The Bar Journal

Food pairing or foodlogist?

Pairing food with alcoholic drinks has gained in popularity and sophistication, with brands, bar tender competitions and lifestyle magazines all offering education on what to match with what.

Until recently, wine was seen as the default adult drink to be consumed alongside a meal in the West. But concerted activity by the beer and spirits brands and by venues themselves has seen that assumption wane. Not only are other drinks categories increasingly seen as suitable to pair with food, but they’re being further explored as an ingredient too.

The reported rules of matching

A notable sign of growing consumer interest in this area is demonstrated by lifestyle magazines, which have championed food and drink matching as a trend to take note of. A particular area of focus is cocktails. An article in the Huffington Post (Us and UK editions) championing food and cocktail matching said: “Forget fruity whites and full-bodied reds, this year cocktail mixologists are trying to persuade diners to ditch the wine in favour of a new brand of bespoke cocktails tailor-made to compliment food.” It points to the trend for savoury cocktails as being a good starting place for those looking to pair cocktails and food. “As the gap between the kitchen and the bar narrows, cocktails are taking on more of the flavours that you’d ordinarily associate with food such as herbs, brine, pepper and smoked alcohol,” it says. But there are rules to adhere to in order to achieve a successful match. It recommends pairings that have the same intensity of taste, a harmony of flavours, the correct presence of sugar and a pleasant alcohol level.

Mixologist Tony Conigliaro writing for GQ magazine similarly warns that cocktail and food pairing is tricky as “cocktails by their very nature tend to be high in alcohol and sugar, two things that a lot of foods can’t stand up against. It’s hard to strike the right balance to enhance both elements of thedrink and the dish”. Conigliaro recommends keeping sugar levels low and trying to match some of the savoury flavours in the dishes with the similar ingredients in the drink. Or to create flavour bridges by using elements that aren’t actually in the dish itself but pair perfectly with the ingredients that are.

Cocktail pairing in restaurants

More restaurants are developing beverages to differentiate their concept, including cocktails that increasingly feature less-than-sweet ingredients such as bitters and oils, like the Olives 7 Ways martini at New York City’s Saxon + Parole bar and restaurant by Naren Young, with olive shrub, olive bitters and olive oil or their Truffle Whiskey Sour made with Dewar’s, citrus, truffled egg white, perigord black truffle.

Some prestigious restaurants are trialling particularly sophisticated food and cocktail matched menus through pop-up events and collaborations with leading mixologists and brands. Conigliaro teamed up on a cocktail matched menu for a pop-up event for Parisian restaurant, Le Dauphin. The menu included sea urchin and jamon broth with a cocktail of hay vodka and jamon (Spanish ham) gelatine with truffle and caper berries. Another match was burnt butter kir royal with scallop brioche and mozzarella milk; and rhubarb gimlet with a Sakura vinegar granita crumble.

SALUTE & Buon Appetito!

GIUSEPPE GALLO