Gin-infused chocolate is the boozy sweet you need

Fine cuisine and impeccable design are emerging as two of Finland’s biggest strengths as this young country finds its feet on the international scene. And one of this month's box contents embodies both! Meet the beautiful – and delicious – Cranmary Chocolate from Kyrö Distilling Company and Goodio.

When Miika of Kyrö Distillery Company went to a start-up conference in Helsinki, he was already a big fan of farm-to-bar chocolatier Goodio.

Founded in 2015 by an ex-Angry Birds developer, Goodio does chocolate a little differently. Committed to sustainability, well-being and transparency, Goodio sources the world’s best chocolate and keeps it in as natural a state as possible.

Goodio’s coco comes straight from some of the best chocolate producers in the world straight to Helsinki, where it’s stone-ground for three days, forcing the coco butter out of the nibs without interfering with the nutritional content of the raw materials. It’s then tempered before being wrapped in simply stunning – and instantly recognisable – packaging.

“We’ve always loved their packaging,” says Miika, “and we share a design aesthetic. So when I met the team, we started thinking about whether there was anything we could do together.”

Luckily for everyone who can now try the delicious Cranmary chocolate bar in August's Gin of the Month box, they were able to come together around the very same moment in Finnish life that inspired Napue Gin: standing in a Finnish meadow early in the morning or just after dark, when the smells and sounds are at their most vivid.

And, with a vision of bringing Nordic-inspired flavours to the world of chocolate – existing flavours include liquorice and sea buckthorn, along with wild blueberry – Goodio was the perfect partner for Kyrö Distillery Company.

The combination of Goodio’s spectacular dark chocolate and Napue Gin’s garnishes, rosemary and cranberry, is a revelation for those who associate chocolate bars with supermarket sweets aisles.

“It’s a much more adult taste,” Miika says, “and is made of slightly bitter 62 per cent pure stone ground chocolate and some rosemary and raw cranberry. We thought we’d do one batch as a random fun thing, but it turned out so well that they made it a mainstay product.”

Beautifully packaged and absolutely delicious, you’ll love it – especially alongside a Napue Gin perfect serve!