Chocolate really is a miracle ingredient, isn’t it? It’s used in desserts, and main course dishes, and, perhaps most commonly, is enjoyed on its own!
So, it probably shouldn’t be too much of a surprise to find out that chocolate is also a great ingredient to add to cocktails, perhaps the sweetest of alcoholic beverages!
If you’re looking to add a little extra something to your favorite cocktail recipe, but aren’t sure where to start, then you may like to find some inspiration in the recipes that we have collected or you here!
1. Chocolate Martini
Starting this list off with a chocolaty take on a classic cocktail, with this gorgeous chocolate martini drink for you to try out for yourself!
Martinis are always a favorite among cocktail connoisseurs, so you may likely have come across a variation that uses chocolate in a bar or restaurant.
For this homemade version, however, you’ll be combining some top-quality vodka with some carefully added chocolate ganache, both as you are mixing, as well as a delicate and finely shave topping as well.
2. Classic Old-Fashioned
Old-fashioned is another favorite cocktail recipe that you’ll find in classy bars up and down the country, for its subtle whiskey flavors, as well as the bitter taste that isn’t too overpowering that you’ll find in the best versions out there.
While this recipe itself is for a classic old-fashioned, it isn’t very hard to switch the recipe up to add just a little extra chocolate flavor.
When gathering your ingredients, make sure that, instead of the orange bitters that the recipe asks for, you grab some chocolate bitters instead.
And that’s it! No extra intensive ingredient hunt is needed, or some overly complicated preparation for when you’re making it.
It’s the same old-fashioned that you know and loves the taste of, just with a little extra chocolate orange goodness thrown into the mix!
3. Death By Chocolate Martini
We do love a good chocolate martini here, so it shouldn’t be too surprising that we’d come up with another amazing recipe to show you for this very specific drink!
However, instead of messing around with elaborate extra ingredients such as a ganache this time, this martini recipe ditches the extras and goes straight for the chocolate-based source, opting to add pure cocoa powder for the strongest flavor possible.
And if you’ve got a particularly strong vodka on your hands, you’ll need an equally strong extra ingredient to balance it out.
If you love punchy drinks, this is the cocktail for you!
4. Scharffen Berger Chocolate Liqueur And A Valentine Martini
This is an excellent cocktail for those who love vodka but want to try something that is chocolate-flavored, without going straight for the martini this time.
This Schaeffer Berger chocolate liqueur-based drink is the perfect fancy cocktail to prepare for yourself and/or friends.
With how strong this particular drink is, the only advice we’d give is that this drink is not for the easily tipsy.
5. Death By Chocolate
What can we say? Martinis are just the perfect cocktail to add a little chocolate too!
This particular chocolate-filled treat is a little different from the previous martinis we’ve covered, being a triple-layered chocolate delight that has been infused with top-quality vodka to create a recipe that is just as much a dessert as it is something that you’d order from a bar!
6. Café Nudo
If you’re looking for the perfect bitter drink to make for yourself, you can’t go wrong with this classy café nudo cocktail.
The key ingredient for this particular drink is making sure you have one premium bottle of clement ‘creole shrubb’ liqueur d’Orang. A premium and sometimes expensive liqueur, but one that is worth it to make amazing drinks like this!
After that, it is simply a matter of mixing your ingredients with the pisco porton and fernet branca to make an outstanding drink that is as tasty as it is dark and bitter.
7. Chocolate Mint Julep
Mint julep is perhaps one of the most popular drinks across the American south, particularly in Kentucky, where it is the official drink of the classic Kentucky derby.
So, if you’re looking to add a little extra flavor to this drink next time you’re enjoying this iconic horse race, then you may want to consider trying out this particular version of the staple drink of many racing fans!
8. White Chocolate Liqueur
Time for a little extra creaminess in this next drink.
Many of the cocktails that we have covered so far, while all amazing, have mainly stuck to more bitter flavors, particularly skewing more dark chocolate-esque.
However, this particular drink instead uses a white chocolate liqueur as its base, creating a beverage that is equal parts creamy and tipsy!
If you’re looking to get started with chocolate cocktails, but don’t want to start on the deeper end, so to speak, this is a great drink for you to try!
