LCBO Food & Drink Autumn 2024

ENTERTAINING

On Board At your next gathering, introduce guests to a new pairing—whisky and charcuterie—that pairs smoky notes and complex flavours.

BY CHARLENE ROOKE ————— PHOTOGRAPHY BY JAMES TSE

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This happy synchronicity between meat and cheese boards and whisky, and the range of fresh local and preserved autumn ingredients available, makes this the ideal time to try whisky pairings across the board. A great selection of Scotch, bour bon, Canadian whisky and Irish whiskey—including affordable 375-mL bottles—makes exploring pairings and entertaining with whisky easy and fun.

of char, which come from the toasted layer inside oak barrels. And like olives or cheese rinds, whisky can even taste minerally or briny. Great whisky gains fruity and floral notes from the fermented grains that form its base, and sometimes from casks that previously held wine or sherry. Dried, fresh and preserved fruits on a snack board can bring out those flavours. Whisky can taste golden as a dripper of honey, and as nutty as a handful of seeds or kernels.

“Wine and cheese” rolls off the tongue as elegantly as those pairings caress the palate. With Italian anti pasti platters of cured meat, cheese, olives and more, wine is practically necessario . But the next time you snack on those foods or entertain with a full-blown charcuterie and cheese board, consider how the flavours beautifully complement the layered notes in fine whisky instead. Like many cured and smoked meats, whisky sometimes has wisps

FOOD STYLING BY CHRISTOPHER ST. ONGE; PROP STYLING BY STACEY SMITHERS

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AUTUMN 2024 ————————