The whole point of pairing drinks with food is not because there’s a wrong or right thing to drink with certain dishes. I mean, unless they’re paying for it or they have total control over you, nobody can tell you “put down that red wine sis, drink white instead.” With that in mind, we’re here to rain on some people’s parade and dissect some common misconceptions on food and drink pairings.

1. The Wrong Drink Will Ruin Your Meal

Choosing what you drink with what you eat will always come down to personal preference. I’ve always been sceptical about pairings and whether the experience of the food is really elevated based on your drink choice, however, my recent experiences with a dessert and whisky pairing showed me that the right drink can help your meal taste better. The less perfect pair will not ruin it though, so we don’t need to be all up in arms. The idea is simple: why go for good when you can have better

2. It’s only for wine or straight liquors

Another common misconception is that food and drink pairings only apply to wines or straight liquors, you can also pair cocktails (or mocktails) with your food. It can also be as simple as the Classic Highball - the perfect drink to make at home because there’s no muddling, shaking, straining or anything complicated.

It’s simply your desired measure of scotch (Johnnie Walker of course), topped with your desired mixer, and then a complimentary garnish.

The hardest part is choosing the right mixer to complement the food that you’re eating but Eat.Drink.Lagos is for the people so we’re here to help. A few quick tricks:

• Pasta:

  Whether creamy or tomato-based, pasta dishes usually end up quite heavy because of all the carbs and the other things that are usually served with it. A Highball with a citrus soda with a lemon wedge squeezed will give a fresh zing that is also crisp and will cut through the heaviness of the dish. The “bitterness” of the whisky will also help you feel like you’re cleansing your palate with each sip. 

  
  
  

• Rice:

  Margaritas are most often combined with spicy Latin American cuisine like tacos because that’s what marketing tells us is correct. A highball is also ideal with spicy food and the spicy heat of many of our Nigerian rice dishes can be countered very nicely with a highball stacked tall with ice. For this highball, a better mixer is ginger ale as it’s not typically sweet like a regular soda and will do a great job of cutting through the capsaicin (the active component in peppers that makes your mouth feel hot) in the dish.

  
  
  

• Burger:

  Now, burgers already have a lot going on with the cheese, sauces, caramelized or crispy onions, and a whole host of other toppings. It’s always a good idea to keep your drink simple with a classic highball with cola. The cola already has an intense flavour profile but there’s just something about colas and meat that work. The lime in this cocktail though will be super important to make the drink crisp and even more refreshing. 

3. It’s only for Alcoholic Drinks

Food pairings are not only for alcoholic drinks. If you choose not to drink alcohol, you can actually take all the suggestions I gave above for mixers to use for your perfect highball with your meal and drink those alone with either of those dishes. If you prefer not to drink carbonated soft drinks, sparkling water also works well with pasta. It will allow your tastebuds to focus on the taste of the dish but also cut through to refresh your palate and every fork twirl will taste even better. For seafood dishes, instead of a fragrant highball with citrus soda, lemonade will also be a great pair because the tartness and acidity in the drink will complement and not overwhelm how you taste the fish.

In summary, pairing food with the right drink isn’t black and white. There is a lot of room for you to make your own choices, the “experts” will be fine. If you drink alcohol it doesn’t always have to be about finding the perfect wine, the right cocktail works too and the highball is a very unpretentious option. Finally, if you’re alcohol-free you shouldn’t feel left out cause you’re not. Do you have any favourite food and drink combos? We’d love to know so we can taste them. 

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