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Birds Nest & Rocky Mountain Craft Spirits Festival Presents – An American Malt Whiskey Tasting & Dinner

Join Dr. Howell Wright, Whisky Ambassador and Senior Chartered Master Bourbon Taster, and Chef Thomas for an evening of whiskey tasting and perfectly paired culinary delights.  Dr. Wright will present five malt whiskey expressions for tasting from distilleries across the United States, and will discuss the differences and nuisances of American Malt Whiskey, Scotch, and other World Malt Whiskeys. Chef Thomas will prepare a special dish to complement each whiskey.

Whether you are new to malt whiskey or a connoisseur, Howell’s style of presentation is enjoyed by all.  =

AMERICAN MALT WHISKEY TASTING 

by

DR. HOWELL WRIGHT

$115 whiskey tasting + 4 courses 

Westward, American Single Malt, Pinot Noir Cask, 90 Proof

Aroma: Plum, apricot, leather, chocolate ganache

Palate: Golden delicious apple, plantain, nutmeg.

Finish: Rich, dried fruit

Colkegan Single Malt (Santa Fe Spirits), 92 Proof

Aroma: Mesquite smoke, toffee, orange peels and a touch of earthy and generic sweetness.

Palate: Mesquite, vanilla, toffee and a light bit of fruit and spice.

Finish: Short fade of smoke, toffee, spice and a puff of wood.

Westland, American Oak, Single Malt, 92 Proof

Aroma: Lemon and orange custard, waffle cone, crème brûlée, chocolate custard, jasmine.  Palate: Rich fruit, Rainier cherries, Swiss chocolate, almond, bananas, cream, Turkish coffee.

Finish: Oaky, banana malt, baking spice, vanilla, caramel, malty sweet, nuts.

F.E.W. Single Malt, 93 Proof

Aroma: Fresh grass and earth with cream, sea-salt caramels, and chocolate fudge.  Palate: A surprising fruitiness of apple and citrus, malt, cinnamon, and more chocolate.

Finish:Clean, malty, and warm.

Balcones Texas Single Malt,129. 2 Proof

Aroma: Ripe, buttered stone fruit, banana and pears: honey and rose water with delicate citrus accents.

Palate: Silky and full on the palate with lightly toasted bread with fresh butter and marmalade.

Finish: Long finish with lingering toast and burnt sugar notes morphing into rich malt and wood flavors with counterbalancing acidity.

 Family-Style Dinner Menu 

BY

Chef Thomas Newsted

 Winter Solstice Salad 

pickled breakfast radish, spiced butternut squash, friséee, yellow endive chiffonade, sherry-charred cherry tomatoes, piquillo pepper-bacon vinaigrette

 Berkshire Pork Pot Stickers 

white soy-passion fruit glaze, basil, cilantro, ginger, garlic, scallion, butter, toasted white sesame

 Buffalo Chateaubriand 

mustard seed-cardamom rub, garlic green beans, orange-chipotle oyster sauce, crostini

 Red Wine Poached Anjou Pears 

butterscotch mascarpone filling, pomegranate seeds, hazelnut streusel, natural poaching jus