By Tara Kyle
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — Ever wonder what vending machine candy pairs best with an artisanal Scotch?
Bottlerocket wine and spirits shop is offering at least five free trick-or-treat-style bites and booze Saturday. That artisanal Scotch, the Compass Box Whiskey, will go with Cracker Jacks in order to enhance its caramel notes. Apple cinnamon donuts will be matched with Wolffer Estate apple wine, and candy corns with an oak-treated Chardonnay.
"It's kind of freaky how good it tastes," owner Tom Geniesse said of the candy corn pairing.
As parents peruse the pairings, kids are encouraged to come along and nosh on the candy.
Pretzel M&Ms, a new addition to the candy world in 2010, are available alongside a "big monster" of a California red wine. It's a good combo, Geniesse said, because milk chocolate counteracts the bitterness.
It's a misconception that full-bodied wines go well with dark chocolate, according to Geniesse.
Finally, for the truly classy, gummi worms are placed inside a Sombra Mezcal, a pairing that Geniesse said is more about nostaligic fun than flavor.
"We've all been at a bad bachelor party, with a glass of Mezcal with a worm in the bottom," Geniesse said.
That sort of pretention-free playfulness is part of the core mission at Bottlerocket, which prides itself on an unconventional store layout that helps visitors find wines organized by themes including "someone you barely know," "third date" and "chicken."
"Some people take wine too seriously," Geniesse said. "It's my belief that it's just a simple pleasure."
