food and wine pairing question

I recommend no wine at all with it. I don't think any wine goes well with cake, with chocolate, or with bourbon.

snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote in news:1125946561.148609.49700 @g49g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:

While I like wine with chocolate, I would agree with Ken on this one, Bourbon and wine just don't work for me. If pressed I might go with a sherry, but it might be better to just wait for the coffee and drink water with the cake.

said.....

Some would say that matching a chocolate dessert with wine is somewhere between difficult and impossible.

Generally the stronger the flavours in the dessert, the more difficult (and your chocolate/bourbon cake does sound daunting on its own without trying to match) because the wine is overpowered by the chocolate and loses all character.

I initially thought a Rutherglen Muscat (Australian fortified) but although these are very sweet and have that certain "spiritiness" about them, I think that the match would be unsuccessful.

The only wine I have found was a fortified red from Banyuls (France) - although I once tried a dessert Cabernet made here in NZ which worked.

Dark or bittersweet chocolates need a wine that offers a roasted, slightly bitter flavor itself, with perhaps a hint of its own chocolate notes.

Are there any late harvest Zins around with some RS?

A good quality Pedro Ximenz Sherry (Lustau comes to mind) may have the power to work with that kind of dessert. Enjoy the challenge. :)

Zinfandel for chocolate. Don't know about the bourbon. Jon

Actually, I'd recommend that you try an ale, in particular, a Taddy Porter, or Double Chocolate ale, like Young's. While it is UK, many US importers carry it. Last would be Young's Old Nick, which is a barleywine, but the Porters/ Chocolate Ale would be my first choice.

Hunt

I'm the worst person here to answer this,as I don't eat desserts. But reading the other reasonable responses gave me an idea. While Banyuls or late-harvest Zin are good ideas, what about NOT trying to go for something as heavy/powerful as the cake, and going for something red, sparkling, and a bit sweet? I'm thinking Brachetto d'Aqui, or Cerdon de Bugey (latter hard to find unless you're in a big market).

When I make Maida Heatter's Pecan Bourbon Cake, a Pedro Ximenez goes beautifully. But with the inclusion of chocolate into the mix, I admit that I would probably offer coffee, cream, and bourbon separately, and people could decide what to put in their cup and sip.

For my wife's pecan w/ tiny amt. of Bourbon (usually lifted from my small- batch stash, when I'm elsewhere), we usually do PX, or Porto Barros 20yr Tawny. The Barros has a nice pecan note in it. Though Taylor 20 is my favorite Tawny, I'll always grab the Barros for this pie. Now, please note, there is NO chocolate, whatsoever in this recipe.

Hunt

White + fish

Red + Meat

DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH~!!!!!!!!

snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote:

This sounds wonderful, except for the tiny bourbon part. Lotsa bourbon!

Try, experiment with all combinations rather than to adhere to the old maxim of "red wine with red meat, white wine with white meat, sweet wine with sweet food dry wine with dry...sorry savoury food. The person who tells you not to drink something sweet with your meal is hiding at a corner of KFC, Pizza Hut or McDonalds quaffing that ultra sweet Coke or Pepsi with his meal. I can tell you what I like but NOT what you should like.