Hosting a food and drink “tasting” can be so much fun! We’re sharing some delish food and drink pairings that we absolutely love.
A tasting is different from eating or drinking. When you taste, you slow down, pay attention, and savor the food or drink. Then you ask yourself, did I enjoy this? Would I buy it or try it again?
As the hostest with the mostest, here’s how you can plan for a tasting party of your own:
- Select a category- Choose something your guests will enjoy experimenting with, such as sake, chocolate, cheese, or something else you’re curious about.
- Plan your flights – select 3-6 different types of drinks to try. You can pick drinks by region (think wines from Argentina) or popularity (Oprah’s favorite tequila vs. George Clooneys favorite tequila)
- Chose the food – what would pair well with this? We’ve got a few ideas we’ll be sharing this week. Buffet style is almost always the best approach here to keep things flowing
- Set the mood – Music and a lively atmosphere is super important; if you have a theme, make it festive with decorative accents. You may want to rent extra glasses from a local rental company to make sure you have enough.
- Get some help – ask friends to be pourers or fill up empty plates…you’ve got guests to entertain!
Here are a few food and drink pairings we love.
Wine & Grazing Table
We all love wine tasting🍷 so “wine not” bring the fun home? 🏠There are sooo many wines to choose from, this is a great way to sample some interesting ones together and pick a fave.💃🏾
Here are a few ideas for an at home wine tasting:
- All types of rosés in a can (please invite us, we’re dying to try all of them)🍾
- Chardonnays from California, Canada, Australia, and France🥂
- Go sparkling all night—from California bubbly to Italian Franciacorta and French Champagne🍾
- Pino Noirs from Paso Robles, Napa, and Oregon🍷
You may also need a lot of nice glasses. You can rent glasses from a local rental shop for exactly the drink you’ll be trying.
To pair, we highly recommend creating a grazing table. 🍑🥦🥕These lovely tables include everything from your favorite cheese, crackers, nuts, and dried fruit, along with splashes of chocolates, veggies, and fresh fruit. Go fancy and stop by @eatly 👈🏽for everything you need and more, or head over to @traderjoes 👈🏽for so many fun finds. 🎉
Mezcal and Chocolates
If you’re planning on taking a trip soon✈️, a tasting is great way to get excited about the region you’re visiting!
A trip we’d love to take is to visit Oaxaca, MX to try all of their yummy Mezcals. Hosting a Mezcal tasting will get everyone dreaming about exploring and planning all the fun details.
*Giveaway alert!* 🍾What’s your favorite food and drink pairing? Share in the comments below and you’ll be entered to win a fun prize. Winner announced on Sunday!💃🏾
To host a proper Mezcal tasing, you’ll want to
- Check yelp to see if a local liquor store carry multiple varieties of Mezcal. We’ve had the best luck at Total Wine 👈🏽but some boutique stores carry lots of options.
- Get fresh oranges 🍊and cut them into bite-sized slices. Then sprinkle them with Tajin.
- Have many types of chocolates available to try…chocolate 🍫with cayane, sea salt, nuts. This will help bring out all the smokey and rich flavors of the drink. 🍹If you can find them online, Kixocolatl offers many fantastic chocolates from Mexico
- Encourage your guests to sip and taste all the different notes, and share what’s different about each one.🎊
Then visit Oaxaca and be blown away by the beautiful people and culture, and bring us back a bottle of your favorite Mezcal!❤️
Cognac and Seafood
🥃Cognac may be an acquired taste, but pairing it with seafood 🍤like lobster claws, shrimp, and oysters makes the pairing well worth trying!
👍🏽According to @cognacexpert, the first step is to decide which to try. Here’s a cheat sheet for the types of cognac you’ll see:
- These are VS (Very Special) – also sometimes referred to by “three stars”. ⭐️⭐️⭐️This is the youngest quality of cognac and has been aged for at least two years in oak casks.
- Next is a VSOP (Very Special Old Pale). A cognac where the youngest used has been aged for a minimum of four years.
- And XO (Extra Old), has been aged for a minimum of 10 years🥃.
Perhaps grab a bottle of each and serve it youngest to oldest to observe the flavors. Some cognacs we like or want to try are 👉🏽 Ron Zacapa Remy Martin, Hennessy, Delamain, Tesseron, Dusse, Martell, Camus cognac, and Bache Gabrielsen cognac
In between sips, be sure to enjoy some amazing seafood! The salinity compliments the rich flavor profiles of the cognac. 👍🏽
Visit a market with fresh fish options and look for lobster claws, shrimp, oysters, and other chilled shellfish. Be sure to add accents like 🍋 , cocktail sauce, and salt. Place the shellfish on a beautiful platter that guests can enjoy as much as they love ❤️ their cognac.
Beer and Jerky
Beer me! 🍺When it comes to a home beer tasting, there are so many awesome ways to go…you can go to your favorite brewery and buy growlers of a few of your favorites and a few eclectic options. 💯Or you can visit a few breweries around town and get the most popular from each one.
That’s what Patty and her fellow bridesmaids did for her friend Claudia’s wedding shower. 💃🏾The couple loved visiting breweries, so they brought the breweries to the party by getting several growlers of the couples favorites, and even renamed the beer options to match the wedding theme. Just remember that you’ll need extra room in the fridge to keep the beer cold.🎊
Beer can be a tricky one to pair with just one type of food. 🍺🍕Research shows that beer goes with just about anything!
One fun thing we saw was pairing beer with different types of jerky! There are so many options now, especially if you order online. Pair a beer flight with these jerkies from @loljerky:
- light beer – turkey or truffle jerky
- hoppy beer – hickory, bacon, or traditional beef jerky
- citrusy beer – habanero, peppered or teriyaki jerky
- wheat beer – thai chili jerky
- IPAs – honey chipotle jerky
- stout – venison or other gamey jerky
Tequila and Tacos
Why wait to splurge on top shelf tequila when you’re at a fancy dinner spot or on vacay? 🏝 🎩 A tequila tasting at home means you get to dip into some of your absolute faves without having to pay the heavy up charge. 💸 So tell your friends to Uber or Lyft over, we’re having tacos and tequila tonight! 🌮🥃 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
As with other spirits, you’ll want to start with the youngest 👶🏽 and work your way up to the oldest 👴🏽(blanco or silver, a reposado, añejo, and extra añejo).
Our recommendation is to stick to the anjeos for your fabulous home tasting 🥃🥃🥃, and once the tasting is done, serve up margaritas with the cheap stuff! 🍹
Some tequilas we love are Casa Mexico, Tequila Alquimia, Aldez tequila, Casa Dragones, Clase Azul Tequila, Deleon Tequila, Casamigos, & Don Julio 1942 💓
We know there are so many more to try! Which tequila should we add to our next tasting experience❓
🌮Tacos are a great compliment to tequila because they are a little heartier and the spicy salsa pairs well with smooth tequilas. 🌶We recommend setting a taco bar so folks can add the fixings they like best.
An easy way to get great tacos is to order ahead from your favorite taco truck 🚚 or Mexican market.🇲🇽 Bring your tupperware and they’ll fill up your containers with meat, chicken, and al pastor, plus give you all the fixings. 🍅🥑