9. Kentucky Chocolate Mint Julep
What, you thought that a race as popular as the Kentucky derby would have just one kind of chocolate mint julep? Well, think again!
Mixed with the primary bourbon base, you have a drink that is perfect for the early summer time that the Kentucky Derby is held around.
Plus, it also makes for the perfect after-meal minty drink to make or order to cleanse your palette.
10. Bourbon Ball
We aren’t moving away from the bourbon-based drinks just yet, as we have another chocolate-flavored surprise in store for you here!
Make sure that when you add the bourbon of choice and your hazelnut liquor, you add some heavy cream in that cocktail mixer as you shake it, for the perfect smooth sensation going down.
11. Chocolate Malt
So, is it a chocolate malt in the sense that it’s a malt whiskey or the malt milk flavor that you get in many popular confectionaries?
Well, in this case, it’s the malted milk powder that is added to the cocktail during blending.
But, if you’re curious about that particular flavor combination, why not try this one with a little malt whiskey just one time?
You know, for scientific reasons. Obviously.
12. Adult Black Cow Milkshake
Now, if you’re looking for a cocktail that is halfway to being a milkshake, you’ve come to the right place with this particular root beer beverage.
The chocolate liqueur of choice is what is bringing the cocktail factors here, with the vanilla extract, root beer, and ice cream making this just as great as a dessert as it is a cocktail!
The perfect reward after a long summer’s day, no doubt.
13. Chocolate Old-Fashioned
Look, what can we say, old-fashioned never go out of… well, fashion!
With this particular version of the classic on-the-rocks cocktail, you can either add chocolate liqueur directly to the mix, or you can use bitters in place of the citrus options that you would normally have.
Try both and see which one fits your tastes better!
14. Equator Crème De Cacao
Equator cocktails are the perfect way to enjoy classic Central and Latin American flavors, which is why these kinds of drinks are particularly popular along the southeast coast.
However, by introducing a little crème de cacao into your next equator cocktail, you can get some delightful warm tones in there too!
15. Mexican Alcoholic Hot Chocolate
Speaking of warm tones, let’s talk about hot chocolates for a second! Specifically, Mexican flavor-inspired hot chocolate cocktails!
Standard Mexican hot chocolate is by itself already a treat, with hints of cayenne thrown into a piping hot drink to add just a little spic heat to it.
So, what happens if you add a little tequila into the mix?
The answer is a drink that is just as warming to the tongue and throat as it is to the belly!
16. Chocolate Liqueur Maple Peanut Butter Latte
This drink has all the sweet flavors that you could want from a dessert cocktail. From the peanut butter latte flavoring to the chocolate liqueur punchy taste, to the sweet tones of maple syrup even.
Talk about a sweet treat!
17. White Chocolate Martini
We’ve covered plenty of chocolate martini cocktails so far on this list, and we aren’t even close to the last just yet. So it takes a lot to stand out in this particular crowd.
Fortunately, this drink does so by using a white chocolate liqueur instead of the classic darker variety, making it even creamier!
18. Americano-Italiano
Americano-Italiano is one of those cocktails that just radiates classic energy. It combines the same flavors as you get in an old-fashioned, with just a little extra coffee flavoring for good measure.
And where there is coffee to be tasted, chocolate is usually close by with space for itself!
19. Chocolate Covered Strawberry Martini
Yes, it’s technically another martini drink for you to try and make.
However, have you considered that what the previous martini drinks were missing were strawberry flavors alongside their chocolate liqueurs?
No, we didn’t think so.
20. Homemade White Chocolate Liqueur
Speaking of chocolate liqueur drinks, this next cocktail is our favorite answer to the question ‘what do you do on a quiet night with friends over’?
Subtly boozy at the same time as being creamy, there’s a reason that white chocolate cocktails are some of our favorites!
21. Brandy Alexander
The brandy alexander is a classic and staple cocktail of bars up and down the country.
And, funnily enough, brandy is also a pretty popular spirit to add to dessert dishes too.
So, it only makes sense to see just how well a little chocolate goes with this cocktail of choice for so many!
22. Sleepy Hollow
This particular tiki-inspired drink is the perfect cocktail for Halloween.
