Whisky a-go-go
I’m not one of those urbanites who moves out of the big city only to complain that there’s nowhere to buy Jamón Ibérico at 11 o’clock at night. But having relocated from London to the south coast a few years back, the fact was that our local high street lacked, let’s say, some of life’s little niceties.
When we arrived, the shops in Southbourne, a beach-side suburb of Bournemouth, were perfectly lovely, with two butchers, a greengrocer, a bakery, a pie shop and a health food shop. You could also buy a pig’s ear for your dog (two pet shops), a 3cm-high dining suite (the doll’s house shop) and a pouch of pipe ‘baccy (the pipe shop. Really.) But when it came to a decent cup of coffee or a really delicious meal, the pickings were dismally slim. And then things suddenly changed.
The Larderhouse came along selling exceptional coffee and quirky, high-quality artisan food that didn’t fit into any of the conventional restaurant categories. I’ve consumed variously bone marrow pizza, platters of cheese and charcuterie, a whole Dorset ham hock, jaffles cooked in the wood fired oven, carrot cake and a fine selection of sherry, and in time plan to chew my way through the rest of the menu. In the early days, some locals were a bit baffled. But these guys are so committed to what they do that it didn’t take them long to win a dedicated foodie following. And so I found myself at The Larderhouse downing large quantities of fine malt whisky on a school night.
The Single Malt Whisky and Cheese Showcase was the latest in a series of special evenings dedicated to a particular ingredient or tipple (offal, port, sherry); they devise a menu, invite a guest speaker, and there’s general gorging and drinking in a buzzy, clubby atmosphere. Here’s what was on the menu (viewed through the whisky-induced postbox setting on my camera - what’s that about!?!)
For starters, we drank a cocktail of 10-year-old Talisker, lemon extract, triple sec and vanilla. In black and white on the menu it seemed an unlikely partner for rollmops with parsley, caper and shallot salad. Not so - this was one of the cleverest liaisons of the evening.
With our main course we drank home barrel aged 10 year Glenmorangie, Laya vino tinto and fruit shrubb. This was served with a duo of wild boar and free range Dorset pork, apricot and rosemary stuffing and galette potato. I forgot to ask how long this pork was cooked but it was tender as.
The part of the evening I had been dreading was the malt whisky and cheese tasting as I wasn’t sure how to imbibe another four shots and remain upright, let alone work the next day. Copious water and demurring to offers of a refill got me through an amazing tasting. Out with port and cheese, I say, and in with whisky and cheese.
Pudding was a semi-freddo made with a splosh of 12-year-old Singleton, served in a tumbler and covered with a chocolate carapace. A pot of warm horlicks was served alongside to pour over. I always prefer a bit of pastry or crumb where my pudding’s involved, but it was lovely and my husband thought it a very fine thing.
Since The Larderhouse opened, several other foodie joints have opened along the high street, so I have much to be grateful for. What I especially like about this place is that they don’t compromise what they do to please everyone. Every high street should have one.
- A bawdy good time at The Larderhouse + a ceviche recipe - [...] Larderhouse in Southbourne, Bournemouth, has been at it again with another of its crazy-wonderful showcase evenings where James Fowler and his…
