Swizzle Dinner & Drinks Meets Woodford Reserve for a Dinner Experience to Remember
The New York Strip served as part of Swizzle’s bourbon-pairing dinner was … well, just look at it. Photos by Kevin Gibson
There was a time back before I got bourbon that I thought there was no way on Earth it could be successfully paired with food. Then I visited Woodford Reserve and experienced the distillery’s signature Flavor Wheels. That changed it for me.
So, when I got the opportunity to attend one of the monthly bourbon-pairing dinners at Swizzle Dinner & Drinks, the restaurant and cocktail bar on the 25th floor of the Galt House, I knew I was in for something good. That the pairing involved Woodford Reserve whiskeys was just a coincidence.
The event was full, and my girlfriend Cynthia and I were paired with another couple eager to put bourbon and food together, Dawn and Diago. Almost as soon as we were seated, one of the friendly staff brought each of us an Old Fashioned cocktail, made of course with Woodford Reserve bourbon.
The cocktails had been sitting for a few minutes, so the ice had already begun melting, but it was still a balanced and tasty intro to the meal – bourbon forward, but with just enough sweetness and peripheral flavors to accentuate the best of aspects of the whiskey.
This was followed by an amuse bouche of smoked pork belly crostini garnished with apple butter, pickled onion and chives – yes, it was only a couple of bites, but it was another taste of what lay ahead.
The first course of our meal was a BLT salad, basic iceberg greens with minimal amounts of tomato, candied bacon and a brown butter panko. The salad was fine, but it would have to count as the low point of the meal in that it just didn’t live up to the rest of the courses. But it came with a neat pour of Woodford Reserve Rye that stood on its own. I have to admit, I never paid much attention to Woodford’s rye, but the pour I had that night opened my eyes. I’m going to have to try it again.
The appetizer course brought us a Woodford Reserve Malt Whiskey paired with a potato gnocchi with brown butter, sweet corn and roasted tomatoes. An interesting pairing for my palate, and maybe a stretch (at least to me), but the whiskey was tasty and the gnocchi was absolutely delicious. We all wanted more – at least until the main course arrived.
Woodford Reserve Assistant Master Distiller Elizabeth McCall brought plenty of informative fun.
More on that in a moment. The entertainment of the evening is also the education. Assistant Master Distiller Elizabeth McCall gave us a description of each whiskey between courses, and availed us of some distilling knowledge along the way. She also came around to basically every table to greet attendees and to answer any questions they may have. I’d never met McCall before, but she’s apparently not only an excellent distiller but a fine representative of the Woodford Reserve brand.
Back to that entrée course, which was a peppercorn-crusted New York Strip steak served atop a celery root and fennel puree, hot honey glazed carrots as an aside. I’ve been to pairing dinners before, and typically any steak involved in my experience has been just a few ounces. The steaks we were served were so thick and ample that just a few bites in, a staffer came around offering up to-go boxes. (Yeah, neither Cynthia nor I could finish ours that evening.)
The pairing of the peppery, charred steak – which was nevertheless cooked a perfect medium rare – with Woodford Reserve’s wheat whiskey was an interesting call, as it paired a sweeter experience with the spice and char. It would have been tempting for me to feature more of a spicy bourbon. It worked quite well, which probably why I’m primarily a diner and not a chef.
And the dessert course doubled and tripled down: a huge piece of triple chocolate cake with white chocolate sabayon and a pair of black cherries paired with Woodford Reserve Double Oaked. Holy mother of decadence. I remember the first time I ever tasted Double Oaked, the week it was released, and thinking, “What? There can be chocolate flavors in bourbon?” I’d had no idea. Well, it came as no surprise that this pairing was probably the home run of the night.
It was almost as if Swizzle’s head chef, Jesse McAlarney, intentionally saved that big punch for last. If so, it worked. Oh, and the finale was a quick pairing with an array of three Muth’s Candies chocolates. Another nice touch. Oh yeah, and we got to keep the last glass we tasted from. And there also was the option to get a personalized bottle of Woodford Reserve for $75.
There, I think that’s everything.
Swizzle’s bourbon dinner series is ongoing (I previously had to miss a Peerless Distilling dinner because I had potentially been exposed to Covid-19). Swizzle also does wine dinners and other pairing dinners each month.
Upcoming events include:
2/27 – Cakebread Wine Dinner - https://www.eventbrite.com/e/cakebread-wine-dinner-by-swizzle-dinner-drinks-tickets-264196136757?aff=ebdssbeac
3/10 – New Riff Bourbon Dinner: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/new-riff-bourbon-dinner-by-swizzle-dinner-drinks-tickets-274960182307
3/23 – Tour of Italy Wine Dinner (take home glass included)
Follow Swizzle’s events page to keep track of what’s coming up. And as always, please subscribe to my newsletter below.
