Chef Massimo Bottura And The Dalmore Reveal L’Anima, A 49-Year-Old Whisky Which Will Be Auctioned Off For Char...

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On Monday night, the tenth-floor gallery at Sotheby’s was splattered with single malt scotch and a variety of colorful sauces, surely making the staff a little nervous about the millions of dollars worth of art hanging on the nearby walls. The culprits behind this mess were famed Italian chef Massimo Bottura, owner of Osteria Francescana in Modena, Italy, and The Dalmore master distiller Richard Paterson, both of whom were exuberantly sharing their particular talents.

Bottura brought the team from his Modena restaurant to New York City for one night to cook an elaborate and whimsical dinner, each course paired with a different Dalmore expression, before revealing a taste of the brand-new Dalmore L’Anima. Bottura worked closely with Paterson to create just one bottle of this 49-year-old single malt, a marriage of whisky aged in ex-bourbon barrels, 40-year-old Pedro Ximenez sherry casks, and Graham’s vintage port pipes. The whisky comes in a beautiful crystal decanter that is enclosed in a wooden cabinet created by Scottish craftsman John Galvin. But this whisky won’t be sold in stores. Instead, it will be auctioned off at Sotheby’s from April 25 through May 9, and is expected to fetch at least $85,000. All of the proceeds will go to benefit Bottura’s charity Food For Soul, a non-profit that is focused on reducing food waste.

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Paterson is a master distiller and showman who takes great joy in guiding the public through tastings, and Bottura is a chef infused with frenetic energy and intense culinary creativity. These two personalities were the perfect match to come up with a new whisky expression. “When Richard called me,” said Bottura, “I realized he puts so much passion [into his work]. I thought, ‘This guy is even crazier than me, we match very well.’”

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On this night, Bottura’s menu was both personal and playful, with several dishes that he said were making their first and only appearance on one of his menus. The evening began with “Baccala Mare Nostrum,” a delicate fillet of salted cod swimming in a bright sauce made from Vesuvian tomatoes and green olives (paired with The Dalmore 15). “Snails Under The Snow” featured land snails hidden under a sweet garlic foam with bits of black truffle and chlorophyll extraction (paired with the exquisite Dalmore 18). Bottura described this dish as evoking memories of his younger days as a chef in training, digging his hands into the earth after a fresh snow in the hills of Modena. Finally, “Oh Deer” was the dish behind all that sauce on the floor, a venison loin cooked slow and low that Bottura playfully splattered with horseradish, sour cherry, and whisky sauces (paired with The Dalmore King Alexander III).

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The food and the whisky were both exceptional, culminating in Paterson and Bottura sharing a dram of L’Anima as each guest got to sample a bit as well, a literal once-in-a-lifetime experience since the whisky will not be made available to the public. The nose was full of deep cherry and grape notes, with rich bursts of oak and berries and a hint of menthol on the palate. If you’re interested in sampling the whisky for yourself, and helping out Bottura’s charity in the process, contact Sotheby’s for more information about the upcoming auction.