La Sal Cocktail & Food Pairing

You may have tried wine pairing menus and even beer with food before, however these beverages are stuck with flavours once they have been bottled. On the other hand, a good bartender working with a talented chef is like two flavour engineers tweaking dishes and cocktails for the perfect pairing.

After much experimenting, we discovered that there are some theories about pairings that work well. Complimentary pairing is when certain flavors are the same such as caramelized oranges and Grand Marnier. Traditional pairing is when a classic is dissected such as a bloody mary and oysters but reconstructed with other complimentary flavors. An example is the bloody Bellini and oysters where we have used some ingredients in each part of the dish to bring together a full flavor experience. The next is theory is sometimes opposites attract. So pairing a cucumber mojito with really spicy satays works wonderfully. A little bit like cucumber yogurt with a hot curry. The last one is textural pairing. For example a good risotto should have a silky and creamy texture which is the same characters as vanilla. Hence, pairing the risotto w. a vanilla and saffron Martini and this is simply perfect...but we will let you decide.

Some of the classic wine tasting rules do still apply such as simple cocktails with simple dishes, more complex cocktails with more complex dishes and one should work from simple and dry, to complex and mellow to sweet endings. Please use this concept and try it at home.