Top chef creates recipes to match Islay whisky

Top chef creates recipes to match Islay whisky

Bowmore Single Malt whisky has partnered with the UK’s leading expert forager John Wright and top chef Gill Meller, both from Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall’s River Cottage restaurant, to create seafood and dessert recipes using forageable ingredients to pair with an Islay single malt whisky.

Bowmore 12 Years Old is exceptional with seafood – the gentle peat smoke; heather honey and lemon zest perfectly complement the freshest seafood. 

Bowmore 12 Years Old reflects the raw essence of Islay – the island off the west coast of Scotland with its thrashing waves and windswept landscapes. With its valts beneath sea level, Bowmore whiskies have a touch of salt and seaweed added to their peatiness, which is why they are perfect for a seafood partnership.  

Having explored Islay, John and Gill have marvelled at some of the finest and most sought after seafood in Europe such as muscles, lobster, crab, scallops and magnificent oysters. From their findings, they have created these recipes:

• Bowmore Dry Cured Oak and Peat-Smoked Sirloin and Crispy Gutweed
• Pine-Fired Mussels with Spear-Leaved Orache
• Wood-Roasted Lobster and Scallops with Wild Sorrel Sauce
• Sea Lettuce, Clam, Potato and Oyster Rostis
• Devilled Dressed Brown Crab on Toast with Bowmore 12 Years Old
• Chocolate and Seaweed Pannacotta with Bowmore Butter Shortbread
• Chocolate and Bowmore-Soaked Prune Fondant

Gill Meller, head chef at River Cottage, comments: “Bowmore 12 Years Old is a complex yet perfectly balanced whisky that goes incredibly well with fresh seafood, and these recipes I have created complement the notes of peat smoke and Atlantic sea-salt brines.”

It’s not just the 12 Years Old that is so well matched; all five whiskies in Bowmore’s core range have food alliances.  Bowmore 15 Years Old ‘Darkest’ has a rich fruitiness with the trademark Bowmore smokiness, which should be enjoyed with rich, dark chocolate. 

Pictured above: Bowmore dry cured aak and peat-smoked sirloin and crispy gutweed (left) and mussels burning (right).

1 August 2012 - Felicity Murray