Haim Cohen flies to Scotland to drink whiskey - it ends with a new menu in Tel Aviv
Chef Haim Cohen fulfilled an old dream and flew to Scotland with two friends to tour the green hills of "Braveheart", canoeing in one of the "Lochim" and padding his stomach for quantities of whiskey to drink at the distillery.
He did not know he would return with inspiration for winter dishes originating in Gaelic culture
Haim Cohen
25/02/2022
Friday, 25 February 2022, 00:02
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Oh, Scotland, how much I dreamed of you, the coveted region that embraces the whole of northern Britain, where countless legends have been written and historical and romantic events enacted.
A country in itself adorned with breathtaking landscapes, lush hills in summer and snowy winters, with hot food rich in nutritious grains, voluptuous redheads walking around with kilt skirts, the local cordiality accompanied by humor and rolling laughter, and of course the whiskey so symbolizing the area - with the mighty smell Of the wet barrels, the peat and the smoke, how good it is.
And here, I had the first opportunity ever to visit one of the world's most prestigious tourist sites, to fulfill an old dream and get to know Scotland.
So we gathered a small group of friends - like on an annual trip, Eli Ildis the dancer with stars, Ziv Koren, who immortalizes magical moments naturally and whose photos even adorn the "Jaffa Tel Aviv" restaurant and several new friends.
We went out for a few magical days where we boarded jeeps for a tour of the green hills overlooking the Highlands, sailed in a canoe (it was cooler) and most importantly - drank a lot of fine whiskey.
What could be better than that ?!
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Fulfilling an old dream.
Haim Cohen in Scotland (Photo: Walla !, Ziv Koren)
Slang!
(For life in Scottish).
Aberfeldy Whiskey (Photo: Walla !, Ziv Koren)
The Whiskey Ambassador
So it is, that at first we had a stick in the wheels of the plane, because in October and probably in the period between the two corona waves (and even before the omicron), there are no direct flights from Tel Aviv to Scotland.
Most of the time, you should stop at Heathrow Airport in London and immediately hop on a smaller plane that will take you to Edinburgh.
But who knew, that agile transition would take several hours because of missing an hour of Connexion flight.
Thus remained "marvel" for long hours in one of the fast food restaurants in the terminal.
However, once we landed in Edinburgh - the capital of Scotland, everything changed for the better.
At the hotel we met with our host Matthew Cordiner, Ambassador of the International Brand of Dewar's Aberfeldy Distillery.
Matthew, with a rolling Scottish accent, was born a star !.
Although he grew up in the northern tip of Scotland, by virtue of his role as ambassador of whiskey brands - Dewarz and Aberfeldy, he has visited almost all over the world in order to tell about the wonders of whiskey brands - and he does so with great success.
There is no better person than him to take us on a tour of the Old Town and the romantic alleys of Edinburgh, and hear all the secrets about the kings, rulers and even William Wallace (the same role played by Mel Gibson in the movie "Braveheart").
In the evening, we visited Howies Restaurant, and tasted the seasonal local cuisine.
Traditional Scottish cuisine is based on rich local produce, which includes game meat, dairy products, fish, winter fruits and vegetables.
The dishes are characterized by simplicity and little use of spices - this is a fatty, filling, rich food in three words: heavy but delicious, one that pads your stomach with warmth and softness as a great substrate for the amounts of whiskey that will accompany the rest of the meal.
We got to taste so many types of dishes, that the canvas is not enough to describe the size of the meal, whether it's Cullen Skink, Bud Berry, Kook-a-Leakey Soup, Hot 'Pot', Parthen Berry and Scottish Stew;
There were also finan hadi, salted fish, rollmops, tartis and salted fish;
And that aside, the meat dishes like black pudding, red pudding, and mouth have actually already given up and we just wanted to go to sleep.
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According to the belief in the river, there is gold that makes the water no less wonderful (Photo: Walla !, Ziv Koren)
The refining takes place in two huge huge kettles that enjoy the heat that emanates at the bottom (Photo: Walla !, Ziv Koren system)
"Who is life"
The next morning, immediately after the PCR tests required by British regulations, we made our way to the famous Aberfeldy Distillery located in the north of the Scottish Highlands.
Ildis, Koren and I, although veteran whiskey lovers, have never gone into the depths of the process of producing and preparing the drink known in Gaelic: "Water of Life".
The Aberfeldi Distillery, which has just celebrated its 175th anniversary, is huge and well worth a stop and a visit for those touring the Scottish Highlands.
The visit began near the 'Petili Bern' river, on the channel of which the distillery was built.
Thus we learned to know the clear water that is drawn from it (according to the belief in the river there is gold that makes this water no less miraculous), thanks to which Aberfeldy earned the nickname The golden dram after the golden water.
