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Among my minor childhood traumas was the time my dad returned from a business trip to Belgium with a smart box of assorted chocolates (cue tiny violins). Expecting caramel, I bit into a truffle and was met by an explosion of very boozy liqueur. The box seemed to be an exciting change from the usual duty-free Toblerone, but after this incident, truffle assortments have always struck me as deeply unsafe. (I have tried liqueur-filled chocolates since, but still remain flummoxed by them.)

So you can imagine my feelings about chocolate-infused liqueurs. Personally, I think some things don’t need to mix, but in this era of edible collabs (see the recent Flying Goose sriracha x Heck sausages), brands can’t resist a dabble. Enter Bailey’s x Terry’s Chocolate Orange Irish Cream Liqueur, which will send fans of both products aflutter. Most creamy chocolate liqueurs use a neutral grain spirit as their base, which is mixed with dairy, sugar and chocolate flavouring – the base for Bailey’s, for example, is Irish whiskey. Waitrose is less specific about the base of its No1 Blonde Chocolate Cream Liqueur, which is inspired by the supermarket’s chocolate bar of the same name and made in partnership with a distiller in Burgundy. Apparently, it has “notes of caramelised white chocolate”, though I found it cloying. Such things are better served ice-cold, however – Waitrose recommends serving it on the rocks or over ice-cream; I might use it to spike a bread-and-butter pudding or chocolate tart.

What distinguishes these creamy liqueurs from the more traditional créme de cacao is the absence of dairy in the latter (confusingly, given its name). Made by macerating fermented and roasted cacao nibs in alcohol before distillation, it is the syrupy, chocolate-infused liqueur found in cocktails such as the brandy alexander and has a higher ABV. Fortnum & Mason’s Chocolate Chestnut Liqueur (see today’s pick), meanwhile, is made with a base wheat spirit infused with cacao husk, and vodka and other flavourings are then added. That’s marketed as a Christmas number, but it would lace coffee nicely year round.

I also enjoyed Marks & Spencer’s cacao nib-infused Distiller’s Cove with Jamaican rum, in which the spirit is married with cocoa extract and sea salt – an intuitive union given that cocoa and rum are made in the same corner of the globe, and because rum is naturally sweet. Drink it neat and on the rocks, not least because, when mixed with Coke, you’d struggle to taste the chocolate.

I was less taken by Rubis, a fortified wine made with tempranillo grapes and chocolate flavouring, but I can understand why some people might be – dark chocolate and red wine is not an incongruous pairing, after all. I can, however, get on board with Angostura’s Cocoa Bitters, the happiest discovery of this trip down trauma lane. It brings zhuzh to soda or tonic water, nuttiness to classic cocktails – in a vodka martini, say, or an adonis (half sherry, half sweet vermouth) – and would also work in bakes and savoury dishes alike (a Mexican mole, perhaps).

Chocolate and booze combos for Easter

Fortnum & Mason Chocolate Chestnut Liqueur £25, 20%. Serve ice-cold in a frozen glass for a post-Easter lunch treat.

Marks & Spencer Distiller’s Cove with Jamaican Rum £28 Ocado, 40%. Serve on the rocks with lime – a nice alternative to amaretto.

Angostura Cocoa Bitters £9.10 Ocado, 48%. A revelation to put a twist on classic cocktails.

Edmund Briottet Creme de Cacao £27.25 The Whisky Exchange, 25%. Spike your coffee or make a round of brandy alexanders.