Chocolate & Alcohol Pairings

Chocolate and Alcohol parings for a Sophisticated Mother's Day

Mother's Day is just around the corner, and we know the usual tactic is a bottle of fizz and some chocolates, nice and easy and no thought needed. How about this year we change things up a bit. Chocolate can be the perfect match for alcohol, but do you know which are a match made in heaven?

Whether she’s into a whisky nightcap, a bold red, or a bit of something sparkling, there's a chocolate to match her tipple of choice. Here’s our guide to help you get the right pairings to make the perfect gift this Mother's day.

Matching chocolate and alcohol is often overlooked, but it can be an amazing experience when you get it right. You need to be careful when selecting your pairing to ensure you're not left with a bad taste. The key is balancing the flavours. If you're having a sweet drink, pair with dark, bitter chocolate and vice versa. You can experiment with different matchings to find the right combination, but there are certain pairs that really don’t work together.

Whisky

Both whisky and chocolate come in a large range of different varieties, flavours and origins. The two can pair together well, working in harmony to mellow out any harshness or highlight subtle flavours. Milk chocolate is a great pairing for rye whiskies (Bulleit Rye Whisky), bringing out the spicy kick, while 70% chocolate can be a great pairing for an aged whisky due to its sweetness. Check out our whisky selection here.

 

 

Bourbon

Dark chocolate of 70% or higher pair together with bourbon well, the bittersweet flavour brings out the smoky character beautifully (Maker's Mark Bourbon). Try nutty chocolate as an alternative pairing, look for bourbons that also have hints of walnut or almond, the chocolate will pick up these notes and take it to the next level. Check out our bourbon selection here.

 

Rum

Milk chocolate or white chocolate is a  natural companion for rums that have a fruity body. 70% chocolate can be an amazing pairing for rums that feature darker notes like toffee, smoke or dark dried fruits,(Ron Zacapa 23Yo Solera). Alternatively, take inspiration from rum cocktails to find a good match. Rum cocktails often contain tropical fruits and warm spices such as nutmeg. Chocolates with any of this kind of flavours pair well with rum, try pairing chocolates filled with marzipan with a nice aged rum. Check out our rum selection here.

 

Champagne

To pair chocolates with fizz, pick something sweet. Look for champagne terms such as demi-sec or doux - both referring to the sweeter end of the spectrum. Milk chocolate tends to pair nicely with sweet champagne (Moet & Chandon Ice Imperial) and of course, chocolate truffles are a classic choice. Check out our champagne selection here.

 

Wine

Wine and Chocolate are a match made in heaven. Pick a low acidity, low tannin wine to go with any chocolate. Bitter chocolate matches better with sweet wine (Brown Bros Late Harvest Muscat), while sweet chocolate matches better with rich wine (Cloudy Bay Chardonnay). Check out our wine selection here.

 

Gin

White chocolate is the perfect match for Gin,  as the cocoa solids found in dark or milk chocolate allow the floral notes found in gin to perk up white chocolate. Try Alkkemist Gin or Check out our gin selection here.