Bourbon meets The Bulls Head

Davenports. that’s a name a lot of Brummies will remember (and a hell of a lot wont…). For nearly two centuries until the late 1980’s Davenports was the brewery of Birmingham, just off Broad Street, and their ‘Beer at Home’ slogan was known across the country.

It’s great to see the name come back (alongside sister brand Dares), with a planned 6 venues across Birmingham & The Black Country. The closest of which to me is The Bulls Head, just off Broad Street itself.

People may remember this pub as The City  Tavern, but it’s been converted into a beautiful traditional pub, with plenty of classic features and nods to the history of the Davenports name across the venue.

Anyway, back on subject. The reason for this evening’s visit was an invite from Gerard, the Manager, who had invited myself and a colleague down for a bourbon or four in the company of Bulleit and Buffalo Trace Bourbon.

Before that, time for Mint Julep (mint leaf, bourbon (Buffalo Trace), sugar syrup, and crushed ice), a nice, clean and simple palate cleanser to prep the taste-buds, whilst we ensconced ourselves at the rear of the bar.

Out hosts for the evening were Gavin Jones and Matt East, covering Bulleit and Buffalo Trace bourbons respectively. and taking us on a journey through how Bourbon came to be, the rules around producing and the distinctiveness of each of the bourbons for tasting.

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First up we were told both tales of how Ireland and Scotland both claim to have invented the oaky spirit. The Irish claiming to have learned it via the spice road and the distilling of perfume for men, whilst the Scots claim to have made it via accidentally fermenting grain in horse saddlebags.  Whoever made it first is lost in the annals of history and much grumbling.

We then learnt about its birth in the US with the frontiersmen making moonshine through to the categories we know today. We also learned their varied categories of whisk(e)y such as Rye (at least 51% rye), Malt (at least 51% malted barley), Bourbon (at least 51% corn  / maize), and Corn (at least 80% corn / maize), with bourbon and corn both requiring virgin oak barrels.

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Our first neat drop of the evening was Bulleit Bourbon (65% corn 28% rye, 4% malted barley). revived in 1987, by Thomas E. Bulleit, Jr. Inspired by his great-great-grandfather Augustus Bulleit, who made a high-rye whiskey between 1830-1860. It has a high Rye content compared to most bourbons, allowing for a spicier finish than most bourbons, there was heady wood-smoke and peppery to begin then descending into an almost marmalade flavour, a very agreeable drop.

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Next to taste, the Buffalo Trace, a Kentucky straight bourbon, and a well regarded, well rounded one at that. It’s aged 8 years, a rarity for a US bourbon, and rigorously checked by 14 tasters at the distillery (what a great job to have). The flavour could be described as smooth, and went down like velvet.

As we were mid way through it was time for a food breather:

Our sharing platter had spicy lamb burgers, bourbon glazed chicken wings, asian slaw and sweet potato fries. The lamb burgers were absolutely delicious, made with the same meat as their lamb koftas. The wings were slathered in a rich, sticky glaze and were deliciously tender inside. They were served with a refreshing mint and cucumber dip which i couldn’t stop dipping the crunchy (yes actually crunchy for a change) Sweet Potato Fries. It was a great sampler of their street food inspired menu , one which I’ll be back to revisit.

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Back to the whisk(e)y. Our next dram was a Bulleit Rye. This ‘frontier’ whiskey is made with a 95% rye and 5% malted barley mash, and a winner of many gold medals. This whiskey pulled no punches in flavour,. deceptively soft to begin with it hits with an  exceptionally oaky flavour and descends into a toffee / caramel flavour.

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Our final neat whisk(e)y of the evening was an Eagle Rare, a premium blend from Buffalo Trace, aged 10 years, from carefully selected barrels. A very very complex, enigmatic and expressive flavour which I  struggled to pull any individual notes out of, but overall, slightly sweet and spicy.

To round out the night we had a Buffalo Trace Old Fashioned, one of the most classic of whisk(e)y cocktails, and one that will earn your the wrath of many a bartender on a busy night if ordered in great quantities. Muddled in bitters and that zesty orange citrus burst, always a lovely way to take your whisk(e)y.

Post all this lovely Bourbon, Gerard was nice enough to have a sneaky peek at the upstairs suite, in the final touches currently. It’ll be hosting live music and relaxed dining and looks to be a gem of a location, and one I’ll be revisiting, I mean it’s almost a local…

When: 23/05/2017

Where: The Bulls Head, 38 Bishopsgate Street, Birmingham, B15 1EJ

Who: The Bulls Head, Davenports, Buffalo Trace, Bulleit Bourbon

Disclaimer: For this visit, I was a guest of Gerard and Davenports, this provides no bias to the post. This blog is my own personal opinion and strives to provide an independent view, promoting, enjoying and reviewing the range of exciting food and venues in and around Birmingham.

Feliz Segundo Aniversario! Brummie Gourmand is 2!

It’s hard to believe it’s been TWO YEARS since my first post. I gave an update on what the first year had held so I thought I’d give you an update on Year 2!

