Meat Meets Its Perfect Match in Highland Park’s Smokin’ Sundays BBQ
BY SOPHIE CHUNG
We’ve got your Sunday Sesh planned at Broken Lantern.
1 OCT - 2023
A delicious meat and dram experience for whisky noobs and snobs alike.
Beyond the stereotypical dram(a) of whether one is a single malt enthusiast or a blend lover, whisky is fast becoming the drop of choice for not just the snobs, but also the noobs - like me. Much like the rest of my life, I don’t abide by any rules - if I want to put an ice cube, water or even coke in my whisky, I will drink my drink as I damn please! With that being said, I recently found myself swigging a flight of five peat-rich whiskies rather effortlessly. The point is, we’re seeing a global trend of imbibers leaning heavily towards quality over quantity, and in turn, high-end whisky has become a magnet for the hippity hoppity crowd who love to experience new things.
I’ve been a bourbon lover for a while now. Just to be clear, I don’t mean Diesels or Woodies. It’s a quick judgement people seem to jump to when I claim my love for bourbon. The Old Fashioned was my covid lockdown drink so you can imagine I downed quite a few of those to protect my sanity. After a wee while of drinking bourbon, my taste buds naturally gravitated towards the less sweet sister that is whisky. Sherry casked drops were an easy transition to make and I’m now getting used to the smoky quality of peat. I really do love the fact that everyone has a different drinking journey during their lifetime.
Highland Park Smokin’ Sundays BBQ
Highland Park is an exceptional single malt Scotch whisky that has cultivated a legendary status since 1798. In fact, they are one of the very few distilleries in the world that still uses the custom of tuning malt by hand. As you can imagine, it’s an expensive and labour intensive practice - and it shows in their drops. Highland Park 18 yr was awarded the Best in Show 2023 at the Drammys this year as well as best spirit in the world twice!
Celebrating the smoky aspect of Highland Park’s peatiness, they’ve teamed up with Traeger to bring you ‘Flavours From Fire,’ a harmonious fusion BBQ and whisky experience at Broken Lantern in Ponsonby. From smoked bone marrow to super meaty slow-cooked brisket tacos ($16 for 2 tacos), glazed pork belly burnt ends ($15), and mac and cheese ($10), the dishes paired beautifully with Highland Park in both neat and refreshing cocktail forms. They’ve even catered for vegetarians by offering smoked heirloom tomatoes with stracciatella and courgette ($12). With these price points, you can eat and drink like a (vi)king who’s not suffering from the cost of living crisis!
As for the drink offerings, their cocktails were an absolute treat!
They were perfectly balanced and incredibly tantalising - the Highland Orchard ($19) blew my bloody mind! With Highland Park 10yr as the core spirit, it’s mixed with freshly juiced green apples, bitters and mandarin ratafia, which is a fruit and spice-infused brandy, made in-house at Broken Lantern!
If you’re a major fan of citrus fruits like me, you’ll appreciate the Farmhouse Smash ($20) wholeheartedly. Highland Park 12 yr is mixed with ‘burnt ends’ infused Bourbon, Cointreau, lemon and orange wedges and topped with cherry bitters. And there’s also a bold and boozy option available called There Can Be Only One! ($22), where Highland Park Valfather (the most peated whisky from Highland Park) is mixed with rye whisky, fig liqueur, manuka honey, cacao nibs and clove. I’d say that the star of the show is the Halls of Valhalla Flight ($45) which includes Highland Park 12 yr, Valfather, Valkyrie and Valknut. It comes with a beer sipper and whisky jerky which was *chef’s kisses* - also, the value is outrageous, considering most of those whiskies are upwards of $20 on their own.
Smokin’ Sundays will be on every Sunday at Broken Lantern from 2pm for the month of October! So, grab a group of friends and head over on the weekend for tasty morsels of meat and smoky whiskies, good enough for Valhalla.
RELATED STORIES
GIVEAWAY
SUBSCRIBE
Subscribe to Chatty Chum's mailing list to receive the latest in beauty and lifestyle news, giveaways and the launch of our Editor's Collection boxes.