Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/723381
80 / the tasting panel / september 2016 COMPETITIONS Tavern Law, Seattle An often overlooked aspect of the dining expe- rience, dessert can add something to any meal, and when the dessert is served in a mysterious smoke-filled glass dome, it adds a sense of mystery throughout the restaurant, sparking the curiosity of the surrounding guests. At least that's what Tavern Law's Emily Young, Executive Chef, and Nathaniel Steinberg, Director of Operations, experienced with their serve: a brioche bread pudding, topped with vanilla Chantilly cream, cider- and cinnamon- brazed apples, Scotch caramel and a pinch of sea salt. Dubbed the American in Speyside, this offering—which Grant family member Mathieu Gordon called the best bread pud- ding he has ever had—paired beautifully with the toffee and oak layers of the Glenfiddich 14 Year Old Bourbon Barrel Reserve. The Bowery Collective, NYC As a nod to his upbringing in upstate New York and to the meaning behind Glenfiddich—Scots Gaelic for "valley of the deer"—Walter Easterbrook, Beverage Program Manager of The Bowery Collective, named their serve Dear Miss Valley. Easterbrook and Jose Cabrera, Head Bartender of The Bowery Collective, build the drink in an Old Fashioned glass over a large ice cube, and then combine Glenfiddich 21 Year Old, Campari, Antica Formula Sweet Vermouth, Ancho Reyes, a couple of dashes of chocolate bitters and gar- nish with a flamed orange. To accompany the drink, the duo places dark chocolate truffles with layers of Scotch caramel and chocolate ganache infused with orange zest, Antica Formula and a hint of cayenne, which play off of the toffee, fig and other exotic notes of the Glenfiddich 21. Hunky Dory, Houston Chef and bartending pair of Richard Knight, Executive Chef of Hunky Dory, and Leslie Ross, Bar Director of Treadsack and Creative Director of Canard, developed a beautiful menu of three courses and three corresponding cocktails for their serve. The first course was comprised of fish and chips tartare alongside a mizuwari-style highball drink without ice, featuring Glenfiddich 21 Year Old and sodium alginate–fortified Scottish Highland spar- kling water; the second included black pudding in a crispy pastry over glazed onions, with Glenfiddich 15 Year Old neat and French Alpine still water; and the third consisted of a lardy cake with candied peel and fruit, next to a Scaffa variation of an Old Fashioned with Glenfiddich 18 Year Old, orange and Dr. Adam's Orinoco Bitters, whisky barrel stave Lyle's Golden Syrup and an orange peel garnish.