Peggy’s Palate #1 Masterful Pairings

In this inaugural Peggy’s Palate article, master taster Peggy Noe Stevens puts her pairing skills to the test

Written by Peggy Noe Stevens

Peggy Noe Stevens is a master taster, whiskey reviewer and competition judge. She is known for her super palate in the industry, as well as her founding innovations connecting whiskey and food pairing styles and methods.

Sometimes in the foodie world we say, that was “delicious”. When you are a foodie like me from Kentucky and come across a bottle that is impeccable, I say, “that’s a doozy!”  So now, put a food and whiskey pairing together for the double doozy, and that is what this new article series is all about, pure and simple. Great food and great whiskey ideas delivered to your door, or should I say your kitchen. Preach.

No surprise that I spent my life and career surrounded by flavors, and actually drown in them sometimes. Yet, I still find that audiences request perfect pairings with their favorite libations. My goal here is to educate to the point that everyone is comfortable doing pairings in their own home. That is what my book, “Which Fork Do I Use With My Bourbon,” is all about: home entertaining our whiskey way.

So here we go. I will choose my top two scores in reviewing American Whiskey Magazine’s 24 blind samples with my co-reviewer, Susan Reigler, and then pair to perfection. (Almost sounds like a game show introduction.) That’s right. Put on your seat belt: we are going for a wild flavor ride, and you have a front-row seat. And the whiskey isn’t too shabby, either.

How to Pair

The below is a simple chart outlining my three-part breakdown to pairing. 

This month we feature the following brands and hear the inspiration for creating flavor profiles:

Moonlight Mayhem
Cask Strength Bourbon
115 proof  (see page 79 for tasting notes)

Filmland Spirits’ blending team is made up of Troy Bolotnick (founder/CEO), Charlie Flint (VP of ops) and Steve Canepa (CFO).  “We are long-time whiskey fans and bourbon nerds. When we created the blend for our regular 94-proof Moonlight Mayhem we wanted it to be accessible to newer bourbon drinkers, but with enough complexity to satisfy aficionados as well. When we set out to create the Extended Cut cask strength version (115 proof), we made it for ourselves – the kind of bourbon we love to sip neat.  Our goal was to create a flavor profile with a supremely rich, creamy mouthfeel that sipped smoother than its proof would imply and had as much complexity of flavor as possible, leaning heavily into cherry and chocolate notes.  We selected eight barrels from several hundred and precisely blended them together to achieve this goal. One of our favorite things about Moonlight Mayhem!”

Moonlight Mayhem Cask Strength Bourbon	Simple Pairing	Appetizer / Entrée / Dessert
Balance	Candied dates	Bread pudding with a vanilla cream sauce
Counterbalance	Pickled Jalapeño slices	Jalapeño poppers wrapped in bacon and goat cheese
Explosion	Toasted marshmallow	Decadent molten lava cake with a toasted marshmallow topping

Kentucky Peerless
Rum Cask Finished Bourbon
112.6 proof  (see page 77 for tasting notes)

Caleb Kilburn, master distiller of Kentucky Peerless Distilling and recently named the Master Distiller/Blender of the Year in the Icons of Whisky America, speaks to the flavor profile of his new innovation. “I believe that a barrel finish should enhance and complement the notes of the original spirit. We hand selected barrels that exhibited a bold, traditional bourbon flavor and entrusted them to premium rum casks for finishing. The resulting spirit introduced notes of warm molasses, sweet grasses, toasted citrus, and a host of other characters to our already complex profile.”

Kentucky Peerless Rum Cask Finished Bourbon	Simple Pairing	Appetizer / Entrée / Dessert
Balance	Honeyed figs	Dry-rubbed ribs with a sorghum BBQ dipping sauce
Counterbalance	Cajun Pecans	Paella with a dusting of paprika
Explosion	Molasses and caramel lollypop i.e. See’s Candies	Baked ham with a deep crusted dark brown sugar and maple syrup coating (continue basting throughout the cooking process)

• Jack Daniel’s goes global with its American Single Malt
• Chicken Cock debuts Red Stave Bourbon
• Wyoming Whiskey has unveiled Nation Parks No.3 and The Grand Collection
• Buffalo Trace unveils Buffalo Trace Distillery London
• EXCLUSIVE VIDEO INTERVIEW: Kentucky Owl has recruited one of Scotland’s most revered master blenders – and her first bourbon has just hit the shelves