This year has been an interesting one so far, having been shortlisted for the Midlands Food Drink and Hospitality Awards Blogger of the Year, the first anniversary of Geeky Brummie on Brum Radio, the launch of the Geeky Brummie Podcast, and lots and lots of blogging.

Some personal highlights have been:

and

  • Enjoying Beef & Malbec at Gaucho

Choosing just a dozen of the things I’ve been up to was difficult so head on through the archives to read more!

To finish, a quick thank you, again, to long suffering Wifey and thank you to all those who’ve taken time to read my little corner of the internet. Here’s looking forward to year 3!

Whisky meets Wok – Tasting Evening at Chung Ying Central

Regular readers would know I visited Chung Ying Central recently (and thoroughly enjoyed the experience too!). So when I was invited to return for a Whisky and Chinese food pairing along with Joe Ellis from Maxxium, how could I say no?

To start off, a quick Tsing Tao and the requisite Prawn Crackers – perhaps the ultimate Chinese food accompaniment? Our selection of whisky went across a fair selection of the brand:

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A varied selection as you can see, this was being partnered up with a range of Chinese cuisine (and a dish closer to home):

  • Duck in Plum Sauce
  • King Prawns in Black Bean Sauce
  • Crispy Belly Pork
  • Sweet and Sour Chicken
  • Salted Caramel Brownie

For each course, Joe introduced the particular whisky we would be sipping, what flavours and scent to expect and why he’s paired it with the specific dish.

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To begin, we had Duck in Plum Sauce and The Macallan Gold. The Macallan Gold is a single malt. They replaced the previous age statement varieties with colours five years ago. It’s produced from 9-15 y.o. first fill and refill sherry casks, it’s quite a bodied whisky with a citrusy note, which matched the duck well, as you could expect.

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The duck was delicious though plum sauce is not my natural choice. I usually go for Hoi-Sin sauce with duck but the plum was balanced out by the citrus and vanilla in the whisky, giving it a fruity pairing.

Next was The Naked Grouse with Sweet And Sour Chicken. The Naked Grouse is a recent joiner to the Famous Grouse stable.  It was one of the last creations of the company’s long-serving Master Blender, John Ramsay, who retired after forty years shortly before the whisky was released. As it’s a blended whisky, it takes on elements of other parts of the Maxxium brand in The Macallan and Highland Park. It’s got quite a mix of flavours in there, mainly dried fruits with a hint of spice.

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The sweet and sour chicken was artfully presented with a carved radish. Sweet and Sour chicken is one of those dishes that will never go out of fashion in the UK, as is General Tso’s chicken in the US. This was a solid example, with the fruity tang people expect, and the chicken had a nice light tempura style batter.

Then it was onto one of my all time favourite dishes, Crispy Belly Pork, paired with a Highland Park 12 Yr Old. Back to single malt territory, this is a lightly peated whisky. I LOVE peated whisky (can you guess which one will be my fave of the night?). This is classed as the gold standard all rounder, bringing the peats of Ilsay, the heather of the Highlands and the fruitiness of Speyside, with a sherry cask finish into one glass.  This would be the bottle I’d have in the cupboard to  cover all guests, if I only kept the one bottle!

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There is not much to say with Crispy Belly Pork; it’s one of those ultimate indulgent foods for me, and one which is tricky to replicate at home. This version had the skin just slightly ballooning giving that light crunch, keeping away the toughness that is the downfall of many versions of the dish.

Our penultimate dish was King Prawns in Black Bean sauce paired with Laphroaig 10 Yr Old. This is the original Laphroaig, with malted barley which is dried over a peat fire. The smoke from this peat, found only on Islay, gives it an almost medicinal flavour and the peaty vapours make this one of my favourite winter drinks which warms from the feet up.

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These king prawns were beasts. For some reason, I’ve noticed king prawns seem to be shrinking recently (or is it just my imagination?). These kept their shape and remained plump swimming between the onions and peppers, the sweet ingredients countering the deeply savoury black bean sauce.

Our final pairing was a Salted Caramel Brownie with a Jim Beam Double Oak. Bourbon is an American whisky, distilled from corn rather than the malt or wheat as is tradition in Scotland. This Double Oaked variety is first aged in charred American white oak barrels, then we pour it into another freshly charred barrel to mature for a second time. It was actually too oaky for me as I’m more of a peat fan (as you’re probably aware by now!) but I can see why it’s sharpness was paired to cut through the sweetness of the brownie.

 

Covering the brownie side, these were supplied to Chung Ying Central from Mrs Mills Makes Cakes. As mentioned previously, the Salted Caramel Brownie is a deliciously slice of unctuous goodness, which I heartily recommend.

This was an interesting evening as I’d never considered pairing Chinese Food with Whisky but this worked really well, and it was nice to see Scottish and American rather than Japanese whiskies being used.

Disclaimer: For this visit, I was a guest of Chung Ying Central & East Village PR, this provides no bias to the post. This blog is my own personal opinion and strives to provide an independent view, promoting, enjoying and reviewing the range of exciting food and venues in and around Birmingham.

When: 26/01/2017

Where: Chung Ying Central, 126 Colmore Row, Birmingham, B3 3AP

Who: Chung Ying Group