Two of our favourites; Gildas and Glendronach have teamed up to showcase a phenomenal whisky and food pairing. Held at a Gilda’s restaurant, (sister to the famed ‘Firedoor’ restaurant) an incredible Basque inspired Pitnxos Taverna, in Surry Hills. It is the perfect place for this pairing, which will be available until 14 December 2024.
This menu is an ode to The Glendronach whisky, a brand known for their whisky aged in Sherry Casks, otherwise known as sherry bombs. Each of the whisky-infused pintxos are served in ‘snack and sip’ style pairs, alongside a dram of its matching The Glendronach Scotch whisky.
We were super excited to the sample their paired pintxos flight as The Glendronach is one of our favourite Scottish whisky distilleries. Having been to Gildas before, we knew the food would be good, and when infused with whisky, it can’t get much better!
For this particular tasting, it includes a luxe trio of decadent bites inspired by The Glendronach Scotch single-malt whisky range, which has been aged in Spanish sherry casks. This tasting had us salivating. The first bite was paired with and infused with The Glendronach 12 year old aged in a combination of the finest Pedro Ximines(Sweet) and Olorosso(Dry) Sherry casks. This rich sherried single malt flavours enhanced by pairing with a Butter puff pastry, topped with piperada, piquillo peppers glazed with The Glendronach 12-year-old, white Angelachu anchovy and an olive crumb.
The original Glendronach 15 is a sherry bomb and was a standout whisky for us, it led us to appreiate a sherried whisky and we have been a fan ever since. The Glendronach 15 year old is a quality dram, matured for a minimum of 15 years in fine Pedro Ximenez and Olorosso casks from Andalucia. This food pairing was next level, this whisky was paired with a modern take on a traditional Gilda skewer featuring morcilla blood pudding, pan-seared Alborohos Island scallop and apple poached in caramel made with the Glendronach 15-Year-Old. The different lavels of sweet and savoury were perfect.
The tasting then went up another level with the Glendronach 18, aged for a minimum of 18 years in Olorosso casks, the sweet nectar of dried fruits, long lasting. The contrast of this sweet whisky, with the rich savoury Jamon croqueta worked so well, the croqueta was stuffed with bechamel, coated in pimenton bread, and dressed with jamon glazed in The Glendronach 18-Year-Old.
Whisky lovers looking to celebrate the festive season in style will love the ‘Ronnie’, a cocktail starring the Glendronach 12-Year-Old alongside Campari, grapefruit and cava – a Spanish sparkling wine.
This is paired with a decadent dessert, a take on a tocino de cielo, a traditional caramel dessert served with raisins and infused with the rich flavours of The Glendronach 18-Year-Old.
This outing was a real treat, the whole experience was perfect, the venue, the service, the delectable Glendronach inspired food that paired perfectly with the Glendronach whisky flight. It was so good, we will be looking at doing a return visit to do it all again.
The trio tasting flight includes the three pintxos and 20ml pours of the 12-, 15-, and 18-year-old whiskies for $78.
Gildas
Event
https://gildas.com.au/the-glendronach-whisky-sherry-week-gildas-pintxo-collaboration/
The Glendronach
https://www.glendronachdistillery.com