The Hibiki Harmony & Caviar Hamper

Hibiki Japanese Harmony draws malt whisky from Yamazaki and Hakushu and grain whisky from Chita, including a portion matured in rare Mizunara — Japanese oak that lends an incense-like spice almost nothing else can. Honey and orange on the nose, candied citrus and soft oak on the palate, a clean finish with a whisper of smoke.

30g of Croe Royal Oscietra — firm, separate pearls with a nutty finish. Oscietra carries enough character to stand beside a spirit at 43% without being erased by it.

Whisky and caviar is a less obvious pairing than champagne and caviar, and a better one than most people expect. Hibiki is honeyed rather than peaty, so there is no smoke to fight the roe; the sweetness lifts the salt, the Mizunara spice meets the nuttiness, and the gentle finish leaves the caviar as the last thing you taste. A heavily peated whisky would flatten it. This one does not.

Charbonnel et Walker's 007 Dry Martini truffles — the cocktail rendered in chocolate, dry and botanical rather than sweet, which keeps the whole thing in the same register right to the end.