LCBO Food & Drink Winter 2018

A SPLASH OF WHISKY BY JULIA AITKEN  •  PHOTOGRAPHY BY VINCE NOGUCHI

THE PROOF IS IN THE FLAVOUR WHEN YOU COOK WITH MALT WHISKY.

WHISKY- CURED SALMON WITH MUSTARD- LEMON CRÈME FRAÎCHE recipe on page 86

Trust the Scots to know how to brighten up a winter’s evening. On January 25, Scots the world over celebrate Burns Night, the annual homage to Scotland’s most famous poet—and something of a rabble- rouser—Robert Burns.     While haggis (really just a sausage with attitude) is traditional fare at Burns’s birthday bash, Scotland offers less-challenging gustatory pleasures, two of which—malt whisky and salmon—are surprising soulmates. Anglers who know their stuff cite the Spey in northeastern Scotland as one of the world’s best salmon rivers. And some of the most prestigious whisky distilleries hug the banks of the same water course. So, in the true spirit of terroir, we team the pair in a Caledonian take on gravlax, or cured salmon.     Glenfiddich Single Malt 15 Year Old ( LCBO 605972, $80.95) provides the marinade for the salmon, its notes of vanilla and spice echoing the seasonings in the cure. This Speyside malt, with its lighter, honeyed profile, does double duty as the perfect tipple with the salmon. In addition to honey, look for flavours of marzipan-topped fruit cake, sherry and oak. And, as with all Scottish whiskies, do like the Scots and skip the ice—it dulls the whisky’s aromas and flavours—adding just a touch of water to open up the bouquet. Slàinte!

FOOD & DRI NK WINTER 2018 11