Hi Folks!
It has been awhile! The holidays are just around the corner so I thought I would provide you something super sweet to try. And it is extra boozy in case you need to self-medicate while spending quality time with the fam or while watching your favorite team lose. I will be with someone else’s family which is certainly less stressful. In fact, it is incredibly entertaining! I hope you have some fun plans.
I found this pairing’s candy at Candy Village, a store in a local mall. Unlike my August splurge in Indianapolis, this was a fairly reserved grab bag. I bought a variety of chocolates filled with delectables. I however screwed up the purchase so instead of a champagne filled chocolate I got an espresso bean one. Oh well!
The Wine: Layer Cake, Garnacha, 2010
I had to indulge!
The Candy: Chocolates with the following fillings: Blackberry Rum, Rum, & Espresso Beans
Undressed
The Dream:
For this pairing, I picked up a Layer Cake Garnacha. Layer Cake has a distinct chocolate flavor and their reds are incredibly rich. Instead of doing opposites, I wanted to draw like-to-like to change my typical approach. Since every chocolate was different, I had to be able to at least match one flavor note from the wine to the chocolate….and so I went with chocolate.
The Reality:
As predicted, the chocolate note comes surging through on the first sip and then smoothes out into a raspberry tang. It is slightly unexpected and almost like biting into a fruit filled chocolate. I love Layer Cake for this experience. It is a fairly affordable wine that truly is its own meal.
Blackberry Rum:
The chocolate has a firm crunchy shell (and I didn’t even freeze them!) and has little flavor. The liquor is more sweet than sharp. When the wine and liquor filling meet, the wine is very unhappy and sour. But if you sip after you eat the chocolate, it is a double berry delight. Yum.
Rum:
The shell is again fairly flavorless and crunchy. The pure rum is rum alright and I prefer it over the blackberry. But when the rum and liquor meet the wine goes sour. Sipping after eating the chocolate didn’t add anything either.
Espresso Beans:
This was my favorite pair. There is a slight minor throw of flavor when the wine hits the coffee bean but it is mostly pleasant. After eating the chocolate, the coffee-chocolate flavors layer nicely with the wine.
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Well the espresso bean bought on accident edited up being the star player! I will have to return to try more of the offerings though honestly the chocolates weren’t that great. Next pair will return to this blogs pure, candy roots!
Uncorked, Unwrapped 