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Posts Tagged ‘Stephen Nisbet’

L’ortolan Festive Cocktail

Posted in l'ortolan, Wine, tagged , , , , , , , , , on December 7, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

L'ortolan festive cocktail

A couple of years ago we blogged about the history of the L’ortolan festive cocktail; a sparkling favourite during the festive season.  We thought we would share this great blog with you all again and give you an update on all the flavours that have gone into making the 2012 festive cocktail so scrumptious.
To sample the 2012 festive cocktail book a place on the L’ortolan Festive Lunch.

L'ortolan Sparkling Festive CocktailThe sparkling wine cocktail with a specially blended syrup dates back to December 2005, and each year the syrup is developed by adding new flavours and spices. In 2011 a mulled wine reduction was infused with flavours of blackcurrant, strawberry, blueberry, fig, peach, pear, chestnut, herbs and spices & tot of Scotch. Using the syrup left over from last year as a base, L’ortolan Sommelier Craig Steven has blended raspberry, blueberry and cream fruit liqueurs of blackcurrant, blackberry, peach and wild strawberry. Earlier in the a year syrup was made from the poaching liqueur from cooking Mirabelle’s that were foraged from the local area for the use in some of the chef’s dishes. The Mirabelle syrup has also been added to the blend for this year’s festive syrup.

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Changing Perception on German Wines

Posted in Events, Wine, tagged , , , , on February 7, 2012 | 1 Comment »

German Wines L'ortolanIn the world of wine a dark cloud continues to hover over German wines. Many perceive them as sweet, dull and unfashionable. But for adventurous wine drinker there is much to discover about Germany’s wine regions and the rewards are well worth the effort! Renowned Sommelier, Stephen Nisbet has seen his fair share of resistance to the German wine market within the UK, and strives to change people’s perceptions.

In 2008 at L’ortolan we dedicated each month to pairing a different wine region with the Gourmand menu. Wine by the glass is always a popular choice for diners, so when German wines was proposed as a theme it was confronted with some opposition from the rest of team; concerned that would not appeal to a wider audience. Fine German wines are renowned for their complexity of flavours, which makes them suitable for pairing with a wide range of foods, so they were an obvious choice to include on our global tour of fine wines.  It was decided not to publicise the wines with the menu, instead subtly introduce guests to the German wine pairings with each course.  The pairings were well received and diners wowed by the diversity. As a marketing exercise it grew customer’s knowledge and understanding – confirming Germany’s well-deserved place on the map.

At L’ortolan we stock white, sweet and even red German wines, including top wines from Wirsching, Göttelmann, Friedrich Becker and Werner Näkel. Some of these L’ortolan favourites will feature in this month’s Fine Wines of Germany wine tasting events.

Wednesday 22nd February – Fine Wines of Germany
Stephen will take guests on a journey through different regions, varieties and estates and discover the sheer diversity of wine.
4.30pm to 6.30pm – An Afternoon of German Wine Tasting – £49 per person
7.00pm – German Wine Tasting Dinner – £95 per person

Find out more about our programme of wine tasting events

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Another Successful Burns Night

Posted in Alan Murchison, Events, Food, l'ortolan, Marketing, Whisky, tagged , , , , , , , , on February 1, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

Last week we welcomed a full house for our Burns Night Supper with whisky tasting.  The night is always a favourite for Scottish Executive Chef Alan Murchison and it was a huge success enjoyed by all!

We kicked off the celebrations with an afternoon of Tutored Whisky Tasting hosted by Stephen Nisbet. Stephen introduced guests to six whiskies during the afternoon accompanied by perfectly matched canapés.

Whisky Tasting Burns Night L'ortolan

Our afternoon guests enjoyed a few drams of whisky

The evening saw a selection of whisky transformed into cocktails and four course dinner with whisky paired to each course. Alan Murchison and his team served traditional favourites like the sirloin of beef, watercress, tortellini of haggis and oxtail and foie gras.  You can follow more of Alan’s tweets from the kitchen @AlanMurchison

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l’ortolan Festive Cocktail – A History

Posted in l'ortolan, Wine, tagged , , , , , on November 18, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

At the end of next week we will reinvigorating our lunch menu ready for the festive season.  In this blog, Sommelier Stephen Nisbet explains how one of the key elements of the Festive Lunch was born:  The L’ortolan Festive Cocktail.

During the run up to Christmas in 2005, the then l’ortolan Head Chef Will Holland received a huge order of figs in order to prepare them for the December menu.  The figs were to be poached and served with vanilla panacotta, so during November they were lightly cooked and placed in large preserving jars filled to the brim with a poaching liquor made with red wine, port, ginger, cinnamon, oranges and lemons, cloves, demerea sugar, star anise, vanilla, black peppercorns and bay leaves.

At the end of the month, the figs were removed from the jars, ready to be prepared for portioning and service in December – and we were left with 30 litres of the most amazing tasting fluid in the jars.

Luckily I had staked a claim on the liquid in advance, otherwise I’m sure that Will would have transformed the juice into a jelly or a sorbet.  Initially I’d planned to use it neat as an ingredient for a mixed drink, but it was Will who suggested that we created a ‘syrup’ to add to sparkling wine – Kir Royale style!

After several hours on a low heat we were left with a concentrated liquid, about a quarter of the original volume and packed with flavour.

We filled mineral water bottles, and relabelled it “L’ortolan Festive Cocktail” and our guests loved it and our batch sold out.

Since then, each year we create a new syrup, especially for l’ortolan guests.  In the last few years, if we’ve had any syrup left over we use it as a base for the following year’s – but the results are always amazingly different and the mixing of flavours is a real adventure.

In 2007 we tried a citrus syrup made with various orange and lemon liqueurs, last year’s was quite a spicy number as I found some fantastic ginger and mixed spice syrups  that are the best quality – and this year will be more blackcurranty.

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A Sommelier’s Accidental Pairing: Chocolate and Beer

Posted in Wine, tagged , , , , , , , on October 18, 2010 | 2 Comments »

Even after dedicating the last 15 years to exploring flavors and food and drink combinations L’ortolan Sommelier Stephen Nisbett was surprised at the accidental pairing he made whilst hosting a dinner party:

“Last week, I had some friends round for dinner.  I stocked up on ingredients for chocolate brownie cake, planned to make my own chips, and finally purchased some steak and some bottles of McEwans Champion beer to help wash it down.

However, half way through my dinner party, it became clear to me that the combination of steak and beer wasn’t really working.  The strong dark Scottish beer was being drunk painfully slowly – particularly as I had expected everyone to have a couple of bottles!

The McEwans Champion was quite fruity and earthy but really dry and clean on finish, but something about the flavors just didn’t fit with my steak and chips.

As I dished up the gooey chocolate dessert I resigned myself to having made a disappointing pairing for the meal.  Expecting the beer to clash with the brownie, I begrudgingly took a mouthful to quench my thirst – and was amazed by the resulting taste.

Whilst I had intended the McEwans Champion to go with the steak, as I continued to taste the beer I realized that the fruity, spicy and earthy notes of the beer went perfectly with the shared characters in the good chocolate I’d used to make my pudding.

I’m always delighted to discover unexpected pairings – and in this instance, my dinner guests were too!”

Stephen and his team are always on hand at l’ortolan to make pairing suggestions for your meal.  Or why not try our Take Wine Home service – ask the restaurant for more details.

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