For the chocolate and strong liquor lovers
Pairing is a process. You test combinations, some don’t work, some click immediately, and others surprise you after a second taste.
For this round, we picked a few 70% dark chocolates we believed had the right flavor profile and tested them against three distinct whisky styles to see how the pairings would hold up.
First line up: Introduction to Scotch, starting with Clynelish Distillery in the Scottish Highlands, followed by Mallacan and Machir Bay.
The second line up: Other side of the World, First taste with Japanese Nikka Taketsuru, followed by the Australian distillary Staward Fortis, with last stop with Kavalan Solist, a sherry cask whisky from Taiwan.
The last line up: Wood Work, which explores the impact wood has on the whisky. Starting with a Tomatin 15 yr Moscatel Cask, then followed by Talisker Wilder Seas and Ardberg Ardbog.
How did the pairing turn up?
Acara river, Luisa Abram – Usually our safe bet when pairing with strong spirits. This time, we got it wrong—at least at first. Made with wild cacao from the Acará River, this bar carries a strong woody profile with a caramelized undertone. On paper, it should’ve matched well with most of the whiskies. In practice, it clashed—until it met Ardbeg Ardbog, a heavily peated whisky from Islay.
Porcelana, Aroko – Made from Porcelana cacao—a prized criollo variety from Venezuela—this bar stands out for its remarkable roundness and naturally high cacao butter content. We’d been looking forward to finding the right whisky to match its smooth, subtle character. While Taiwan has its own cacao origins, it was a Taiwanese whisky that made the best pairing: Kavalan Solist, a sherry cask whisky.
Semuliki Forest, Beaningful – What a Find!
Earlier, we mentioned how some pairings don’t click right away but reveal themselves on a second try. That’s exactly what happened with Semuliki Forest. Crafted in Lithuania using cacao beans from Uganda, this dark chocolate has a subtle dark profile with a light vanilla finish. At first, it seemed too subtle… But with the right pour and a slower pace, it turned into the perfect way to close the night!