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Bowmore X Aston Martin at Acquafarina

Tonight, despite the snowfall warning and subsequent snowstorm, I braved the elements for the warmth of Acquafarina and a multi-course in celebration of Bowmore and their newest collaboration with Aston Martin.

Established in 1779 Bowmore is a single malt whisky from Islay’s first distillery. “They pride themselves on crafting a collection of perfectly balanced single malt whiskies which defy expectations.” (as taken from their website) They apply the same processes today as they used years ago, malting 30-40% of their barely on site. This approach in artistry and care in craftsmanship has seen them team up with the iconic British sports car brand Aston Martin, best known as the preferred make of James Bond, 007.

Throughout our meal we would get better acquainted with this Scottish spirit through specialty dish pairings. Three expressions, seven courses. With the finale being able to be the firsts in the province to taste Bowmore’s latest collaboration with Aston Martin: a 22 year old expression that will not be available for purchase until January 27th, 2023. On that date there will be a release party at the 39th and Cambie location of BCL. Where this estimated $600+ retail bottle is predicted to sell out in mere hours, as the collectors are promised the most stunning presentation for their 4th collaboration of their single malt scotch. This 22 year old master selection whisky has been synchronized to match Aston Martin’s future with Bowmore’s past. It is a 50ABV that is cast in a larger 260 litre barrel, to best balance its ex-bourbon cast with sherry.

To give you a little history of this momentous occasion, their first collaboration came about when they both wanted to celebrate a year that held a great significance to them. 1964 was the year that James Bond came out with Goldfinger and it cemented Aston Martin as one of the most collected cars in the world. Simultaneously, Bowmore went from coal heating to steam heating in 1964, thus making their production and product the most consistent it has ever been, bottle to bottle.

So, to celebrate together Bowmore took their first distillation batch and bottled it in a decanter designed from an Aston Martin piston, to create their first such unique presentation. Furthermore, Aston Martin made a Bowmore edition sports car that if you purchase, you had to pick up from the distillery. The model had the same copper straining detailing from the still translated into its body. This collaborative nature has continued to today with the 22 year old release Canada will soon get to experience, for those lucky enough to land a bottle.

 

But I digress, back to our event at hand. As people came in from the cold, we were welcomed with one of two cocktails featuring Bowmore’s 12 year old blend. A choice between the “Sunset” with Bowmore 12 year, blended house sweet vermouth, Benedictine, and Florio Marsala; that was a citrus sipper fragranced with orange blossom.

Or the “Blood and Sand”, which I preferred. As its name suggests, it offers the drinker a textural component to a more savoury cocktail. Bowmore 12 year, blended house sweet vermouth, cherry herring liquor, and fresh orange juice.

To get our appetite going servers brought around fresh oyster in the half shell, seared scallop on skewers, and arancini balls that were still steaming at its centre.

And at the table our expectations on dinner were set with the Amuse Bouche starter of Wagyu tartar with fresh shaved truffle. This exemplified the luxury and quality that we had come to know and expect from Acquafarina.

Our tasting began with the Bowmore 12 year aged in an ex-bourbon and sherry cast. Described as a sweeter scotch with notes of vanilla ice cream from a campfire, finished with citrus and honey. The sweetness in this was said to well contrast the brininess of the maritime sea salt of the oysters above, while running parallel to the sweetness of the creamy soup below.

Our second course came with our second taste of Bowmore whisky. Like the 12 year, the 15 year old was also aged in bourbon and a sherry cast. It is noticeably darker and richer in colour. The difference is due to its final 3 years aging being done exclusively in sherry cast. The result is notes of baking spices, caramel, and brown sugar maple syrup that was silken on the palate.

Our third Bowmore taster came between our pasta course and our meaty main. The Bowmore 18 year was the darkest of the 3 expression. It too was aged in a bourbon and sherry cast, but with a higher sherry percentage added into the blend. Here we discovered that the older Bowmore Scotches get, the smoother it becomes. This still had sweeter notes and was described as Christmas cake in a glass with tropical fruit notes. But finished spicy and pronounced on the palate.

As for food, the Lobster and squash soup with lobster salad and ricotta was a wonderful start. I especially liked the ability to work my way through the pieces of lobster on the dish. A warming rich soup that still drank light, great for the colder weather today.

The Amberjack crudo with crème fraiche and caviar was such a delicate and beautiful light fish. Salty and briny with the tang of the creme, it helped to open our appetites.

Next was a medley of wild mushrooms that included chanterelle, oyster, and lobster mushrooms. All topped with a confit egg yolk and black truffle. To eat, guests were directed to break the yolk and to stir it in to coat the mushrooms for a sauce of sorts. It was a lovely assortment, but dense as is and I found myself not wanting to finish after being satiated with the flavour 3 full bites in.

What I wish I had more of was the Braised bison ravioli, topped with parmigiano spuma and fresh truffle. From black truffle to white, the switch up was well appreciated. The truffle added a breath and a layer to the otherwise heavy stuffed pasta. But this was still my favourite dish of the night. A wonderfully prepared firm stuffed shell, full of well-seasoned shredded game meat. Delicious.

Our main was a A5 infused veal striploin paired with a wild mushroom torta di pane and porcini jus. I thought the meat could have been a lot more tender, especially for veal, and would have preferred it rarer for my tastes. I did like what ate like a block of stuffing on the side, but thought we had plenty of mushrooms already and that a side for root vegetables or brussel sprouts would have been a nice compliment instead.

And for dessert there was an interesting Warm apple and white wine spuma. It sort of reminded me of a minimalistic apple pie topped with cardamon and cinnamon then touched to bring out its warmth. The apple was peeled, so it ate a little tough like apple skin. The flavour was all there, but I thought the textures would have been better done with baked apple slices and a base that resembled a buttery pie crust instead. The whipped silky meringue was the highlight, but there was still much of this left on the plate.

In closing, this was a wonderful way to learn more about this luxe spirit and its historic collaboration. Always a delicious time at Aquafarina, and well worth braving the weather for.

 

Acquafarina
425 W Georgia St, Vancouver, BC V6B 5A1, Canada
+1 604-558-3099
acquafarina.com

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