On the river bank we also drank the national drink "Hot Todi", which according to Scottish tradition is used as the ultimate remedy for colds.
The origins of the hot toddler date back to the 18th century and some say it started out as a quick painkiller.
The Hot Todi is based on whiskey mixed with honey, lemon juice, based on boiling water, plus a spice blend of cinnamon, cloves, star anise and ginger.
This clear water is only one important ingredient in the production of quality whiskey, while the most important basis for the same drink - is the grain, and in this case the barley.
During the tour of the distillery, Matthew introduced us, with admirable pride, to the barns where the barley is thawed (a process in which the protein breaks down and allows starch to reach).
From there we toured the various halls, looking at the kilns drying the grain.
One of the most impressive machines I have seen in my life is the red malt grinding machine, built in the 1970s and which in all of Scotland has only one person who knows how to fix it - the name of this monopoly is: Roni Lee.
Roni is in charge of maintaining the grinding machines at the distillery and as mentioned he is the only one who knows every screw, part and even the oil that the machine prefers (and not, contrary to rumor, does not lubricate it with whiskey).
The most important base for whiskey is the grain, and in this case the barley (Photo: Walla !, Ziv Koren)
The Aberfeldi Distillery has just celebrated its 175th anniversary (Photo: Walla !, Ziv Koren)
A woman distills the most masculine drink
The whiskey is distilled in huge copper boilers that stand in the most beautiful room in the distillery: two huge kettles that enjoy heat that emanates at the bottom and pushes the water and alcohol upwards through the pipe, and on the other hand the cold steam comes out that becomes the distilled whiskey we all love so much.
Next, the whiskey moves to one of the distillery's endless barrel halls, for the purpose of ripening and maturing the liquid.
In an adjoining room, lots of barrels, in different sizes and in some of them old-fashioned port, wine, rum and even marsala.
The master-blender (the main distillery) Yes, yes - a woman's distillery of the drink that is considered the most masculine.
I'm dying for it!), Stephanie McLeod, decides which liquid will go into which barrel, and after a few years she removes the liquid from the barrels, from a mask according to the unique taste that characterizes the various whiskeys of Aberfeldi distillery or its sleep, before it is bottled.
During the tour, we went through workshops on the secrets of mixing whiskey, cabbage, distilling and of course the secrets of proper drinking (which according to the Scots, there is probably no such thing as the right amount of drink), and for those who could not say 'cheers' in ancient Gaelic - remember the word: slang .
But we'll leave the alcohol fumes aside for a moment, because it's nothing compared to the nature that looked at us during a lovely canoe trip we did on Pascal Lake in the heart of the Highlands.
While it was cold, or rather frozen, this quiet and fulfilling experience, while navigating by paddle in the heart of Scottish Loch surrounded by mountains and wild scenery in the beginning - was worth every moment of life.
Even the ride in a Land Rover jeep through the green mountains to see where John Dewar's, who founded the reputed Dewar's whiskey distillery, lived, and watching the sunset - is an experience that will stay with me and accompany me with every sip of quality whiskey.
Lots of barrels of various sizes, some of which have become obsolete in the past, port, wine, rum and even marsala (Photo: Walla !, Ziv Koren system)
The whiskey is distilled in huge copper boilers (Photo: Walla !, Ziv Koren)
On our "annual trip" we stayed at the wonderful guest house Dun Aluinn - a kind of "big brother" house - a charming and homely place - look for it if you are in the area.
We had a family dinner of the traditional dish called Huggies (chopped face parts mixed with onions, oatmeal, kidney fat, spices, salt and vinegar), and enjoyed the magical view, wrapped in a drizzle of rain that accompanied us every day.
I was happy to learn that Scots are people who really enjoy what they do, whether it's getting up in the morning and going to work, towards each evening sitting at the local bar and sipping the whiskey they love and are so proud of, and of course - do not stop laughing, because in that - they are really good.
I took with me from Scotland the soft and warm flavors of Scottish cooking and built a menu of winter dishes originating from the Gaelic culture that accompanies this month in Jaffa Tel Aviv a tasting menu of whiskeys and cocktails on the purity of Berfeldi and Dewarz.
So alongside cocktails, Golden Drum - Aberfeldy 12 honey and moss syrup and Diwarz Sour - Diwarz 15, sourdough, egg white, we combined beef fillet with foie gras and whiskey pepper sauce, and for dessert we soaked Sabrina in whiskey syrup with Toffee whiskey toffees and black coffee ice cream.
Our way back to Israel was much shorter and more accurate.
At the same time, as soon as I stepped on our land again, the thing I most wanted - was to wave another glass of whiskey.
With the blessing of slang!
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