It's Girl Scout cookie time again - I always associate them with the beginning of Lent, when I' m contemplating giving up chocolate. Below, by cookie type, are wine pairing recommendations from Wine Club Reviews and Ratings and beer pairing recommendations from Beer and Brewing. Further below, an infographic with suggested whiskey pairings:
Wine: There are two types of Thin Mints made today, but both combine a wafer, chocolate, and peppermint flavoring. To truly experience the mint & chocolate combination, however, don’t reach for the milk – try a Syrah instead.
Beer: These dark and roasty stouts deliver a mouthfeel that pairs well with the crisp, minty crunch of the wafer cookie (especially if you keep your Thin Mints in the freezer). Consider yourself warned, though, as these beers range from 9—13 percent ABV and you’ll likely find yourself reaching for a second sleeve of cookies in record time.
Samoas (Caramel deLites)Perennial Artisan Ales 17Alesmith Speedway StoutShipyard Mint Chocolate StoutEpic Big Bad BaptistHardywood Sidamo Coffee Stout
Wine: Banyuls is a red dessert wine from Southwestern France, which pairs amazingly with the dark chocolate stripes on Samoas. For a Plan B, pick up a Port.
Beers: Match the toasted coconut of these cookies with even more toasted coconut and the roasted caramel flavors in these beers:
Tagalongs (Peanut Butter Patties)Creature Comforts Koko BuniOskar Blues Death By CoconutBruery Mash & CoconutFunky Buddha Last SnowWormtown Norm Chocolate Coconut Stout
Wine: You’re going to see a trend here: when the cookie has chocolate, grab a bottle of red wine. Tagalongs are no different – find a fruity red wine such as Beaujolais or Zinfandel.
Beer: The vanilla, chocolate, and peanut butter flavors from the Tagalongs sound like adjuncts in a stout. So grab these flavor-filled stouts to heighten the insanity of this pairing.
Off Color DinoS’mores
FiftyFifty Vanilla Eclipse
Prairie Artisan Ales Bomb!
Stone W00tstout
Terrapin Cinnamon Roll’d Wake-n-Bake
Wine: Light and refreshing, a Trefoil shortbread should be paired with Pinot Noir or even Sparkling wine if the mood is right.
Beer: Stick with tradition by pairing these classic cookies with traditional beer styles such as Baltic porter’s cheek-warming notes of dark fruits and coffee or a Scottish ale with notes of cocoa and coffee and a dash of smoke.
LemonadesSmuttynose Baltic PorterFounders Dirty BastardJack’s Abby FraminghammerCentral Waters Brewer’s Reserve Bourbon Barrel Scotch AleOskar Blues Old Chub
Wine: When snacking on these shortbread cookies with lemon-flavored icing, grab a buttery Chardonnay like the 2009 Cambria Chardonnay from Uncorked Ventures.
Beer: The shortbread texture of the cookies and lemon flavors in the icing make an excellent contrasting duo for these citrusy IPAs.
Ballast Point SculpinNight Shift Santilli10 Barrel JoeNeshaminy Creek Shape of Hops to ComeAgainst the Grain Rico Sauvin
Wine: Shortbread dipped in rich fudge. It’s a tough one, as it combines the light shortbread with the chocolatey fudge, but try a Pinot Noir from Gold Medal Wine Club.
Beer: These shortbread cookies have had one side dunked in chocolate fudge. Keep the two-faced theme going by pairing with a contrasting beer such as these imperial IPAs:
Odell MyrcenaryBell’s HopslamFirestone Walker Double Jack
Or reinforce the cookie flavors with the roasted goodness and creamy mouthfeel of these milk stouts:
Savannah Smiles:Left Hand Nitro Milk Stout4 Hands Chocolate Milk Stout
Wine: These are a lemon-based cookie similar to the Lemonades but covered with powered sugar. Try a Pinot Grigio/Gris.
Beer: Push aside that lemon wedge you occasionally put in your beer and, if you must add a wedge, consider accenting your beer with the Savannah Smile instead. The lemon-flavored cookie wedges have been dusted with powdered sugar and pair well with these witbiers and bières de miel.
Allagash WhiteWestbrook White ThaiJester King's Bière de MielCasey East BankBrasserie Dupont Bière De Miel Biologique
Wine: Both sweet and tangy because of the cranberry, a good match for these would be a Viognier or the more popular Riesling.
Beer: Try these bières de garde for toffee notes and a subtle spice from farmhouse ale yeast that plays off nicely with the cranberry inundated cookies. Make sure to let these beers warm up a little for maximum intensity.
By the way, Samoa fans, you can buy Samoa-flavored coffee creamer.Lost Abbey Avante GardeTwo Brothers Domaine DuPageSchlafly Bière de GardeThe Commons Bière De GardeHill Farmstead Bière De Norma
Maxine’s Tap Room in Fayetteville, Arkansas has whiskey and Girl Scout cookie pairings:
Beer and Brewing, source of most of the beer recommendations above, also has a roundup of pairing suggestions from around the intertubes:
Caramel DeLites (aka Samoas) with Maui Brewing Co.’s CoCoNut PorTeR
Tagalongs with Wells & Young’s Brewing Company’s Banana Bread Beer
Thin Mints with Kiuchi Brewery’s Hitachino Nest Beer Espresso Stout
Trefoils with North Coast Brewing Co.’s Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout
Central Track’s Melissa Mackaly suggested these pairings:
Samoas with Founders Brewing Co.’s Dirty Bastard
Thin Mints with Great Divide Brewing Co.’s Yeti Imperial Stout
Do-Si-Dos with Founders Brewing Co.’s Imperial Stout
Thin Mints with Bootlegger’s Brewery’s Mint Chocolate Porter
Tagalongs with Brooklyn Brew Shop’s own Peanut Butter Porter
Dulce de Leches with Revolution Brewing’s Mad Cow Milk Stout
Lemonades with Brooklyn Brewery’s Sorachi Ace
Trefoils with Pearl Necklace Oyster StoutDo-Si-Dos with Lucky SOB Irish Red AleSamoas with Raging Bitch Belgian-Style IPATagalongs with Gonzo Imperial PorterThin Mints with Kujo Imperial Coffee Stout
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