Dark chocolate and Guatemalan rum

Another good chocolate pairing this week - plain dark chocolate and delciously fudgy Cana Negra gran reserva Guatemalan rum from Marks & Spencer

It was suggested by fellow wine writer Susy Atkins of Saturday Kitchen with whom I shared a platform at the Dartmouth Food Festival this last weekend. I’ve paired cognac with chocolate but hadn’t explored rum much which, on the basis of this pairing, is a cracking match.

The extraordinary thing was that the Cana Negra, which was aged in three different types of barrel - bourbon, sherry and cognac - brought out delicious raisin flavours in the chocolate which weren’t originally there. Even though it’s strong (40%) I can imagine it being totally delicious with a dense rich chocolate tart or chocolate cake or with chocolate brownies. I suspect it would be good with Christmas cakes and other rich fruit cakes too.

At £25 it would make a super Christmas present for a spirits - or chocolate - lover.