Balblair: Tasting The World's Only Vintage Single Malt Scotch

Balblair scotch distillery has been around since 1790 but the name is fairly new to the American audience. Two of their products have finally made their way into the American market.

They claim to be the only distillery which bottles their scotch in vintages, just like wine.

Balblair 1991 ($129.99) and Balblair 1997 ($64.99) are the first two vintages that are available for purchase in the U.S. Distillery Manager John MacDonald handpicks the casks that he deems to have reached the peak of maturation each year and releases them as the single malt vintages.
To introduce these two vintages, Balblair recently invited some media and scotch lovers to a tasting party at The Edison (the ambiance there is a perfect fit with the bottle's design), where I sipped scotch and ate bruschetta with other bloggers and members of the LA Scotch club. I started the night out big with the 1991.

Balblair 1991 just received a rating of “Excellent Highly Recommend” in the Ultimate Spirits Challenge. Reminds me a bit of butterscotch and has a smooth and long finish.

The Balblair 1997, on the other hand, is spicier, has more bite but not as smooth and the finish isn't as long. I personally prefer the smoother 1991, but the characteristics of the two bottles are quite distinct and worth separate considerations.


By the way, the gorgeous picture on the gift box is supposed to be a hill behind the distillery. Makes you want to go visit, doesn't it?

At the tasting, a bowl of chocolates was prepared for us to pair our scotch with, starting from milk chocolate to 55% to 61% to 73% dark. Of course, I stuck with 61% and above :)
Dark chocolate and scotch? Yes, please. I will definitely keep that in mind next time I pop open my bottle of scotch.

*Photos courtesy of Balblair, bcs they look so much nicer than the ones I took.

Reminder: Tomorrow Eat a Baco, Feed a Senior

The food truck fundraising, Cart for a Cause, has been in full gear for a few weeks now. Tomorrow (Tuesday June 1st), the food truck benefiting St. Vincent Meals on Wheels will be back at 5900 Wilshire around 12-2pm tomorrow, serving food from Lazy Ox Canteen's Josef Centeno.
Not only is each $10 meal you purchase comes with delicious food made by chef Centeno himself (he was actually in the truck when I visited!), a POM drink, pistachios, and a Miss Lilly cookie, but each purchase will also deliver a hot meal to one home-bound senior!
If that's not enticing enough for you, know that Chef Centeno will be serving up the famous "Baco", his flatbread-meets-taco signature dish made with pork belly, beef carnitas, caraway pepper, and salbitxada.
Yeah, you know you want it.

Next week they'll roll in Chef Susan Feniger from STREET. To get updates and schedule details, check out their twitter page @CartForACause.

Los Angeles Mag Brings You in the Kitchen with LA's Best Chefs

Los Angeles Magazine hosts a series of culinary events featuring cooking demonstrations with some of LA's best chefs.

The next "In The Kitchen" event will take place on June 16th with Chef Ray Garcia from FIG Restaurant in Santa Monica. The event costs $40 per person.

Here's what you can expect:

The last In The Kitchen with Chef John Sedlar from Rivera started out with a Casino Cocktail prepared by one of Rivera's bartenders. There is also wine served during the "cocktail hour" as well wine paired with your main meal prepared by Ian Blackburn of Learn About Wine.

Passed hors d'oeuvres were prepared by Eddie Sell, The Firehouse Chef (that's right, he's a chef and he's a fireman. He's a whole other interesting story on his own).
The shrimp ceviche with the tiny bits of blue tortilla chips was wonderful - the flavors smooth and not too acidic, the chips really added a nice textural contrast. Bruschetta was latin-ized by spicy salsa.

The events take place at Synder Diamond showroom in Santa Monica, but just because it's a showroom don't expect to be standing while eating with your plate on top of a displayed washing machine. The showroom is decked out with round tables, black tablecloth, complete with fresh roses as centerpieces.

Taking the "stage" in front will be your guest chef of the night. Last time, chef John Sedlar brought along his executive chef at Rivera, Kevin to help him demonstrate how to prepare two delicious dishes.
Chef Sedlar will show you how to go from these raw scallops:

to this:
Scallop Arabesque (here's the recipe)
The menu for the night will typically be one savory dish followed by one dessert.

Chef Sedlar prepared Chocolate Torte with Caramel Lime Sauce (recipe)
That's not all. You won't be leaving empty handed. Each attendee received a goodie bag filled with various items. My loot: a bottle of wine, Los Angeles Magazine's newest movie, and other treats including this chocolate cupcake from Vanilla Bakeshop:


Don't forget, the next In The Kitchen event with Chef Ray Garcia from FIG will take place on W ednesday, June 16, 7 – 9 pm at Snyder Diamond (1399 Olympic Blvd, Santa Monica).

Tickets: $40. Call Estrellita Dacanay at (323) 801-0034 to purchase.