The return of a fun favourite
When: 30th August 2026
Where: Thirsty
Host: Elliott Drinks Whisky
A full disclaimer here, as I gave on the day: I was getting over a flu when I presented this event. I think I’ve been in this situation once before in the last 6 years, as far as I can remember (at least only one other time stands out). It definitely makes presenting a whisky a little bit harder for me if I can’t rely on my nose and my tongue to help people out with some organic tasting notes in the room. That was the state I found myself in: mostly recovered but still tired, a nose and tongue that felt a little unreliable, and a room full of people to guide.
Now, in this case, and I certainly wouldn’t speak for every event, or even every presenter, my life was made somewhat easier by the fun premise of the pairing. A large chunk of this tasting (and one could very reasonably argue every tasting) comes down to personal exploration of what is in front of you; of how a whisky affects a gelato, and vice versa. I was well enough to talk about where each whisky was from, what made the producer interesting or the expression appealing. I could explain my thought process behind why I’d chosen a specific gelato from Jack‘s list to sit with a specific whisky. And I still had a nose and tongue – they just felt muted or unfocused. None of that meant anyone had less of a fun time nosing and tasting and moving between whisky and gelato, and between pairs. In fact, I generally try to only give the barest of notes during the introduction anyway, because it is more fun to discover it yourself.
That’s not a hugely focused introduction to the tasting itself, but I don’t think it really needs one, does it? 😅 We all had a blast with 4 delicious and contrasting whiskies, and 4 delicious and contrasting gelatos, paired together to, at times, complement, and at times contrast. As with last year, it didn’t always work, and around the room it was clear there wasn’t a consensus about which ones did and didn’t.
The Whisky
(Click on the images to buy a bottle)
Master of Malt – North British 16yo
Lowland Single Grain Scotch Whisky – 45.4%
Starting a somewhat silly tasting with something somewhat silly seems fair. The whisky itself is advertised as a chocolatey affair, which makes me think that it ought to do well paired against an ice cream. How it advertises itself like that did get the producer in hot water – which is definitely only good for heating and cleaning ice cream scoops!
This Master of Malt bottling is a 2026 April Fool’s release relabeling their 2025 April Fool’s endeavour. The first try to sell this whisky was abruptly halted when a popular purple chocolate maker objected to the colour and naming choices made by Master of Malt. Dalry Milk and purple & white do accurately convey chocolate flavours, but it probably was pushing the limits of IP law.
Inside the bottle we find a 16 year old North British single grain whisky, aged in a 2:1 mix of oloroso and palo cortado sherry casks. I was expecting chocolate veering into rich fruit, with nutty cereal grain notes. Pairing it with Friand (small almond sponge cakes), Strawberry Ripple gelato was an attempt to put chocolate chips into the cakes, or add more fruits to the whisky. Chocolate and cake and ice cream always seem like a delicious combo to me.
Notes: 👃🏻Sherry cask, raisin, grassy 👄Toffee, pepper, oak 🍦Makes whisky stronger, but softens some aggressive notes, sponge cake.
Lochlea – Our Barley
Lowland Single Malt Scotch Whisky – 46%
Gelato: Caramelised Pear
Lochlea whiskies are always lovely. They’re a newer distillery, but they’ve got a strong footing with a clear identity, built around their own farm-grown barley. This expression was their first core bottling and serves to make a statement about what their whisky will be, inspired by their barley as well as being made of it. The other members of the core range, added last year, are variations on this theme, with different cask makeups.
The flavour profile I commonly associate with most Lochlea whiskies is one of orchard fruits and spiced cereals. So when I was thinking about gelato that would pair well, I went more for a direct match as opposed to our opener, which was paired to be complementary. Caramelised pear provides an obvious orchard fruit centre, supported by a charred, spiced, but sweet edge with the caramelisation. I thought the latter would work to mirror the effects of the cask characteristics of this whisky, as well as the cereal notes.
Notes: 👃🏻Gingery, spicy, honey, yeast 👄Floral, salty, rye bread 🍦Cardamom, vanilla, peanut, caramel.
