Last Updated on May 10, 2024

Precious Time

I am by no means a whisky virgin.  After all, I lived in Scotland for nearly four years as a student. It was also my stepfather’s relaxant of choice after a hardish day at the office so there was always a bottle of Scotch in the house. It just never occurred to me that it might be the drink for me. I was therefore interested to be proved wrong when I received an invitation from Scottish distillery Balblair for an evening of whisky tasting and fine dining at Pied à Terre in Charlotte Street. We were celebrating the launch of Precious Time, a short film about the unique role that time plays in Balbair’s whisky-making, made by acclaimed Scottish photographer and director David Eustace.

Founded in 1790, the Balblair distillery overlooks the Dornoch Firth in the Scottish Highlands. David Eustace talked to us about some of his inspirations for Precious Time: this timeless landscape, the unhurried approach to whisky-making at Balblair, and the feeling of time passing quietly on his visits to the distillery. The film stars distillery manager John McDonald and the film ends just before he drinks his whisky. “One of the most enjoyable parts of whisky, for me, is that moment before you drink it,” David told us, explaining his reason for cutting at this point. “This is because that moment is his time, his enjoyment. That is precious time.”

It was now our time to start tasting Balblair’s whiskies under the expert guidance of brand ambassador Stuart Baxter. We started with the 12-year-old single malt and worked our way back in time to the 25-year-old with stops at 15 and 18 years. It was fascinating to taste the difference that ageing makes and to try the different versions with and without water. I quickly found myself enjoying whisky in a way I hadn’t before – stopping for once to savour the flavours and the infusion of warmth this spirit induces.

To accompany the whisky and celebrate David Eustace’s film, Pied à Terre’s executive chef Asimakis Chaniotis presented us with a specially designed Precious Time menu. Many of the elements of the meal were either slow-cooked or marinated, sometimes for days, to tie in with Balblair’s focus on the importance of patience and taking things slowly. It turned out to be quite a banquet and a wonderful opportunity to try Asimakis’s Michelin-starred cooking, which combines classic French technique with Greek flavours. 

A concoction of marinated Scottish scallops, octopus, ouzo, pickled mustard, fennel and marine phytoplankton, “Ionian Sea” was a vision of the marine world on a plate, one of the prettiest plates of food I’ve seen. Asimakis explained how he had left the scallops and octopus to “cook” in their marinades for two days.

Scottish hogget à la Grecque et à la Française was an excellent example of the combination of the Greek and the French, featuring morels foraged in a French forest and a deconstructed tzatziki, with the addition of tender and delicious Scottish lamb. 

The delights continued. I’m always happy when there’s a pre-dessert and pleasantly surprised when the main dessert is followed by petits fours. Pied à Terre did not disappoint. 

Over the course of the evening, Stuart encouraged us to keep returning to our whiskies, especially to the 12-year-old and assess whether it tasted different after sampling the others or after food. My clear winner was the 15-year-old single malt – nice and warming, smooth and velvety without being too overpowering for an inexperienced whisky drinker like me. I have to admit I was defeated by the 25-year-old (this was peculiar to me, everyone else was keen). 

I left the dinner feeling as if I’d missed out on years of possible whisky drinking experiences. Feeling slightly chastened, I set off home with my own little bottle of Balblair single malt. I think I’ll open it at the first sign of a wintery evening and treat myself to a drop of warming and fortifying “medicine”. I also can’t wait to return to Pied à Terre to try more of their imaginative and visually stunning food.

Balblair: balblair.com

Watch Precious Time: www.balblair.com/precious-time

Pied à Terre: www.pied-a-terre.co.uk