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.

Then another thought crept up, “I wonder what it would taste like?”  Did I really think that?  Could I try something that sounded so strange?  My resistance fell and I walked out of the store with a new-found creation.

Upon pealing open the wrapper I immediately noticed the smell.  It was smokey.  Hmm.  I took a bite.  Hmm, again.

Little chunks of smoked wood flavor had invaded my chocolate.  And, it’s salty!  Yet all of that combined with the sweet milk chocolate for an interesting effect. 

The cacao content in this bar is 45% so it still has quite a nice chocolate impact for a milk chocolate.  As you may know by now I prefer dark chocolates over milk chocolates so having the higher cacao content in this milk bar gave it extra points in my book.

All-in-all the strangest thing I found about this bar is the non-melting, non-dissolving little bits of crunchy bacon left in my mouth at the end.  Maybe they’re supposed to be a little reminder of what I had eaten!

It’s a nice shop on Main Street.  They’ve got a plentiful selection of chocolates available to suit any taste.  They’ll even customize formulas on request for special clientele!

Today I want to take a moment to write about their chocolate covered bacon.  Yum!  The bacon is cooked up extra crispy and then covered in a dark chocolate.  The combination of smoky and salty bacon, with the sweetness and impact of the dark chocolate, is marvelous. 

When I first opened the package I was instantly hit with a nice chocolate aroma.  Then, when I took a bite, I immediately noticed that the chocolate itself is really smooth, with a great mouth feel.

I’ve previously tasted a Mo’s Bacon Bar from Vosges.  (I’ll have to post a review of that soon.)  Anyway, the bacon in Mo’s gave me the sense of more of a candied bacon, whereas the chocolate covered bacon from Allô Chocolat was a slab of real bacon with a real dark chocolate.

If you haven’t tried this combination – bacon and chocolate (granted it sounds really strange) – I seriously recommend you do.  And, certainly, if you are in the Waukesha, Wisconsin, area stop by Allô Chocolat on Main Street and pick up a bag for yourself.