Celebrate chocolate that channels bourbon, mezcal, wine, and more—through a maker’s lens.

These bars highlight regional ingredients, barrel-aging, and complex infusions for a tasting like no other.

Skip the corkscrew—these chocolates are crafted with the same layered complexity you’d find in your favorite bottle. From barrel-aged nibs to warm spice blends, these bars are the next best thing to a wine flight.

At the Northwest Chocolate Festival 2025, some of the world’s most exciting bean-to-bar makers are blending fine cacao with wine, spirits, and spice. They’re reflections of place, process, and passion—each bar is rooted in a maker’s heritage and their local craft traditions. Whether it’s mezcal from Oaxaca, red wine reductions from Italy, or maple sugar and Maras salt from Peru by way of Montreal, every flavor tells a story—and it’s one worth savoring slowly.

Whether you’re a connoisseur, a curious chocolate fan, or simply here to taste your way through something new, this guide highlights the bars that drink like a dream and melt like magic.

Why Chocolate & Alcohol Make a Natural Pair

Wine and chocolate have long been flavor soulmates—but it turns out cacao plays just as well with bourbon, rum, mezcal, and even gin. Here’s why these pairings work so well:

• Shared Tasting Notes: Both chocolate and alcohol are complex, layered, and rich in flavor families like spice, vanilla, fruit, smoke, and tannin.
• Fermentation Roots: Like wine and spirits, cacao undergoes fermentation—giving it depth and acidity that can mimic red wine or aged rum.
• Contrast & Complement: Bitterness in dark chocolate balances the sweetness of port; smoky mezcal deepens cacao’s earthy tones; creamy white chocolate smooths out spiced spirits.
• Aromatics & Texture: Alcohol draws out chocolate’s aromatic oils, while chocolate’s fat softens the alcohol’s burn—making each bite and sip smoother.
• Aging Magic: Just like barrels transform wine and spirits, barrel-aging cacao creates nuanced flavors like oak, caramel, and toast.

Whether infused, aged, or simply paired with a well-chosen drink, chocolate can carry and complement the depth of alcohol in a way no other sweet does and you’ll find the best examples at the festival.

Your Tasting Flight Starts Here

Here are 5 infused or wine-paired chocolate bars that you won’t want to miss—complete with tasting notes, pairing suggestions, and that signature vibe.

Region in Every Bite: Spirits That Speak of Place

What makes these bars more than just chocolate with alcohol is how intentionally each maker ties their creation to their home terroir. From mezcal-infused cacao in Mexico to bourbon-barrel-aged nibs in upstate New York, these aren’t generic boozy treats—they’re rooted in craft traditions of both chocolate and spirits.

• Metiche (Mexico) leans into Espadín mezcal, a smoky spirit central to Oaxacan identity, pairing it with rich Chiapan cacao for a bar that’s earthy, deep, and unmistakably Mexican.
• Fruition (New York) uses Hudson Valley bourbon barrels to age its cacao, highlighting the region’s iconic distilling scene and lending vanilla-oak warmth to its dark milk bar.
• Karuna (Italy) ages cacao nibs in whiskey and gin barrels, tying together the bold, herbal character of alpine spirits with their precise, small-batch Italian craftsmanship. The result is layered and contemplative—much like Italy’s slow-food and slow-sip traditions.
• Aroko (Italy) brings a mulled wine-inspired approach, marrying spiced red wine reductions with high-quality Venezuelan cacao—a nod to the country’s wine culture.
• Qantu (Canada/Peru) offers a bar that isn’t spirit-infused but is tailor-made for pairings, blending maple sugar and Maras salt in a way that invites sips of dry white or bubbles, showcasing the Canadian-Peruvian makers’ attention to pairing balance.

Each bar is a dialogue between cacao and culture, crafted with the same intentionality winemakers bring to grape and barrel. You’re not just tasting a flavor—you’re tasting a place, a process, and a maker’s philosophy.

For More details:

1. See our headline article here: Northwest Chocolate Festival 2025: The Insider’s Guide for Chocoholics
2. Check out our entire section dedicated to all things Northwest Chocolate here: Northwest Chocolate Festival 2025 Beanstalkr Guide

If you’re keen we’d love to see you at our session.

“Craft Chocolate: Flavors You Never Knew You Needed”. See here for details: Beanstalkr’s Session – Craft Chocolate: Flavors You Never Knew You Needed

See here for the full Northwest Chocolate Festival 2025 schedule: Northwest Chocolate Festival Schedule

Where Cacao Meets the Cellar

Whether aged in spirit barrels, infused with mezcal, or crafted to complement a glass of red, these chocolate bars don’t just offer flavor — they offer a feeling. Much like a well-aged wine or a thoughtfully blended cocktail, these chocolates evolve as you taste them. There’s smoke, spice, warmth, wood, and fruit. It’s craftsmanship you can savor in layers.

What makes this group of bars stand out is their similarities for wine and spirits fans — complexity, balance, process and a little bit of magic from time spent in wood or alongside botanicals. They’re nuanced and flavorful, and it’s all amplified by chocolate in the best way possible.

These bars are your chance to experience how cacao can age, breathe, and bloom — just like a bottle of wine.

Which aged bar are you most excited to try? Let us know in the comments!

Want more chocolate reviews like this? Subscribe to our newsletter for exclusive tasting notes, festival guides, and small-batch picks from around the globe. As always, thanks heaps for talking beans with us.

Where to next?

If you’re off to the Northwest Chocolate Festival 2025, we recommend:

And if you’re curious, we recommend:

And if you’re still not so sure, check out what events or makers are in your area:

Talk Beans with us!

Got any questions? Feedback? Want to hi say? Reach out below – we’re always happy to chat!

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