Today's Menu: Beef and Barley Stew and Whisky Sours

“True enough; even now, when there was no grain actively fermenting in the shed or toasting on the floor, a faintly fecund, smoky scent lingered in the air. When grain was ‘working,’ the musty, pungent scent of fermentation was perceptible at a distance, but when the sprouting barley was spread on the floor above a slow fire, a thin haze of smoke hung over the clearing, and the smell was strong enough to reach Fergus’s cabin, when the wind was right.”

The Fiery Cross (Chapter 22 - The Fiery Cross)

"The whisky-making had its own cycle, and one that everyone on the Ridge was subconsciously attuned to. whether directly involved in it or not. Which was how I knew without asking that the barley in the malting shed had just begun its germination, and therefore, Marsali would be there, turning and spreading the grain evenly before the malting fire was lit."

A Breath of Snow and Ashes (Chapter 27 - The Malting-Floor)

Barley is a staple crop on Fraser’s Ridge, and there’s no mistaking the value of high-quality whisky among its residents. For the second installment of my blog I followed Laoghaire’s recipe for a whisky sour (again taken from the Outlander Kitchen cookbook).

Theresa Carle-Sanders, author of the Outlander Kitchen cookbook, used Lagavulin in her recipe, joking that “…there's at least a score of Scotsmen, somewhere, banging their heads against their screens at the sight of…one of Scotland's finest single malts, in a mixed drink.” Well, all my family had on hand was Jameson Irish Whiskey. So I didn’t even have the decency to use actual Scottish whisky. Traitor!

Nevertheless, it made a very tasty drink. The cocktail had just the right ratio of sweetness to sourness, and it went down very smoothly. It also paired nicely with a steaming bowl of my mom’s beef and barley stew. The fat from the beef gave the stew a nice, rich flavor and the carrots added a slight sweetness and texture.

Here’s the link if you’d like to make Laoghaire’s Whisky Sour yourself:

http://outlanderkitchen.com/posts/laoghaires-whisky-sour