Port Askaig – Sherry Cask
Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky – 50.5%
Gelato: Salted Caramel & Pecans
I have included Port Askaig bottles a few times now in my line-ups. The range is a solid example of smokey whisky done well. They are independently bottled, and while we don’t know for certain where the whisky is sourced from, we’re told that it’s always from Islay. There is no Port Askaig distillery, but there is a small village up on the east coast of the same name. Its nearest distillery is Caol Ila, which is often claimed by whisky sleuths to be a common source of the whisky in Port Askaig bottles. But for some, part of the fun of these whiskies will always be trying to guess just where it was made.
This expression is a newcomer to the core range, which is flanked by limited editions sporting larger age statements or fancier creation stories. The addition of this non-age-statement sherry cask bottle to the core line-up rounds it out with a much fruitier style of smokey whisky than the rest of the mostly (but not exclusively) American and refill oak members present thus far.
When you bring together intense sherry and intense smoke, you often edge towards those BBQ notes in whiskies as coastal salinity, peat earthiness and sticky sweetness all mix. I felt going for a salty-sweet gelato would be a good pairing to this, with the pecans adding something extra that wasn’t necessarily going to be present in the whisky. Last year, the sherry-smokey whisky paired with a salty-nut gelato went down the best; the difference last year being that it was a chocolate stracciatella, rather than caramel, to add the extra sweetness.
Notes: 👃🏻Grilled pineapple, rich red wine, crackling, meaty crisps 👄Burnt meat, toast, tyres, dried berries 🍦Perfumed, less salt, bitter fruit, milk choc, sweet syrup.
Tobermory – Ledaig – Castaway
Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky – 61.1%
Gelato: Coconut & Yuzu
The degree to which a whisky means something to a person (I’m talking the full brand identity and associations with prestige or not) come from more than just the whisky you drink yourself. Reviews from others, both anecdotally from friends and read from fans or authors online, can leak into your perception. And over time, the opinions from this mixed environment can lead to you holding various preconceptions. To me, Ledaig is a brand I have always enjoyed, but I remember it as being a big favourite of people around me – I often expect quite a lot from Ledaig in the same way that I know some people expect from Springbank, for example. I was not disappointed here at all.
Made on a split calendar at Tobermory Distillery, Ledaig is the peated offering (where Tobermory has no smoke) made for half of the year. For the most part, I’d say Tobermory and Ledaig whiskies have kept things following a fairly standard route – bourbon, sherry casks, and red wine casks – nothing to rock the boat. Well, this Castaway expression changes that with the distillery’s first voyage into rum and tequila casks; the finishes from both of which are readily noticeable in the final product. This sort of experimentation from more traditional distilleries is really great to see, and I hope Tobermory keep at it, refining it and pushing it further.
Very on the nose with this gelato choice: coconut for the rum, citrusy yuzu for the tequila. Essentially, leaning into the experiences of those drinks rather than the whisky itself, hoping to unlock more of those components in it.
Notes: 👃🏻Smokey, fireworks, popping candy, vanilla 👄Sweet burning rubber, charred grass, agave, chocolate 🍦Softens smoke but makes citrus pop, a little caramel.
The Winners
Best Pairing Vote Winner: Pairing #1 – North British w/ Friand Strawberry Ripple
Best Whisky Vote Winner: Bottle #4 – Ledaig Castaway
Close Contenders: Pair #2 – Lochlea w/ Caramelised Pear & Bottle #3 – Port Askaig Sherry
This event will definitely return next year. It’s so much fun to plan and run and, I think, sit through too. It was again fascinating to hear the contrasting views about the same pairings: one person felt something increased a note, where one person felt a harmony, where another felt no change, and yet another found destruction. Impossible to plan for going in, this diversity is why tasting events are such a good way to explore whisky (and anything really, I suppose).
A very interesting outcome of the vote was that the first 2 pairings did the best, but the last 2 bottles shone in terms of the whisky. So does that mean the whiskies viewed as less good by our room of tasters were paired well with gelato that elevated them, or that the whiskies people loved were only distorted when paired with a gelato? It could mean any number of other things too. The only thing for it is to look forward to next August Bank Holiday weekend when we try the experiment all over again!