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Chocolate drinks pairings stir passion on Valentine's Day in suburbs

From the days of the first heart-shaped box (which the Smithsonian credits to Cadbury circa 1861), chocolate has been inextricably linked to Valentine's Day. But before it was eaten as the sweet treat we love today, chocolate was consumed first, for centuries, as a beverage.

Given its long history in liquid form, chocolate's marriage with alcohol is a no-brainer, inspiring brewers, bartenders and chocolatiers — especially on Valentine's Day.

“Chocolate is sexy! It makes you feel happier,” says Ursula Borodzinski, owner of the Martini Room in Elgin.

Her bar offers a wide range of chocolate and Valentine's themed cocktails, including one dubbed the French Kiss and the Cupid-approved Red Velvet Martini.

“I would say, definitely, it is an art,” bartender Liz Holden says of cocktail creations. “It's like cooking: You have to combine all of your ingredients in the right proportions to make it taste like what you're trying to create. It's all about flavor, texture and consistency. Chocolate and booze together is a good thing!”

Anna Shea Chocolates and Lounge in South Barrington takes a good thing a step further, using wine and spirits such as RumChata and amaretto in a series of bonbons. Options also include chocolate martinis and pairing wine with chocolate fondue in the lounge for a perfect Valentine's dessert.

“We've got quite a few delicious dark chocolate ganache pieces that just pair phenomenally with red wine — anything from a light pinot noir ... all the way up to a Carmenere, which is a Chilean wine. It's got a little bit of spice to it and holds up really well to our dark chocolate ganache,” says general manager Julie Raio.

One of Anna Shea's most popular seasonal bonbons is dubbed Passion ‘Amore'tto.

“When we were trying to come up with something for Valentine's Day, we thought that maybe the warm, nuttiness of the amaretto would mellow out some of the tanginess of the passion fruit,” Raio says. “So we mixed them together and tried it, and it was a great match!”

So is chocolate and beer, says Jason Ebel, founder of Warrenville-based Two Brothers Brewing.

“Beer is almost four times more flavor complex than wine so there's just a depth of character that you can get across the styles of beer that wine can't quite compare to ... Having the depth of character that craft beer brings does pair better with chocolate in my opinion,” Ebel says.

Darker beers, like porters and stouts, frequently feature chocolate notes, making for a perfect Valentine's brew.

“It absolutely works in sort of those darker, heavier, full-bodied beers. A lot of those stouts and porters have chocolate malts, which is a grain. It gives some chocolate-like character to the beer anyway, so then enhancing it with real chocolate on top of that really drives that flavor forward,” Ebel says.

Ebel cites the holiday-themed Peppermint Bark Porter as an example.

“We use lots of really fantastic, high-end grand cru chocolate and whole-leaf mint. It's a porter so it all works really well together and people love it,” Ebel adds.

Valentine's Day marks the one day a year that Two Brothers Tap House at the Warrenville brewery is transformed from an industrial space restaurant to a white tablecloth restaurant. The theme for this year's Valentine's Day dinner is “Farm to table, modern tavern,” which pairs a six-course meal with rare beers from the Two Brothers archive not generally available to the public.

“I can tell you that guests of that dinner get to try a beer that we are calling Cupid's Crosshairs just for that night,” Ebel says.

  Wine and chocolate make a perfect Valentine's Day pairing at Anna Shea Chocolates and Lounge in South Barrington. Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
  Chocolate fondue and champagne at Anna Shea Chocolates and Lounge in South Barrington can help couples end a night out Sunday on a sweet note. Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
The Martini Room in Elgin offers a number of Valentine's Day drinks, include the White Chocolate Coconut Martini. Courtesy of the Martini Room
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