Monday, March 4, 2024

Rant: We Need More Spirit-Paired Dinners!

Last week, I attended a BBQ & Bourbon dinner at A Tavola and it was an excellent dining experience. However, it's rare to find spirit-paired dinners at local restaurants, and usually you see wine-paired dinners, with an occasional beer-paired dinner. We need more spirit-paired dinners, to expand the diversity and excitement of such pairing dinners. 

The BBQ & Bourbon dinner, which was held in the last week of February, was first advertised in December and quickly sold out. There's obvious interest in such dinners, so why don't we see more of them? A Tavola will likely hold more such dinners, but what about other restaurants? I love wine-paired dinners, but enjoy spirit-paired dinners as well. 

Spirit-paired dinners may be more challenging for chefs, but it's a challenge that any talented chef can meet. You can pair food courses with straight spirits or with cocktails. The diverse creativity of cocktails can make food pairings easier. Some spirits lend themselves easier to particular cuisines, like Whiskey and BBQ, or Rum and Caribbean/Latin cuisines. You are only limited by your own creativity.

Obviously, you have to consider the higher alcohol content of spirits, but that's not a real impediment, just a matter to ponder when creating pairings. Plus, as everyone will be eating, that helps to sop up the extra alcohol. 

Diners are often seeking something different, wanting a special dining experience. A spirits-paired dinner is more unique and can appeal to diners seeking a special experience. They may have wine with dinner at home, but far fewer will have spirits with their home dinners. They might have a cocktail before dinner, but usually won't drink spirits or a cocktail with their dinner. A spirits-paired dinner opens their mind to new possibilities. And it's also just fun.

We Need More Spirit-Paired Dinners! What do my readers think?



No comments: