Bruichladdich global ambassador Abi Clephane has hit upon an unusual – but both effective and economical – method of making whisky tastings less intimidating for first-time drinkers.
Clephane’s ‘crisps and drams’ tastings began as a Covid lockdown workaround, when traditional food pairings were not available, and she had to improvise using everyday snacks like Bacon Fries, Wotsits and Tunnock’s Tea Cakes as accompaniments to help new drinkers understand flavour notes.
The popularity of her technique has led to it being used at Bruichladdich tastings worldwide, harnessing unlikely combinations to unlock whisky characteristics and make sampling more accessible, relaxed and welcoming for beginners.
Clephane said: “Usually whisky pairings involve smoked salmon caught somewhere obscure, expensive charcuterie, or something incredibly specific. But during lockdown the only place I could get to was the corner shop.
“I thought it would be far more helpful to use something people actually eat. Crisps are familiar and the flavours are already in people’s heads.”
What began as a necessity quickly turned into a simple, playful way for people to understand flavours they might otherwise struggle to identify.
According to Abi, some of her more successful pairings included using Bacon Fries crisps to highlight Port Charlotte’s smoky character, and tangy snacks to bring out the fruit or zesty citrus notes in The Classic Laddie.
Her approach has also created some notably silly moments. One of her most surprising pairings matches Bruichladdich’s Black Art, a rare whisky often costing more than £300 a bottle, with a bag of cheesy Wotsits.
She explained: “Black Art makes people nervous because it is rare and expensive and nobody knows the recipe. But when you taste it you get flavours that are basically like a chutney.
“With the recently released Black Art Sapero, there is red fruit, nuttiness, sherry, a bit of leather. If those flavours work with a cheeseboard they work with a cheesy crisp. Wotsits are usually the pick that makes people laugh and relax.
She added: “Smuggling large bags of Wotsits across continents in my luggage probably looks quite strange, but there’s a craft to it!”
Abi has also used similar methods to introduce people to some of Bruichladdich’s more experimental products, including Octomore, renowned as one of the world’s most heavily peated whiskies. She’s been pairing that with a dark chocolate Tunnock’s Tea Cake to soften its intensity.
Abi reckons that the appeal of the crisps and snacks method is that it strips away the pressure and formality that can overwhelm new whisky drinkers: “I have never had bad feedback. People stop worrying about getting it wrong and just enjoy it.
“If you cannot find the exact snack, you can swap it for something similar. It does not need to be precious. The whole point is helping people make sense of what they are tasting,” she said.
“People want whisky to feel human, personal, and welcoming. If a packet of crisps helps someone enjoy their first dram, that is exactly what it should do.”
