A SHOCKING CHOCOLATE PAIRING

I have used many words to describe the chocolate pairing experiences I have had over the years.  Fruity. Smokey. Citrus. Divine. I have never used the words ‘fungal’ and ‘shocking’. Until last Friday night, that is.  Our friends, T & P presented us with a bottle of Hanahato Kijoshu Sake.  This aged sake (eight years) has a beautiful amber color, the taste of a dry sherry and the nose of fungus gone amok.  I have never sniffed and then tasted any liquid for which the nose had no relationship to the taste. I poured each of us a small portion. We all took a sniff and then started laughing. Could anything that smelled this bizarre have any redeeming culinary value? After a couple of sips it was clear that we had to try this with some really good chocolate, as suggested by Beau Timkin at TRUE SAKE . I went into my chocolate stash and pulled out a bar of  AMANO CHOCOLATE'S Jembrana 70% Dark Chocolate.  We each took a small bite of chocolate, allowed it melt for a moment on the tongue and then took a sip of Kijoshu.  That is when this, excuse the analogy, magical mystical mushroom trip began. The sake brought out the cherry in the Jembrana.  What cherry, you Jembrana fans might ask?  Exactly.  Alchemy and magic at work.