Brea, CA — Wednesday night I was fortunate enough to experience the Whiskeys from Around the World pairing dinner event put on by Macallans Public House. Guests at this five-course dinner experienced an exquisite flavor of culture that you typically don’t experience in the middle of the week.
Located in downtown Brea, Macallans Public House provides a very welcoming and intimate atmosphere as soon as you walk in. From the lighting to the decor to their elaborate collection of bottles in their display cases, the Irish Pub sets the mood for guests to forget about their troubles at the door and start fresh. The staff there greeted everyone with open arms and it was clear that they weren’t just coworkers, they were family.
The night began with a welcome cocktail as Maurice Chevalier walked guests through the origins and background to each of the drinks served throughout the night. His presentations were both thorough and playful which only added to the overall experience Wednesday night.
Each of the five whiskeys were of different origins including the likes of Ireland, the United States, Japan, Taiwan and Canada. My favorite of the night was the Nikka whiskey (Japanese) which had a nice smokey flavor, however, the Pike Creek (Canadian) was a close second because of how well it paired with the desert.
With the executive chef out of town, it was sous-chef Joseph Quesada’s delicious meals that stole the show. Each meal continued the theme of the whiskey that it was paired with and all five were delightful.
For the Dingle whiskey, Quesada paired it with Irish stacked creamy cheese potatoes topped with smoked salmon that really added to the flavor. The following dish he served with the American Old Potrero Whiskey was a Drunken Sammy sandwich that had a nice pork demi-glaze that was bursting with flavor.
My absolute favorite dish of the night was the black cod with sweet soy sticky rice that paired extremely well with the Nikki whiskey. The cod was tremendously tender and the taste left all the guests at my table wanting more.
The dish that was paired with the Kavalan whiskey was duck l’orange that was placed over fried jicama and garnished with almonds. The dish reminded me of an old friend of mine from college that I was in a group project with as she had cooked plenty of dishes with duck for our group.
For dessert, a heaping scoop of maple ice cream and a candied Canadian bacon waffle cone paired with the Canadian Pike Creek making it fit for the theme. A small amount of bourbon was served on the dish creating a fiery spectacle when the servers lit it with the blow torch.
Macallans Public House hosts many themed pairing events throughout the year while offering live music on weekends and hosting karaoke and trivia nights throughout the week. They also host brunch on Saturday and Sunday afternoons and offer catering as well.
Overall, the experience at Macallans Public House was terrific on Wednesday night. Not often do I find an establishment with great food, crafty drinks and an extremely friendly staff but Macallans sure has all three. I can’t wait for the next time I visit and bring my friends and family along for the experience.
