Bryn asked me to make a guest-blogger appearance for today so I decided to write about a Scotch Whisky and chocolate pairing. It seems strange to write this up on Sunday morning, but I assure you this reflects a Saturday evening tasting. 
The first time I tried chocolate covered bacon I was surprised to find how much I liked that combination. Recently I received a gift of a couple pieces purchased from a local chocolate shop, Allo Chocolat, here in Waukesha.
The bacon is very crispy and coated in a smooth dark chocolate coating. So, what Scotch would taste good with this? I figured a Scotch that offered a bit of sweetness and some smoky peatiness, but not too strong.
I settled on Ledaig (pronounced “led-chig”), a single malt Scotch Whisky from the Isle of Mull.
First a nice size bite of the chocolate covered bacon. I wanted to get the chocolate melting in my mouth and release the smoky bacon flavors. Then a sip of the Ledaig Scotch. Yes, the peatiness of the Scotch pulled out the bacon flavor right away, neither overpowering the other, but rather enhancing the effect of each.
Then as the initial smoky, peaty, bacony flavors faded the dark chocolate notes remained along with some sweet chocolate flavor, combining with the lingering sweet sherry notes of the Scotch. Oh, yeah, I know how to pick ‘em.
In the end, the remaining peaty notes and subtle bacon flavors once again were more prounounced as the sweetness faded faster, thus leaving a lingering bacon peat combination in my mouth.
