6 eggs, 1/2 l cream, 6 tbsp pureed raspberries, 3 tbsp lemon juice, 6 tbsp drambuie (whisky liqueur), 250 g icing sugar
.Separate the eggs, whisk the yolks with a hand mixer until light and fluffy, then beat in the raspberry puree, lemon juice and liqueur. Whip the cream until stiff and fold in.
Whip the egg whites until stiff, gradually stirring in the icing sugar. Lastly, quickly mix the beaten egg whites into the cream mixture, keeping the airiness of the mixture as much as possible.
Pour into ramekins or a pretty bowl and freeze in the freezer for at least 3 hours. About an hour before serving, remove and soften in the refrigerator enough that the ramekins can be inverted.
With Waldemar Thomas at the Whisky Bagpipe in Aschaffenburg
For true connoisseurs, whisky starts with the single malt, which means made from 100% barley malt and coming from a single, specific distillery. All the blended whiskies (i.e. blends of malt and grain whiskies, those made from unmalted grain) do not cross the lips of experts. None of those whose emptied bottles adorned the party cellars up to the 70s.
The special, smoky aroma of Scotch whisky comes from the fact that when the germination process of the barley, the kilning, is stopped, a certain amount of peat is burned with it. (Irish whisky, spelled whiskey, uses coal instead of peat; it's also burned three times, Scotch only twice.)
Scottish whiskies differ among themselves in whether the liquor comes from one of the islands or from the mainland, the Highlands. While the latter is mostly smoother and milder, making it particularly suitable for whisky novices, island whisky tends to have saltier, more pronounced, flavours. Yes, it comes, like the famous Talisker from the Isle of Skye, with such a pronounced pepper flavour, "that the sharpness can bring beads of sweat to your forehead. Or The Lleach from the whisky island Islay with a strong aroma of sea salt and iodine.
But these are schnapps for advanced, as they come to the popular (and therefore booked up at times) whiskey seminars that offer Jürgen Barthel and Andy McNeill of the Aschaffenburger Whisky Depot Bagpipe. The participation, in which in each case 6 sorts are tasted, costs 39 €. Or 57 €, if it is about old vintages. If there are even whiskies from the 50s, it costs 109 €. The least participants learn is that ice cream with Scotch ("on the Rocks") is frowned upon and an American bad habit. Soda water no less, not to mention ginger ale or even Coca Cola.
Scotch whisky is rather drunk at room temperature and neat, unless it comes in cask strength, at 58% vol. along. In that case, you bring it up to drinking strength with soft spring water, a mannerly 40-43%.
McNeill, born in Edinburgh, came to Aschaffenburg in 1974 and worked as a social worker until he teamed up with flight attendant Barthel. That was in 1994, a time when it had already become fashionable in Germany to get involved with high-quality whisky. By the way, this is not a very expensive hobby, a bottle of good single malt costs between 25 and 45. Of course, there are also precious vintage bouteilles for which you have to pay a multiple of that. The bagpipes have their own bottlings, the likes of which you can't buy anywhere else. This year, 2003, the company celebrates its 10th anniversary with a jubilee tasting, which takes place on May 17th with Scottish music and buffet in the castle of Aschaffenburg.
Whisky is in (in contrast to cognac). Still relatively unknown, at least in kitchens around here - less so in bars - Drambuie is a whisky liqueur. It draws its flavors from herbs, honey, and whiskey, of course. Together with raspberries, another thing the Scots are proud of, it makes a striking parfait.
Bagpipe Whisky Depot
Jürgen Barthel and Andy McNeill
Treibgasse 6
63739 Aschaffenburg
Phone: 06021-219654
Fax: 21614
Email: dudelsack@mcneillimport.com
Internet: www.bagpipes.com
Opening Hours: Mon-Fri open from 1-6pm, Sat open from 10am-4pm
from Waldemar Thomas