Pairing Whisky and Insects? Leading Scotch Club Hosts Unusual Tasting

A man cuts a scorpion on a wooden board in a Mexican market. The Scotch Malt Whisky Society recently hosted an insect and whisky tasting called “A Pairing With Legs,” which included a scorpion. (Photo: Jair Cabrera/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images)

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society recently hosted an unusual tasting: A Pairing With Legs, a tasting that paired whisky with insects.

The tasting, which was hosted in Edinburgh, Scotland, as part of the society’s 40th-anniversary festivities, paired scotches with crickets, mealworms, locusts and scorpions, STV News reported Wednesday.

First, a 12-year-old Speyside whisky named Disco Diva was paired with mealworms. Next, the 11-year-old Speyside single malt Raspberry Fields Forever was paired with locusts. Finally, smoked crickets were tasted alongside the 10-year-old Smokus Fruticosus, a blend of whiskies from Islay and Orkney.

A scorpion was offered to be tasted alongside a whisky of the participants’ choice.

The tasting actually helped an arachnophobe named Scott Begbie overcome his fear.

“I’ve always had a phobia of spiders and creepy crawlies generally, so I was initially pretty nervous,” Begbie told STV News. “Seeing the insects and picking them up was quite tricky at first, but I ended up enjoying it.”

Begbie, who was gifted the tasting experience as a 60th birthday present, said the smoked crickets paired with the Smokus Fruticosus was his favorite pairing.

Begbie said he was surprised by the scorpion, which he described as “really good” and compared to a salty pretzel.