Tease Those Taste Buds

My love affair with scotch and chocolate pairings happened quite by accident.  One evening I was overcome with hunger while sipping Macallan and listening to a new jazz CD.  My late night kitchen foraging efforts turned up little more than an orange infused dark chocolate bar that had been hiding for who knows how long in the cupboard.  After the first bite and sip, I was transported to a new culinary high.  Somehow the spice and sherry of the scotch was complimented marvelously with the intense citrus and bittersweet chocolate combination.  My taste buds were elated! Suddenly it was a whole new experience as chocolate flirted with scotch and vice versa.  After quickly devouring that bar and pouring another glass of liquid gold, I hurried back to the kitchen and broke into a bag of stale baking chocolate chips.  This combination was not so interesting, but after throwing a few fresh raspberries in my mouth at the same time, the flavors showed more promise. That night an addiction was born.

That next morning after scouring the web and only finding a few articles on scotch and chocolate pairings, I vowed to breakdown in simplistic terms what makes the perfect flavor marriage between two such disparate foods.  Many of the very basic principles of wine and food pairings are the same, but these guidelines must be tailored to the multilayered taste notes of both whisky and bonbons.  With this complexity of flavors, often what works intellectually is a failure on the tongue.  Thus the first principle quickly emerged: "Must Taste Each Pairing".  And very simply this became more than an addiction it became a mission.

Many happy days since, this website was conceived to share our methods, findings and gain from the insights of our visitors for all to enjoy.  Through my ongoing quest for the ultimate taste experience, not only have I broadened my knowledge about pairing principles but have had much fun experimenting along the way.  So tease those taste buds and join me in my pursuit for the ultimate scotch to chocolate experience.