What is a good food pairing with whisky like Lagavulin 16?

Last year on Islay Ben Ellefsen from Master of Malt made some pretty damn fine BBQ ribs for myself and the Chaps at Caskstrength.net, which we drank with the 2011 port aged Ardbeg feis Ile bottling. On returning home I was inspired to challenge my catering consultant/private chef wife to a rib off.

Being a chef she was pretty confident of winning already, but we set a time for some friends to come over and judge the results. To cut a long story short, when the day finally arrived I ultimately won hands down. The comparison made was Heaston Blumenthal versus Carol Brady.

Click to read more ...

Not a Whisky Riot, but a Smooth Jazz Experience!

Those who are fans of Islay whiskies may be familiar with the Feis Ile (also know as the Islay Whisky Festival).  An annual whisky festival in May, which dedicates individual days over the space of a week to the distilleries of Islay, Jura and Arran.

However, you might not be as familiar with the Lavavulin™ Islay Jazz Festival. Currently in it's 13th year it looks like it won't disappoint! 

Although the festival started in 1999, Lagavulin only started sponsoring the event last year (2010). Over it's thirteen years the festival has grown to become a staple in the UK Jazz scene. I guess the combination of fantastic whiskies and amazing musicians can't but help draw people from all over the UK and Globe.

The Festival covers the weekend of Friday 16th September to Sunday 18th September. It will be opened by vocalist Viktoria Tolstoy. She’ll sing her own special arrangements of many great standards along with interpretations of pop tunes.

The Festival also features the world premiere of the sensational Scottish Drummer Tom Bancroft ‘s Red Triowith English piano star, Tom Cawley, and Norwegian bass sensation Mats Eilertsen, while Brian Kellock and Jacob Karlzon front two piano trios at different edges of the jazz spectrum.

Click to read more ...