Let’s talk about porn. Not that kind of porn, of course, I mean the pictures you can post on Instagram without your account being suspended. Our conversations and social media platforms are full of incredible food and drink known as “food porn”. More recently “drink porn” has joined the ranks.
It describes something so good it’s a feast for the eyes. It’s the only word to describe sipping a perfectly chilled Piqpoul De Pinet while staring at a plate of lightly steamed langoustines. Then, I thought to myself, “how could life get any better?”
That was until I found myself on a farm, being ushered out of the freezing winds, into a barn with no lights. I was on a potato farm. But not just a potato farm. It’s the home of Ogilvy Vodka distillery. It was the answer to every hipster dream yet it was anything but hipster. It was honest, pure and built on heart and soul.
Graeme and Caroline Jarron, the husband and wife team who run it, are exemplars of innovation.
They are farmers who distil a truly unique vodka – all from these perfect little tubers.
The spirit itself challenged my clearly uneducated perception of vodka as tasteless nonsense best served with coke and used for cleaning windows. This was unctuous, creamy heaven. I was sipping it on ice and enjoying every second. It represented a bold new Scotland. A real stand-out product made from pure local ingredients and a real Scottish heart.
Next time you go to your local specialist or pop into a good bar ask for it and give it a go. Challenge your perceptions.
However, one perception I couldn’t challenge was being an Irish man standing next to a pile of potatoes, a sizzling steak and drinking chilled potato vodka. For me food and drink “porn” doesn’t get better than that.
Graham Suttle
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