Whiskey Pairing: Girl Scout Cookie Time!
It’s the most wonderful time of the year….well, in the sense that it’s Girl Scout cookie season. These are suddenly not-so-easily-available unless you personally know a dealer or two (I mean “adorable grade school girls”) since cookie booths are not allowed due to the current world-wide pandemic. But onto more enjoyable thoughts: Girl Scout cookie and whiskey pairings! As an adult right now, there is no doubt that pairing with whiskey beats milk and cookies any day!
For this pairing, I chose 4 varieties of Girl Scout cookies - Samoas, Thin Mints, Tagalongs and Toffee to pair using one of the whiskeys in my own personal collection (bottles anyone can acquire). Sorry, no Weller or Pappy being paired in this tasting. The method involved first taking a bite of the cookie, then nosing and sipping the whiskey, followed with another bite of the cookie. I found with most that the bite after the sip really enhanced the similarity in flavors.
My selections:
Thin Mints paired with Basil Hayen’s Bourbon
Thin Mints are likely one of the more popular varieties of the Girl Scout cookie brand; described as a crisp, chocolaty cookie made with natural peppermint oil. Contrary to the name, they won’t make you thin (especially if you lose track while binge watching “Tiger King” and end up eating the whole sleeve)!
I’ve always picked up hints of mint when I have had Basil Hayden’s and it really comes through on the second bite of the cookie once having sipped the bourbon. I also tried this with New Riff BIB, which has a high rye in the mash bill bringing out some of the mint flavor, really enhancing the peppermint in the cookie.
Samoas paired with Woodford Double Oaked
Hands down, this is my favorite Girl Scout cookie in my household (well…it’s tied with Thin Mints). Only someone who doesn’t enjoy coconut would not be a fan of these delicious sweet treats. This pairing was incredibly easy as I knew right away Woodford Double Oaked would be amazing with Samoas. My bottle is a store pick from Cheers Wine and Spirits in Tennessee. It has an incredible cocoa and caramel flavor on the nose and palate. The double-barreling effect gives it a richer, toasted flavor. This is currently one of my favorite bottles at home.
This pairing works so well with the similarity in flavors of both the cookie and whiskey. The rich caramel is strong in both but very enjoyable.
Tagalongs paired with Nelson’s Green Brier Sour Mash Whiskey
I really thought I had an idea of what whiskey I was going with when I set out with this pairing but it proved to be the most difficult of the four cookies. After much trial and error (meaning eating several cookies and sampling different whiskeys with them), I remembered that I have always gotten a nutty, almost peanut butter finish when drinking Nelson’s Green Brier Sour Mash Whiskey. Revisiting the whiskey today and trying it with the Tagalong cookie, I found this to be the perfect pairing. I even get a bit of a Snickers on the nose, so combining that with the crispy cookie layered with creamy peanut butter and chocolate, you really get a sense of a “Snickers bomb” happening. The wheated mash of Nelson’s Green Brier whiskey is the perfect tasty pairing for this Girl Scout cookie.
Toffee-Tastic Cookie Paired with Buffalo Trace
This was a cookie I was not familiar with, but had notes I thought would be fun to pair with whiskey as many have some type of caramel and toffee notes to them. This rich, buttery cookie with toffee bits is amazing. I quickly inhaled two when trying them for the first time. To my surprise it’s a gluten-free cookie! (Never would have guessed!) Having a rich buttery flavor with sweetness from toffee, I went back and forth between a few bottles. I settled on a local store pick of Buffalo Trace from Corks Wine and Spirits. The caramel flavors intermingled with vanilla and toffee from the bourbon enhanced the buttery goodness from the cookie.
Since becoming a bourbon steward and learning all kinds of fun things to explore with bourbon, pairing foods has been at the top of my list but had yet to do. So, finally, as a prior top cookie seller in 3rd and 4th grade, this was so much fun to do and distract myself with the current goings-on in our world. Find your own local dealer if you don’t already have cookies at home and have some fun for yourself while social distancing. Stay safe, stay home and wash your freaking hands!!
