Scientists will often say that fire was instrumental in human development – just before we became homo sapiens, our predecessors began cooking food and that is believed to have sparked our evolution. While alcohol was discovered thanks to natural fermentation, it took fire to distil alcohol in an alembic all those millennia later. This summer, a collaboration between Jameson Irish Whiskey, ‘live-fire restaurant’ Acme Fire Cult and Michelin-starred Dublin chef Keelan Higgs celebrates this elemental force by way of a whiskey-themed menu with pairing cocktails.

One of the beautiful and poetic truths about fire is its duality; it can rage and destroy but also nurture and mellow – especially when it comes to food and drink. The ex-bourbon casks in which Jameson Black Barrel is aged are double charred. But far from introducing smoky, bitter notes, this actually releases vanillin and wood sugars from the staves, which give the whiskey extra butterscotch, fudge, toffee and a whole confectionary shop of sweet notes, while the extra charcoal filters and smooths out the liquid, giving it a silky mouthfeel.

It’s not dissimilar to cooking directly over fire. The Maillard effect caramelises sugars in food just as much as it introduces bitter charring – the balance is key. ‘Fire can do amazing things to ingredients when applied in the right way,’ says Higgs. ‘Barbecue has this dated “dude food” reputation and Andrew [Clarke] and I both come from a place of elevating it beyond that. At my restaurant, Variety Jones, I do have my open-fire grill, but I also have the security blanket of gas, induction and other mod cons. These guys at Acme Fire Cult are the live-fire experts.’

Stoking the coals of the Acme Fire Cult is Andrew Clarke, former head chef of Brunswick House and known for his work to highlight the mental-health pressures in the hospitality industry. In this yard in Dalston, Clarke wanted to avoid some of the headaches of a traditional restaurant: ‘We decided to open a restaurant that felt like a barbecue party. We try to take a distinct approach to cooking over flames, where vegetables take centre stage, and where food and drink are intrinsically linked.’

That is certainly the case with the Jameson Black Barrel menu, available until the end of July. ‘The dishes are inspired by the whiskey-making process,’ Higgs explains. ‘So we start with a pot-still mash, combining different grains… We take sweetcorn and toss it in malted barley, plus ancho chilli and other tasty stuff, and serve it with a big bowl of polenta.’

This is followed by smoked trout with bone and whiskey glaze, trout roe, malted barley flatbread and a fennel and herb salad; and dessert is slow-roasted peaches, old fashioned style, with vanilla panna cotta, whiskey-citrus caramel and malted barley biscotti – all reflecting classic Irish whiskey flavour notes. But the centrepiece is the meat course.

‘Beef loves whiskey and whiskey loves beef,’ says Clarke. ‘While we lead with vegetables at Acme Fire Cult, when we do cook meat I think we do it rather well, if I may say so. Our butcher Turner & George supplies a 50-day dry-aged Angus-cross tomahawk steak from a co-operative that is committed to regenerative farming methods. It’s served with sweet margarita onions, which, when we cook them with Jameson, butter and cream become almost like toffee apples. They are delicious. And then on the side we have bone marrow, roasted, smoked, covered in an ox-cheek jam and a glaze of Jameson Black Barrel, vinegar – all these lovely malty flavours. On the side we’ve got some hispi cabbage with beef fat and malt vinegar, sweet potatoes with a little butterscotch butter, and some pickles.’

‘What Andrew and I have in common,’ adds Higgs, ‘is the notion of using food as the medium to bring people together. So we want people to get stuck in and break bread together.’

To dissolve any British barriers to conviviality, there is also a list of Black Barrel-based pairing cocktails. These include a refreshing Ginger Sparkler highball; a cherry-flavoured twist on a mint julep; and the highlight on the liquid side, the Black Barrel Velvet: a reimagining of the classic Guinness and champagne cocktail that also nods to another national institution, the Irish coffee. Here, whiskey is shaken with a reduction of stout from Acme’s partner 40FT Brewery, “spent coffee” kombucha cordial and demerara syrup. Stout and coffee – two more roasted ingredients that benefit from the transformative effect of fire.

The Jameson Black Barrel menu is available at Acme Fire Cult until 31 July. Book at acmefirecult.com/the-restaurant; jamesonwhiskey.com