Cocktail pairing: A celebration of food and spirits
Review: The restaurant NG teams up with local distillery Milk and Honey to create a memorable cocktail pairing meal.
The evening’s cocktails began with a welcome drink: white sangria, made with New Make Unaged Malt Whisky, sparkling white wine, fresh fruit, clove and cinnamon. This refreshing drink was accompanied by fresh, piping hot rolls as a prelude to the meal; the next five cocktails would be paired with the five courses of the dinner to follow.
The first course was thinly sliced meat that was smoked using chips of wood taken from barrels containing aging whiskey. The delicatessen was served with cornichons and dollops of Dijon mustard and horseradish aioli—but the meat needed no condiments: it was extremely flavorful all on its own.
The smoked meat was paired with a cocktail called the Negronino—New Make, Aperol, and St. Raphael Ambré liqueur—a very smooth drink, indeed.
The second course was gin-marinated beef tartare seasoned with purple and green onion, chili and capers, and topped with a raw quail’s egg. This particularly savory version of beef tartare was paired with a cocktail called Bee to Bee—gin, honey, oregano, lemon and chamomile, garnished with tiny violet and yellow flower petals—a sweet drink with a bit of zing.
Next came the Green Mountain salad: chopped parsley, coriander, dill and walnuts tossed in a chili-orange vinaigrette. The generous mound of greens was surprisingly substantial for a dish consisting primarily of herbs, and it was paired nicely with a cocktail that was akin to a liquid salad: Green Levantine—gin, celery, agave and lime garnished with a celery stalk.
The main course was, as expected, the pièce de résistance: 800 grams of well-marbled ribeye steak aged in young whisky, grilled to a perfect medium and served sliced and off-the-bone. Not only was the beef positively succulent, there was enough meat left on the bone for some enjoyable gnawing.
The excellent steak was accompanied by a choice of three side dishes: baked potato, a zesty cherry tomato salad, or a mini-skillet brimming with cooked spinach and green beans. It was also paired with a distinctive cocktail called Local Hero: young single malt, Cocchi Americano, dry sherry and Yellow Chartreuse, garnished with an orange peel.
Dessert was bittersweet chocolate fondant, spiked with alcohol. Served in an individual cauldron and accompanied by vanilla ice cream, it was a decadently delicious finale to a memorable meal.
Dessert turned out to be a double dose of sweetness, as the fondant mousse was paired with the Disco Flip cocktail: young single malt, silan (date syrup), egg white, almond liqueur and nutmeg.
It is to be hoped that Milk and Honey will continue to partner with NG and other fine restaurants in turning cocktail pairing into a gastronomic tradition.
NG
Not kosher
Ahad Ha’am 6, Tel Aviv
Tel. (03) 516-7888
