Thursday, November 3, 2016

The Caledonian Public House and Whiskey Bar, Toronto

The Caledonian has a 200+ whiskey list, just fabulous for a scotch lover like me. And, as it happens, I love haggis. Its unexplainable but I love the gamey, savory flavour when it is done well.

This evening I enjoyed an amber coloured Glenmorangie Companta. After an initial maturation in American white oak ex-bourbon barrels, the Companta was matured in 60% Burgundy wine casks from Clos de Tart and 40% Rhône Valley casks that previously held Rasteau. The result is a cherry red single malt. The nose is quite heady, with some slight fruitiness, elements of chocolate and spice. There were also hints of almond. On the palate, it is a big, spicy scotch, with some slight sweetness and hints of black pepper, ginger and stewed prunes and molasses. It has a very long, somewhat sweet finish.

We began with a Scotch egg. The egg could have been a little less cooked but the crispy well flavoured, very savory crust was very good. (no photo).

Our next snack was both veggie haggis fritters and regular (meat!!) haggis fritters. The fritters were crispy but the veggie version a bit bland. On the other hand, the real haggis fritter was quite tasty. (NO PHOTO)


Vegetarian haggis, neeps and tatties (mashed turnip and mashed potato). A good vegetarian dish but quite bland when compared to the hearty savory flavours of the real haggis dish below.

The real haggis. The problem for me with both haggis dishes was that there was too much potato and not enough mashed turnip. With more turnip, in my opinion, the overall flavour would have been better.

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