IN THE DRINK

BY PAUL ANTROBUS In the drink With Paul Antrobus

heers to chocolate

Chocolate liqueurs are often linked to Christmas but, hey, February has Valentine’s Day when something special is called for. Premium spirits or liqueurs like Cointreau and Amaretto cased in luxurious chocolate and beautifully presented are just as romantic a Valentine’s gift as champagne and roses.

Or, as an after dinner treat, they give you the fl avour of your favourite drink without the worry about driving home. Because, yes, the most frequently asked question about liqueur chocolates is can you get drunk on them?

The spirits inserted into the chocolate shells is generally full strength (over 35 3 per cent abv) so in theory they could make you tipsy. But you would have to eat so many you would never get there before being very, very sick!

Perfect combination German Asbach Uralt Brandy, founded 1 in 1892, is accredited with producing the original perfect chocolate and spirit combination when, in 1924, the company began making brandy-fi lled pralines and soon after launched miniature bottles made of the fi nest bitter-sweet dark chocolate fi lled with their brandy.

A key feature is a fi ne sugar-crystal crust on the inside of the chocolate which keeps the spirit separated from the chocolate, so that when you bite into the shell you get a direct burst of the neat brandy and the chocolate taste follows a few seconds after.

Other makers offering a range of spirits in chocolate followed and socalled chocolate liqueurs became a big mainstay at Christmas. You might not fi nd so many in supermarkets in February, so online looks like the best way to go.

Friars, a family-run chocolate company based in the Lake District, offers an impressive miniature wooden crate of 6 40 Duke d’O Belgian chocolates with fi ve spirits - Remy Martin brandy, Glen Turner single malt, Cointreau, Amaretto and Pere Magloire Calvados.

Online only (friars.co.uk or Amazon) at £24.99, it is a really nice Valentine’s gift or for any dinner party to brighten up the gloom of February.

ANSWERS TO PUZZLES Crossword

S B J AR D C BESIDE EXCISE

P R W F W N BAR OMETER A S

R L R L U RAVEN HEROICS

T A E E V R SETTING E AVES E O D M D A I OWNERSHIP N L A S T T CLERGY SHADOW E T S TY G R

Answer:

NARROWBOAT

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Sudoku: Easy

Wordwheel:

PORTRAYED and PREDATORY

Alcohol and chocolate make wonderful partners… any time of the year.

9 8 6 4 5 7 1 8 2 5 7 3 1 9 6 4 8 2 8 3 4 5 Chocolate beers While spirits may be the fi rst response to a chocolate partnership, there are enough chocolate beer enthusiasts, especially in wintertime, to support a dozen or so UK examples.

This is a typical boutique brewery seasonal product line so it is quite a surprise to fi nd Young’s leading the sector with their Double Chocolate Stout. Brewed with real chocolate in the mash, it is 5.2 per cent, which is quite modest for a winter beer. A pack of eight costs £14 from ringwoodbrewery.co.uk.

Both Tesco and Sainsbury’s offer Brewdog Layer Cake Marshmallow and Chocolate Stout, seven per cent, £3 for a 440ml can. M&S has Cheshire Chocolate Porter, brewed by the Unicorn Brewery, Stockport, claimed to be based on an 1899 recipe by chocolatier Simon Dunn. 7 4 £2.50 for 500ml at six per cent. 1 8 2 7 At the other end of the winter abv 9 scale is Northern Monk Death Star Stout at 12 per cent, brewed in Leeds, which 3 7 blends bitter chocolate, peanut and 8 9 1 caramel with roasted barley and oats to bring out the stout fl avour. £5 for a 6 5440ml can at Tesco. 5 As a typical seasonal beer there may not be much of a selection on the supermarket shelves, but the online shops should still be selling. Enjoy stocking up for a Valentine choc fest…

6 9 2 8

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Sudoku: Moderate

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Sudoku: Tough

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All puzzles © Puzzle Press Ltd (www.puzzlepress.co.uk)

Codeword

IMPOSE OBSCURED N E U A H E I JURISTS M ACUTE U K H EMBER N S RESPITE O NOISE I I OPPOSE O L ELIXIR E ELAN S I QUEUE D P MENU V SHINTO H I OEDEMA E L ANNEX Y AWFULLY Z G INNER I A G IGLOO A KESTREL E E U M H V O RESISTOR DYNAST

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