Caviar Flavours: Decoding Tasting Notes For Curated Home Hosting Events
Caviar or salt-cured roe is often served as a delicacy at particularly elegant and finely executed evenings featuring luxe food and an exquisite dining experience. Different kinds of caviar are served depending upon the season and the region where the dinner or gathering is being hosted. It is also paired with certain complimentary small bites and cocktails that would accentuate the flavours of this delicacy. Undoubtedly understanding the tasting notes of different kinds of caviar is the starting point for those who are interested in serving roe with cocktails at such thoughtfully curated home hosting events.
Becoming familiar with the flavours in each of these caviar recipes goes a long way in determining how to pair each variety with varied cocktails and which one is the most suitable offering at a dinner party. As well, choosing caviar also makes it simpler for a home host to select the small bites or appetisers that would be served alongside to compliment its flavour notes.
Read on below to know more about different caviar varieties, a breakdown of their flavours and the cocktails that they can be paired with:
Buttery Beluga
Recommended Pairing: Vodka Martini Cocktail, Blanc Negroni
While caviar is generally characterised as a delicacy with briny and salty notes, there is more nuance involved in its flavours than a straightforward salinity. For instance, the beluga caviar variation has a buttery, creamy note which lends it a very delicate textural finish. Such a fine, caviar typically served at an elegant cocktail party pairs well with a tart vodka martini cocktail prepared using 30 ml Ketel One Premium Distilled Vodka or any other premium vodka of choice. The creamy notes of beluga also go well with a blanc negroni whose savoury notes undercut some of the buttery effect of the roe.
Briny Osetra
Recommended Pairing: Old Cuban, Champagne Cocktail
Nutty and briny, osetra’s flavours are a mix of hazelnut-like notes and light oceanic, salty qualities that makes it an interesting pairing with caramelised, citrus-forward drinks such as the old cuban prepared using 30 ml Captain Morgan Dark Rum or any other premium rum of choice mixed with 15 ml lime juice and a dash of bitters. This kind of nutty and salty flavour is also a finely contrasting pairing with a fizzy champagne cocktail made using 30 ml premium quality bubbly, 20 ml brandy and a maraschino cherry garnish. The citrusy notes in these drinks cuts through the nutty and complex flavours of the osetra in effect making for a very balanced flavour pairing.
Earthy Hackleback
Recommended Pairing: Boulevardier, Rum Old Fashioned
A caviar variety with an earthy profile and much flavour depth, hackleback has a slightly robust yet sweet flavour note which goes well with spirits containing caramelised notes. Hackleback with its mix of salty yet sweet and umami flavours then pairs well with an old fashioned crafted using 30 ml 30 ml Captain Morgan Dark Rum or any other premium rum of choice. It also pairs well with a boulevardier. The presence of bourbon in the drink makes for a sophisticated, lightly sweet coupling with the nutty hackleback’s flavours.
Oceanic Salmon Roe
Recommended Pairing: Bloody Mary, Paloma
Another classic caviar variation, salmon roe has a briny, smoky touch that introduces a lot of oceanic and salty notes into its overall flavour profile. The hues of this salmon compliment the similarly faint and visually pleasant colours of a paloma crafted using 30 ml Don Julio Blanco Tequila or any other premium tequila of choice. This type of caviar with its slightly savoury touch also pairs well with a bloody mary, both of which can be served at a sophisticated brunch time event.
Saline Sevruga
Recommended Pairing: Dirty Martini Cocktail, Mezcal Sour
Salty and briny, with robust flavours and highly oceanic qualities, the saline sevruga has a savoury and umami flavour which can play into the identically deep notes emanating from a dirty martini cocktail prepared with the addition of 10 ml olive juice. This drink comprising 30 ml Tanqueray No. 10 Gin or any other premium gin of choice is a well suited alternative to go with the salty flavours of the sevruga. The mezcal sour, with its smoky flavours and citrus twist is another cocktail that can be prepared while serving the salty sevruga at a dinner party.
Drink Responsibly. This communication is for audiences above the age of 25.
