Woodford Reserve teams up with Rockpool Dining Group for the month of April to host the Barrel to Banquet dinner series; special cocktails and Woodford Reserved inspired dishes and dessert offering.
Chef Neil Perry, together with Woodford Reserve, has crafted a four-course menu that takes you on a culinary journey through the flavours of Woodford Reserve. Guests will be guided through a tasting of Woodford Reserve’s three craft whiskeys before enjoying an intimate four course dinner menu and delicious whiskey-based cocktails designed to showcase the flavour complexity of Woodford Reserve bourbon and rye whiskey. The bourbon lovers’ feasts will be hosted by Woodford Reserve ambassadors Thalita Alves and Linus Schaxmann and take place at Rockpool Bar and Grill in both Sydney and Melbourne on the 3 and 10 April.
“Woodford Reserve is wonderfully complex and well balanced. There are over two hundred detectable flavours in our bourbon – 212 to be exact! People are often surprised that whiskey pairs so incredibly well with a wide variety of dishes, the complexity of the bourbon with the food can take you on a unique ride”, says Alves.
The Woodford Reserve flavour wheel has five primary characteristics representing the five sources of flavour of the bourbon: wood; grain; sweet aromatics; spice; and fruit and floral. The cocktail received on arrival represents the “grain” and then each of the four courses represents one of the other areas. For fruit and floral, think charcoal roasted scallops with orange gremolata crumb paired with Woodford Reserve’s Distiller’s Select, chamomile syrup, mandarin and lemon. Slow roasted lamb shoulder is basted in Woodford Reserve Rye and served with lamb fat potatoes, rosemary and garlic. Wash this down with Woodford Reserve Distiller’s Select with macadamia and walnut bitters to accentuate the wood flavour.
For the connoisseur, you’ll also taste a limited-edition personal selection created by Rockpool COO Frank Tucker. Tucker went to Kentucky in 2018 for the full whiskey experience, a program that’s available for all bourbon lovers. He worked with Woodford Reserve’s Master Distiller Chris Morris and Master Taster Elizabeth McCall to come up with his own personal batch of whiskey. The selected profile is then made and bottled into 180 personalised single litre bottles. Each bottle has a custom label with Rockpool’s name. Additionally, Rockpool was honoured with a plaque in their very own name which is displayed on the walls of the Woodford Reserve distillery in Kentucky.
If you can’t make the dinners, the cocktails and dessert offer are available throughout the whole month of April. If you’re looking for an after-work tipple, then head to the bar and enjoy delicious whiskey-based cocktails that have been specifically mixed to enhance the various flavour profiles of the different Woodford Reserve blends. The autumn old fashioned infuses Woodford Reserve ‘Double Oak’ Rockpool Premium Blend Bourbon with autumn stone fruit seeds, before stirring down over ice with a splash of Liqueur Freaks Shiso Leaf Liqueur, maple, and bitters. For those wanting something sweet, the perfect pairing dessert of wattle seed caramel slice and Woodford Reserve ‘Double Oaked’ Rockpool Premium Blend rounds out a meal nicely.
The collaboration runs from 1 April to 30 April at Rockpool Bar and Grill in Sydney and Melbourne. B