White wine with fish. Red wine with red meat. Those edicts don’t work in a 2013 context. A whole generation of palate revolutionaries has emerged, throwing old admonitions aside. Some, heaven forbid, abandon wine altogether, subbing beers or spirits.

At a scotch-pairing dinner at Bayside Restaurant in Newport Beach, I found out how scrumptious a meal could be paired with single-malt whiskeys. Scotch with salmon and lamb, as well as deep dark chocolate.

Bayside’s Austrian-born executive chef, Paul Gstrein, prepared a luscious multi-course feast, while Scottish-born Mitch Bechard, Glenfiddich’s ambassador for the Western U.S., played host, a role that cast him as both professor and polished comedian.

As guests sipped amber-hued Glenfiddich margaritas (equal parts agave syrup, fresh lime juice and 12-year-old Glenfiddich), the kilt-clad Bechard warmed up the crowd with a couple of jokes. Jesting about a Scotsman’s frugal nature, he asked if anyone knew the difference between a Scotsman and a coconut. The punch line? Sooner or later you can get a drink out of a coconut. A witticism about an octopus and a bagpipe was too risqué for a family newspaper, but it brought a roar from the scotch drinkers.

With a trio of starters, including warm Gorgonzola-stuffed dates wrapped in crisp bacon, we sampled a wee dram of 15-year-old Distillery Edition Glenfiddich. It was served in snazzy Champagne flutes that had been filled one-third full with mineral water and frozen. A half ounce of the scotch was poured neat atop the frozen water. Optional water was offered, and each guest had an eyedropper to use to add the exact amount of water to suit their taste.

The single malt’s peppery aroma and fruit-kissed taste made it a perfect match with the dates and bacon. Chef Gstrein presented a stunning smoked salmon salad for a second course. The house-smoked fish was teamed with Granny Smith apples, celery, red onion and crème fraîche spiked with horseradish. The salad sat atop scallion pancakes, too delectably light and pleasingly sturdy to be classified as blini.

The salad was accompanied with 18-year-old Glenfiddich served in white-wine glasses. Stewed apple characteristics along with a high degree of creaminess made the scotch pair beautifully with the salad, especially the tart taste of sliced green apples. Bechard, who lives in Newport Beach with his wife and 5-year-old daughter, said he could detect a crème brûlée aroma. After he said it, I could smell it, too.

Next, a 15-year-old Glenfiddich was served in red wine glasses. The Solera system, common in the maturation of quality sherry, was used to produce the bronze-hued elixir. Fifteen-year-old malt from three types of casks was married in a wooden vat, which was constantly topped up to ensure high quality.

Its honeyed-fruitcake aroma and sweet-smooth finish made it the candidate to team with Gstrein’s spice-rubbed racks of lamb. The meat was coated with vadouvan – a mixture of spices that is a derivative of an Indian curry blend with a French twist made with onion, salt, shallots, cumin, turmeric, garlic, black mustard, cardamom, black pepper and fenugreek. Served with a whole-grain mustard red wine sauce, the lamb was rosy pink inside and ambrosial.

Later, Gstrein explained that he cooks the racks until very rare, sets them aside, then just before plating he puts them in a hot skillet and “pastes” them with butter, spooning the butter continuously over the lamb as it heats. The technique creates a tender texture and, of course, delicious taste.

For the finale, a rich chocolate soufflé cake with caramel, bananas and chocolate sauce was served with 21-year-old Glenfiddich poured into rocks glasses. Each glass held a large block of ice, intended to chill, not dilute.

The scotch seemed to mirror both the chocolate and the caramel in the rich dessert. Everyone around me agreed about the dessert: The contents of the glass and the plate offered heaps of decadent palate pleasure.

Raising his glass, Bechard said Scotland has the perfect scotch-making weather with plenty of rain – the pure water source needed to make great whiskey. He concluded with a joyous Scottish toast, “Slainte mhath.” Good health to all.

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Recipe: Gstrein’s Smoked Salmon Salad with Apples, Celery and Crème Fraîche With Scallion Pancakes

Recipe: Bayside’s Scallion Pancakes

Recipe: Scotch Whisky Chocolate Cake

Recipe: Spice-Marinated Rack of Lamb

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Contact the writer: cthomas@ocregister.com