks to Taste Islay Jura Festival, Martine Nouet, Port Charlotte Hotel, Calmac Ferries for making our time on Islay unforgettable.