A Little Bit About a Lot of Things

We were invited to The Quarry in Hingham to spend the evening learning about bourbon from Beverage Manager David Danforth. Executive Chef Greg Jordan provided light bites to pair with each drink.

While it was a bit too cool this evening, we are looking forward to warmer weather when they open the patio – check out the great view.

The dining room is open and bright, taking full advantage of the beautiful scenery outside.

People rave about the burger in the main dining room, so I know what I’ll be ordering when I come back. Other delicious option on the main dining room menu include a center cut choice filet mignon, a chive and honey brick chicken, a gnocchi bolognese and a pan roasted swordfish.

We sampled 5 bourbons. We started off with a house made bourbon punch made with passion fruit and citrus. It was slightly sweet and at the same time savory with hints of peach, orange and apple bitters.

Our first drink was the High West American Prairies Bourbon served with cheese gougeres. High West is made from three whiskeys, Seagrams and two other undisclosed distilleries. It is aged in new American oak barrels for at least 2 years. It is a smooth whiskey that is light and has lots of character, making it a great starter whiskey. High West demands to be the star of the show and would be great when making a Manhattan or an old fashioned.

Next up was the Redemption High Rye Bourbon served with these delicious biscuits topped with country ham and whole grain mustard. The picked red onion was house made giving this bite the right amount of fat and saltiness. Redemption is a rye, with notes of cinnamon and nutmeg (making it a little spicy). It has a complex character and the alcohol comes through a little more. You are really able to feel the flavor in your throat. It combines the sweetness or bourbon with the spiciness and dryness of a rye mash.

Next, not pictured, was the Old Forester 1870 Original Batch served with some smoked nuts. The nuts were smoked for 30 minutes and the chips (in the smoker) were soaked in the same bourbon to reinforce the flavor from the bourbon we drank. The bourbon is made in copper pot stills and has a flavor profile that is a blend of citrus fruits: orange, grapefruit and blood orange.

We followed this up with some delicious cashews. The cashews were mixed with the trimmings from The Quarry’s house made bacon and if that wasn’t enough, there is candied bacon added as well! This was served with the Hillrock Estate Solera Aged whiskey. Hill Rock is the only distillery in the US and is located in the Hudson Valley. Solera is a stack of barrels where a small portion of whiskey is taken out and new whiskey is added. The average age is about 20 years. This has a softer, richer, molasses, chocolate covered cherry flavor – it was nutty with an earthy quality to it.

One of the coolest drinks we sampled was the orphan barrel forged oak 15 year old bourbon. It is a single barrel whiskey with notes of brown sugar and molasses. The Orphan Barrel Whiskey Company was started to share barrel of rare whiskey that were lost and forgotten in the back of rickhouses and distilleries. Every bottle is hang bottled in Tullahoma, TN. Foraged Oak was found while foraging the historic Stizel-Weller rickhouses. It spent 15 years in a charred American white oak barrel giving it the flavors of cedar, maple and vanilla bean, cocoa and black pepper.

This whiskey was paired with English Stilton cheese, blood orange marmalade and sour dough croutons. So delicious! Thanks to Chef Greg Jordan for the delicious bites and David Danforth for the lesson in bourbon!

The Quarry

415 Whiting St. Hingham, MA

http://www.quarryhingham.com

Tags: casual dining, outdoor seating, restaurant, scratch kicthen, south shore