JEFF HARRIS / FOOD AND DRINK STYLING BY DUNCAN FITZPATRICK
Throughout my childhood in Montréal, summer vacations were spent in Maine. Each July, my parents would bundle us kids into the family car for the long drive to Kennebunkport, where we would spend days on the beach and nights at the self-catering School Days Inn.
For my mother and father, a highlight of the trip was the opportunity to dine on lobster, an experience pretty much confined to high-end restaurants back when the Atlantic fisheries weren’t as developed as they are today. And because my siblings and I were freaked out by these odd-looking creatures, we were more than content to eat hot dogs in front of the television while my parents cracked claws by candlelight.
I don’t recall what they chose to accompany their lobster back then, but I’m pretty sure my parents weren’t drinking any sort of whisky. Which is a shame, because so long as the heft of the spirit is kept in check, whisky can be a superb companion to all sorts of shellfish.
Whether eaten chilled, fresh from the steamer, or dunked in melted butter, I found that a nuanced malt character without an overabundance of richness benefited lobster the most, which led me to complex Japanese whiskies, particularly those that exhibit some degree of maritime character.
In a lobster roll, which purists believe should be just lobster, bread, and butter, I found that a wheat whisky like Bernheim Original performed well, as did a gently rounded Canadian such as Forty Creek Barrel Select.
Where crab is concerned, size definitely matters. For sweet Dungeness crab, the honey-ish notes of a sherry wood-accented scotch single malt make for an unsurprisingly fine companion. For the larger, meatier, more savory snow and king crabs, the latter of which can have leg spans exceeding five feet, a bolder spirit is definitely required, even a port pipe-finished whisky like Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban, which brings fruit and spice to the richness of crab and butter.
If crab cakes are on the menu, most likely made from blue crab, consider a scotch single malt with the medium weight and peat of Highland Park 12 year old, or a wheated bourbon like Weller Special Reserve, either of which can stand up to the breading and oil without overwhelming the delicate crab within.
For the culinary world’s most ubiquitous shellfish, shrimp, your choice of whisky should vary according to preparation and presentation. I found that simply boiled or grilled peel-and-eat shrimp of moderate size welcomed the understated malt complexity of a multi-grain Canadian whisky, even when served with horseradish-spiked cocktail sauce. The larger and meatier the shrimp, however, the more depth was needed in the drink, which led me to pot still Irish whiskeys, like the elegantly complex Green Spot.
In preparations where the shrimp are seasoned or dressed, the form of flavoring will largely define the whisky required in the pairing, with a balanced bourbon like Four Roses Small Batch, perhaps with a cube of ice, marrying well with spicy or bacon-wrapped shrimp, while a rye-forward Canadian such as Alberta Premium serves as a flavorful foil to a cream cheese-based shrimp dip or shrimp fettucine alfredo.
Steamed Lobster and Nikka Taketsuru Pure Malt
Light enough to complement rather than overpower lobster’s subtle complexity, this blended malt boasts a full fruitiness that accentuates the sweetness of the meat.
Sautéed Shrimp and Gooderham & Worts Four Grain
The fruity, spicy, floral character of this whisky complements wonderfully the simple flavors of shrimp fried in butter and pulled straight from the shell.
Crab Salad and Talisker Skye
A simple preparation of crab, mayonnaise, and sweet paprika gains depth from the whisky’s bold but balanced peatiness.
