LCBO Food and Drink Holiday 2015

GIFTING  GOING WITH CHOCOLATE

ASSORTED CHOCOLATES

Variety may be the spice of life, but when the next choc- olate could be solid, fruity or nougat-filled, you need a companion drink that is as versatile as it is tasty.

Most people wouldn’t rate beer highly on the chocolate-friendly scale, but those people will not yet have sampled Rochefort 8 ( LCBO 676569, 330mL, $3.45), a dark and sumptuous strong ale that might just be chocolate’s best friend. The brown malts in this Trappist abbey ale from Belgium already offer flavours of dark and milk chocolate, with a note of raw cacao in the background, while its sweet but never cloying complexity complements all sorts of truffle fillings, from cherry to caramel to coffee cream.     Similarly, the extravagant orange flavours of Cognac-based Grand Marnier ( LCBO 1784, $44.95) afford it an elegant sweetness that lends itself to all manner of chocolate, from solid to filled to layered to white. An icon of after-dinner enjoyment, this legendary liqueur might be easy to overlook when something as simple as a box of truffles is on offer, but it would be supremely inadvisable to do so.     A third paragon of chocolate pairing adaptability might surprise some, but fans of New World wines grown on old growth vine stock will be heartened to learn that Kenwood 2012 Sonoma County Zinfandel ( LCBO 350462, $19.90) is up to the challenge. The dry and challenging 2012 vintage resulted in this wine boasting a great concentration of flavours, including berry and pomegranate fruit plus peppery vanilla, all of which combine in a taste bold enough to take on anything a box of assorted chocolates might throw at it.

106  FOOD & DRI NK HOLIDAY 2015