Scottish Salmon and Whiskey

Miss Yunks was invited to attend a special Scottish salmon and whiskey reception during The Boston Seafood Show.  This was Scotland’s first year attending the Boston show and they are the third largest salmon producer in the world, exporting to 55 countries.  The reception was hosted by Scottish Development International and Scottish Quality Salmon.  It was held in the John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse in the Seaport District of Boston.  If it had not been raining that evening, the view from the reception behind the glass wall would have been even more beautiful overlooking Boston Harbor.

I, of course, do not eat salmon and I haven’t yet acquired a palate for whiskey.  Luckily for BF, he likes both and I was able to bring him to the event as my official taster.  Tables of salmon prepared in various ways circled the room and three varieties of Highland Park single malt whiskey were displayed on one table in the center of the horseshoe.  And so, we (he) dug in.

Before arriving at the reception, I didn’t know what to expect.  I feared the event would be too fishy for me.  I was quite relieved that all of the salmon was prepared, rather than raw, and the room didn’t smell fishy at all.  BF enjoyed each of the roasted and smoked salmons, but liked the roasted salmon with lemon and capers the best.  Each salmon tasted like the flavors added to it.  I suppose if you are a fish eater salmon would be a great choice.  It’s a healthy protein and you can flavor it to your taste.  Our families usually purchase Nova salmon – or lox.  It was interesting to learn that salmon also comes from Scotland.  If you’re a salmon eater, do you pay attention to where you get your salmon?  How do you prepare it?

We both tasted each of the three varieties of whiskey.  Each one tasted surprisingly different and BF and I agreed we liked the 15 the best.  The 18 was too smokey for me and the 12 wasn’t as flavorful as the 15.  Whiskey tastes good in my mouth, until I swallow and feel the burn.  BF doesn’t mind though – we swapped goodies from our swag bags so I got his package of shortbread cookies and gave him my mini whiskey bottle!

I also didn’t expect to eat anything while at the reception, but I was happily surprised with this generous cheese table.

I also discovered I really like blue cheese! The Scottish salmon reception was a win-win for everyone!