Patrick paired this with a smoky and fruity drink made from mezcal (smoky), Luxardo (sweet), and Punt e Mes (a bitter vermouth). ![]() The extra pinch of salt in the cocktail was a pleasant addition, as the Kusshi is not briny, and a little salt helps the cucumber and grassy notes to shine through, while mellowing the metal finish.Ī smoky and sweet cocktail warms and intensifies a mineral East Coast oyster.Ī Pemaquid, from Damariscotta Maine, is a deep, meaty, and umami laden oyster with a slight slate and butter finish. The tequila in this drink is light, and does not shock the palate while the grapefruit’s sour juice slices through the creamy meat. After many slurps and sips, here is what we came up with:Īn effervescent citrus cocktail and a creamy West Coast oyster are exceptionally matched.Ī Paloma paired with a Kusshi from British Columbia was a satisfying complementary pairing. Once all the cocktails were completed, we sat down and started the show. I then suggested which oysters were appropriate. He described each one and pointed out where they might fall on the tasting wheel. I arrived at Patrick’s bar one week later, and shucked the five different oysters while he stirred and shook his own selection. These broad categories were chosen so they could be applied to other oysters with similar flavor profiles. For the West Coast, I chose one creamy and one briny with mineral notes. For the East Coast, I chose three oysters: one sweet, one briny, and one with mineral notes. I decided to go with oysters in the same categories at the prior wine pairing session. I did not tell him which oysters I was bringing to our next meeting, and I did not want him to tell me what cocktails he would be making, so no biases or assumptions could be made before the tasting. ![]() In our first meeting, I gave him a copy of the tasting wheel, and then asked him to create a few simple cocktails with the finish section of the wheel in mind and with relatively low alcohol content to not bring up any volatility issues. I called in a local professional to aid me in the process, Cambridge bartender, Patrick Gaggiano. The extreme heat of the alcohol will temporarily incapacitate your taste buds. Think about taking a shot of tequila, and then recovering from the experience. The heat, or volatility of alcohol, can perk up unwanted aromatic components or mask delicate textures. The delicate nature of every slurp is at risk of being masked by sharp wafts of alcohol or other strong aromas within the drink. Pairings can be a real challenge with oysters. I was horribly disappointed in the lack of creative information out there. adding citrus to anything makes it work with seafood. complex drinks are paired with garnished oysters and 4. the martini is king (you know, because we can’t get enough gin!) 3. strong, juniper infused gin is the way to go 2. The research I preliminarily accumulated on cocktail and oyster pairings showed a few not-so-favorable suggestions: 1. Once the wheel became commonplace for us, I wanted to really take it for a spin into the world of craft cocktails. After the post came out and more flavor based discussions around the office, we came up with the tasting wheel as a way to take some of the guesswork out of describing those nuanced flavors, which had an effect in the pairing process. ![]() ![]() In a previous blog entry, I took on the challenge of showing how one quintessential pairing could be different based on which varietal oyster was in hand. The delicate nature of every slurp is at risk of being masked by sharp wafts of alcohol or other strong aromas within the drink.” “Pairings can be a real challenge with oysters.
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