Master the art of matching your drink to your snack with this helpful guide to the perfect food and drink pairings.
Whether for entertaining guests, toasting between two or savouring a solo moment, this creative food and drink pairings ideas will elevate small and big moments alike. Whether your taste is for something that sparkles, something darker, or something non-alcoholic we’ve got you covered – with sweet and savoury treat ideas to match.
Chandon Cuvée Riche + Chocolate-coated Strawberries (above)
Hand-dipped daily in store in chocolate, David Jones Chocolate-coated Strawberries are a delight, whether for yourself or to share. From classic milk and dark chocolate, to dark chocolate with freeze-dried passionfruit crisps, white chocolate with ruby chocolate piping, and dark chocolate with cocoa nibs, there’s something for every taste. The soft acidity of Champagne will temper the rich velvety flavour of the chocolate, and Chandon’s Cuvée Riche – with its aromas of guava, ripe tropical fruits, vanilla and dried apricots – will perfectly compliment the strawberries inside.
Woodford Reserve Double Oaked Bourbon + Mr Stanley’s Nutpopper Brittle + Fool’s Gold Toffee
An innovative approach to twice-barreled bourbon – where it’s uniquely matured in separate, charred oak barrels – Woodford Reserve Double Oaked has a rich and colourful flavour, and a long and creamy finish with lingering hints of honeyed apple. Enjoy this food and drink pairing neat, over ice or in an Old Fashioned. For an extra special moment, pair it with toffee-encrusted pieces of popcorn and peanut brittle and individually wrapped pure buttery toffees. Good enough to share – or not.
Poor Toms Imbroglio + David Jones Sliced Australian Prosciutto
Consider Poor Toms Imbroglio an Italian jaunt in a glass: a bitter-meets-sweet Amaro Australiano that’s right at home in a negroni, a spritz, or straight over ice. Made with love in Sydney, it’s a potent mix of 25 obscure herbs and fruits sourced both locally and from places a little further flung. It’s only fitting that it be enjoyed with our David Jones Sliced Australian Prosciutto, made with Australian Pork and cured for six months.
Heaps Normal Quiet XPA + David Jones Cocktail Beef Pie
The Heaps Normal Quiet XPA tastes like a delicious, refreshing beer… except that it’s not. Well, not in the traditional sense: Heaps Normal specialise in full-flavoured XPA that’s actually non-alcoholic. Unfiltered, with balanced bitterness and a subtle malt sweetness, this “beer” has a tropical and citrus aroma with a lingering and unmistakably beery finish. Because nothing goes with beer (alcoholic or otherwise) better than a pie, pair it with our David Jones Cocktail Beef Pies, made with Australian beef mince in a rich onion gravy, topped with a flaky puff pastry.
Impression Dry Gin + Holy Goat La Luna Barrell
As with all the best gin, this Dry version from Impression is a bold but clean, fresh drop. Highlighting the citrus notes of the Kakadu plum, the earthy flavour and slight bitterness of calendula, the sweet and refreshing taste of the mangosteen, and the fresh aromatic scent of the finger lime, it’s well-rounded enough to simply be enjoyed with soda or tonic water. When it comes to a snack, opt for a cheese with as much depth: this beautiful handcrafted goat cheese is made on the 200 acres of rolling granite plains that make up the Sutton Grange Organic Farm, where herds forage on native grasses, herbs and shrubs – in this case resulting in a cheese with a creamy full-bodied interior, nutty flavour and citrusy tang.
Capocollo; LUIGI BORMIOLI Regency Burgunder Glass; DAVID JONES Dinner Plate
David Jones Pinot Noir + David Jones Danish Salami, Pepperoni and Capocollo
Made for David Jones by award-winning winemaker Steve Flamsteed of Giant Steps, this wine offers a detailed expression of Yarra Valley Pinot Noir. Handpicked grapes are gently macerated for two weeks to extract colour and aroma before being matured in old French oak for six months and bottled without fining or filtration to create a delicate and fragrant wine. Sip it alongside Danish-style salami made with Australian pork, seasoned with garlic; Pepperoni made with Australian pork, seasoned with hot chilli and paprika; and Capocolla, made with Australian pork marbled with fat and matured for three months to develop flavour.
Applewood Distillery Carter’s Coffee Liqueur + Holdsworth Chocolates
Adelaide distillery Applewood is responsible for this rich and aroma-soaked coffee liqueur, crafted from specialty coffee beans sourced from Mexico, Brazil and Papua New Guinea. Serve these food and drink pairings with a homemade espresso martini for a little extra flair. Either way, savour the moment with Holdsworth’s Renaissance Collection Chocolates, filled with favourites such as orange cream, chocolate fudge and chewy toffee.
Starward Solera Single Malt Whisky + David Jones Chocolate-coated Treats
Recent winner of Australia’s Best Single Malt Whisky and crowned Best Craft Distilled Whisky in the world in 2016, Melbourne-based distillery Starward’s Solera Single Malt is an impressive display of what Australian whisky can be. A top-shelf food and drink pairings such as this deserves only the best glassware, and the petite ‘Neat’ glass from Riedel‘s Drink Specific collection is just the thing, designed to nestle neatly in your hand. With the other, snack on Milk Chocolate-coated Salted Pretzels and Malt Balls made with sustainably sourced cocoa, the perfect extension of the sweet and savoury balance of the whisky itself.