One of the finest pleasures in whiskey enjoyment is pairing food with it, and there are many great food and bourbon combinations out there. There are also some food and bourbon combinations that just don’t work.
We can determine the best combinations by being cognizant of bourbon’s primary flavor descriptors and, more importantly, how they interact with each of the aspects of taste. This will let you know what to avoid as well. There are a few different reasons why you might get a bad pairing. First, the food flavors may overpower the bourbon flavors or be too mild to stand alongside the strong whiskey. However, even if the flavors are both the same weight, they might still not go together. Sometimes you’ll have a just plain awful tasting combination, sometimes you will end up with boring and uninspired. Another issue is that you may find a food that mutes the complexity of the bourbon, reducing a high-quality bourbon to the quality of something you might find on a bottom shelf.
After years of working in restaurants and bars, educating myself about whiskey, going to masterclasses, and begging to attend tastings, I’ve spent a lot of time with this spirit. As a result, below I’m going to tell you my list of foods that you should always skip when it comes to pairing and some tips to help you identify what works and what does not.
Buffalo wings
Combining liquor with spicy cuisine is always something of a roll of the dice. Spirits, such as bourbon, have higher alcohol content, which adds to the heat of the dish. When you combine magically spiced cuisine and liquor together, there’s the possibility for the spice to become elevated.
Sometimes this is a good thing, sometimes, as any expert in whiskey or spirits will advise, avoid the combined experience altogether, as the unpleasantness of the high alcohol content and the combination of flavors may overrun your palate altogether, and while we want you to spice things up, we do not want you running out of the restaurant and take that unpleasantness home.Wings and buffalo sauce can be pretty heavy in vinegar, the tang will clash with the sweet buttery base notes of bourbon, (vanilla and caramel.) A better bet would be to avoid whiskey and wings, and have a beer. A refreshing crisp lager will neutralize the intensity and some enjoyable flavors from that Buffalo Sauce. If you want to elevate the flavor of the dish and go with an IPA, I suggest a citrus IPA. Alternatively, you could go with a slightly sweet off dry Riesling wine. The sweetness of the style will help cut through the spice, and with some nice fragrant notes help marry well with the sauce.
Butter chicken
Pairing bourbon with Indian cuisine is also often challenging. Many Indian dishes have so much spice that, as I mentioned above, they are not perfect partners with the sharper spirits. Even extremely mild dishes (notably butter chicken) would be a poor match.
Fat is good for coating our palates and numbing down the biting heat of the alcohol in bourbons; but it’s also easy to overdo fat. Indian curries, especially curries with rich, creamy sauces, tend to dull too much of the bourbon flavors. Even if a particular butter chicken recipe has timed down a cream sauce, the tomato base rises to the top with an acidity that can create an unsavory mouthfeel when juxtaposed with the bourbon’s sweetness. Indian cuisine also has a plethora of spices. While there are spices that can really complement the flavor notes found in bourbon, most of the time the complexity in many dishes won’t naturally create delicious pairing flavors. I say stick it out with a col, simple Indian lager, like Kingfisher or Cobra. Or, if you just really want to enhance the spice flavors without risking the heat, a full-bodied gewürztraminer wine will work too.
Thai green curry
Thai food is notoriously spicy, much like Indian food, but not every dish is burn-your-mouth hot. Some will find green curry too spicy for their liking, but most agree it tends to be on the milder and sweeter side, compared to other Thai curries.
The issue when pairing bourbon with green curry lies with the dish being completely packed with abrasive and fragrant components such as ginger, lemongrass, and kaffir lime. These components can stand alone or in moderation with whiskey. When combined together, there is already too much going on, to achieve the desired tasteful pairing with the natural flavor of bourbon. Likewise, it will probably dull or make the bourbon taste woody. If you are inclined to pair a whiskey with green curry, you will need to seek out a rye whiskey or a sturdy, rye-forward bourbon; one that can contend with the spiciness of the dish. I personally would suggest a wine, of which there are multitudes to pair well with Thai food, or possibly one of the many effervescent, creamy wheat beers. It would nicely assist the dish by enhancing the aromas with a contrasting added complexity to the spiciness.
Penne all’arrabbiata
Though Italian cuisine and bourbon are not traditionally highlighted hand in hand, they can be compatible with certain dishes. The main consideration when choosing pasta and whiskey is to make sure that the pasta dish contains sufficient supporting elements – such as meat or cheese – bourbon can be paired with a pasta sauce. Creamy pasta dishes, such as carbonara, are doable as long as the dairy addition is not overwhelming.
In general, avoid Italian foods that have a tomato base, such as penne all’arrabiata. They tend to be overly sweet and acidic, and will make your bourbon taste bad and metallic. In addition, all’arrabiata sauce is spicy — even if you enjoy the extra heat, it will make the sweeter mouthfeel of the whiskey taste sweet and muddy. So, opt for the familiar option and get yourself a quality red wine. If you want to make the dish a little less brash, I recommend a lightly chilled fruity Beaujolais that will temper the spice in the sauce. On the flip side, if you want to enhance the flavor profile, use a heavier Italian wine (e.g., nero d’avola).
Nachos
To analyze bourbon from a food pairing perspective similar issues exists as it does with Indian cuisine and Thai cuisine. First, you have to deal with the combined heat of the food and the bourbon. Then you have to deal with too much competing flavor. Having contrasting elements in a food pairing can work really well, not when too many ingredients are going against each other.
If nachos are your thing, and yours are on the lighter side, with maybe a sprinkling of cheese and some mild meat, your odds are good that your whiskey will match quite nicely. If you’re like me and prefer nachos with a bit more on top, it is best to leave the bourbon aside. A hardly sweet Mexican lager is better if you want to experience all the flavors in the food. A margarita is even better, as the earthy tequila is much better with the ingredients of Mexican food. The citrus adds acidity to cut the fats of the nachos, and a touch of sweetness to tame the heat.