Brandy or Whisky With Dinner? No thanks.

I’m perturbed by a new fad. It seems that to market their respective spirits, both whisky and brandy have taken to food pairing. This isn’t actually that new a thing, but recently it seems they’re really pushing it. I know that the whisky market is flying while the brandy market is drowning, so I can understand the brandy initiatives, (Distell’s Alchemy of Gold is leading the foray) but overall it just baffles me. Why? Well because of the simple fact that whisky and brandy do not pair as well with food as wine does. In fact, beer is easily the next best alternative (and sometimes better).

Why would we struggle to find ways to pair a dinner with a glass of whisky or brandy when we can choose from endless variety of wines that pair so seamlessly? Wine has far more subtlety and nuances of flavour than both these hard spirits. It has way more variety in style. And wine has lower alcohol. All these contribute to  it being a far better drink for the dinner table. Whisky and brandy are starting something dangerous here. Can you see gin sitting up and taking notice. Ooh, what about vodka and food? No, you really have to try cane with this dish. No thanks.

Don’t get me wrong, I love a good tumbler of whisky and a tipple of brandy. I’ll take them by the fireplace after dinner, thanks. With a cigar. Sure, they might pair okay with one or two dishes, but these spirits are superb in their role as aperitifs, nightcaps or digestifs. They offer endless amount of enjoyment in that capacity, but competing with wine in food pairing they’re just never going to cut the mustard. Actually, bad choice of phrase, since they will do more than cut the mustard – they’ll overpower it completely. You won’t even realise there’s mustard on your plate.

Even whisky and brandy pundits admit their spirits have extreme flavours. To work as a pairing they either need to be diluted with water or paired with food of extreme flavours. On brandy and food pairing, Margot Janse says, “The high alcohol is a challenge.” Peter Goffe-Wood says it should be done in isolation and not as part of a meal. But you don’t need to be a top chef to acknowledge it’s limitations, do you. And whisky? They’re always throwing out smoked salmon as the perfect pairing. Honestly, you’re telling me you’d rather have it with whisky than a good Chardonnay or white blend? Nope.

The bottom line is that brandy and whisky are never going to work as well as wine does with food. Wine has enough of a tough time in the market already, it doesn’t need pushy hard tack stepping on its delicate toes. Let’s leave it to do what it does best. Then we can enjoy the brandy and whisky before or after the meal and happily praise them for where they belong.