If you love tricks as much as you love treats in your drinks, this is the perfect chocolate-flavored cocktail for you!
Just don’t forget that dry ice with that chocolate liqueur!
23. Frozen Chocolate Mudslide
Now, time for a cocktail that shows what chocolate can taste like in a tailor-made cocktail!
24. Peanut Butter Cup Cocktail
If you thought a mudslide was an amazing chocolaty drink, just wait until you get a taste of this peanut butter cup cocktail!
25. Angel’s Tip Cocktail
Topped with a beautiful cherry on the glass, this is the perfect cocktail to please your inner sophisticate!
26. Chocolate Cake Cocktail
What could be better than a chocolate cocktail?
Well, a chocolate cake cocktail, of course!
Make sure not to be frugal with that vanilla-flavored vodka and hazelnut liqueur. This is a drink that is made to be enjoyed, not just drunk!
27. Chocolate Malt Ball Grasshopper
Back to the malt balls, we go for this next recipe!
If you’re looking for a drink that doesn’t just blur the line between dessert and cocktail, but completely kicks it to the curb, this is the perfect drink for you!
28. Snow Plow Cocktail
With a cocktail packed with ice cream and Baileys Irish cream liqueur, AND dark rum, how could you not fall in love with this drink?
Frequently Asked Questions
As you may have noticed from the list, there is a surprising amount of variety when it comes to the spirits that seem to pair nicely with chocolate. This may prompt the question if any alcoholic drinks don’t go well with the confectionery.
While it primarily comes down to personal taste in the end, several spirits pair better with chocolate than others.
– Whiskey, for example, comes in several different strengths and flavors, which can be paired accordingly with your chocolate of choice. Single-origin chocolate (chocolate that has been made from cocoa beans all from the same region) pairs excellently with classic whiskey, whereas rye whiskey works best with milk chocolate, for example.
– Bourbon spirit works excellently with equally strong chocolate with both high cocoa content and a strong distinct flavor.
– Rum and chocolate both come from tropical climates, meaning that they are a natural combination of flavors. The best results usually come from either single-origin chocolate or slated caramel chocolate alternatively.
Ultimately, it comes down to both having high-quality chocolate and spirits to use in your recipe, and understanding what flavor and ingredients go well together.
As the recipes we have shown demonstrate, with the right know-how, there’s no limit to what you can come up with!
This is a tricky question, and the answer will vary depending on what type of cocktail you are making. Generally speaking, spirits and chocolates have much longer shelf lives than many other alcoholic drinks do.
Compared to beers and wines, which have high grain and fruit contents respectively, spirits are already aged drinks that, at least when kept in their bottles, last for years at a time.
Half the flavor in the best spirits such as bourbon and whiskey comes from how old it is, in many cases!
Chocolate, while not lasting as long, is still able to last for months at a time without spoiling when stored and contained properly.
However, when considering cocktails that use both, you have to consider the other ingredients that are being used.
Many use citrus or other plant-based ingredients that could otherwise spoil quite easily, so make sure that you know what ingredients you are putting into a cocktail beforehand.
Following on from the last point, is it possible to prepare chocolate-based cocktails beforehand, so you don’t need to be worrying about making one on the spot?
Once again, this comes back to the expiry date issue that we mentioned before.
So long as you have stable ingredients, and appropriate containers to store them in beforehand, chocolate cocktails can be preprepared before you plan to drink them.
Ideally, you should only make the cocktails the night before or a day in advance at most, if you’re planning to do this.
Final Thoughts
So, as you can see, there are plenty of ways for you to create some creative confectionary-base cocktails with the right chocolate on-hand, with flavors for pretty much any palette.
The only question now is which one will you make first?
28 Amazing Cocktail Recipes That Use Chocolate
Cocktails are some of the sweetest alcoholic drinks that you can make. So why not improve an already sweet treat with another amazing treat?
Ingredients
Directions
- Pick a recipe from above
- Click the recipe name and visit the website
- Collect the ingredients and the food
- Enjoy – don’t forget to leave a review
Recipe Video
Cooking is great for your mental, physical, and emotional health. What’s the worst that could happen? Find a recipe that you like the sound of and cook it along with me. You might even unlock a new passion!
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