A Moscow tradition based on a Scottish tradition returns Saturday, Jan. 28, after a pandemic hiatus, bringing with it the poetry of Robert Burns complemented by bagpipes, haggis, tartans — and Scotch whisky.
Alas, Moscow Burns Night is sold out (which happened quickly), so if you’re yearning to experience this celebration of Scottish heritage, send an email to borderhighlanders@gmail.com to be added to the waiting list and/or be notified of next year’s ticket sales.
The Border Highlanders Bags & Pipes organizes the event and provides authentic musical entertainment throughout (and now, in somewhere around its 30th year, it’s been moved from its former venue at the McConnell Mansion to the more spacious 1912 Center, allowing for a more robust music program).
Attendees are asked to bring a Scottish dish to accompany the traditional haggis, which is made with local grass-fed lamb. But before the meal another iconic flavor of Scotland is explored: the whisky.
Ticket holders 21 and older can participate in a Scotch tasting, which includes accompaniment by corresponding tunes from the pipes.
Inspired by the former Bloom restaurant’s pairing of a short story or poem with a particular wine, Highlanders music director Ben Hunter works with his father and Scotch expert, Jay Hunter, to pair whisky with music.
Different tunes are rooted in certain areas of Scotland, just like the liquor, Ben Hunter said, and the flavor notes relate to the music.
It’s a “multisensory experience,” he said, and hopefully an opportunity to pay that much more attention to both the Scotch and the tune.
If you’re stuck at home Saturday, ticketless, maybe a Scotch tasting of your own is in order. For that, a few Scotch whisky (that’s without an “e” — whiskey is from Ireland or the U.S.) facts from Jay Hunter:
- It has to be made in Scotland to be authentic.
- The only ingredients are barley, water and yeast, but with myriad resulting flavors.
- Single malt Scotch comes from just one distillery (there are hundreds of distilleries in Scotland). Blended whisky involves combining spirits from more than one distillery to achieve a desired flavor profile.
- “Malting” happens when the barley is soaked, providing the sugars for the fermentation process. When peat from local bogs and marshes is used for heat, a strong, smoky flavor results.
- That said, 90% of the flavor and color comes from the aging process. It’s almost always in aged oak barrels.
- Scotch whisky is aged a minimum of three years. The longer it ages, the better the taste — and more expensive the whisky. Flavors become more pronounced from long contact with the barrel, which is topped off as the liquid evaporates.
Jay Hunter will serve samples from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, smwsa.com, but you can start your Scotch journey with less exclusive options from any liquor store.
“There’s a ton on the shelves,” Hunter said, noting some of the smoother ones, like Glenlivet, are especially popular. For a peaty option, he suggests Laphroaig.
“There’s just a remarkable difference between those,” he said.
And, how to drink it?
The more alcohol (the minimum for Scotch whisky is 40%), the more it burns and masks flavors, Hunter said.
Tasting is intertwined with smell, he explained, and when you add water, compounds are released that “open it up, and you’ll appreciate the flavors a lot more than if you drink it straight.”
It’s an individual preference, he said, but typically the formula is two parts Scotch to one part water.
So, there you have it: All you need are a couple of Scotches to compare, a glass and a splash of water.
Bagpipe music is optional.
Cheers, er, Slàinte mhath!
Stone (she/her) is no Scotch connoisseur, but plaid figures prominently in her wardrobe. She can be reached at mstone@inland360.com.