What should I use for fortifying a chocolate mulberry port?

I made a chocolate mulberry port a few months back. Upon its most recent racking, I noticed that the chocolate flavor wasn't quite up to par. I've decided to add about 8 oz of cacao nibs. I'll need to sanitize them in some kind of hard alcohol first, so I figured I'd do something that complemented the flavor of the port. I was going to just do plain old brandy, but then I figured I'd ask here and see if anyone has any other recommendations.

I did a choc cherry port and fortified with double distilled shine mixed with Godiva liqueur. At 20% the Godiva was too low to fortify on its own without having to use an excessive amt. if you don't have shine, use everclear or a neutral brandy. That Godiva stuff is awesome, but super chocolatey and sweet, so use moderately.


Mine will be ageing for a couple years, it is fiery hot right now at about 18 %

I ended up just going with a neutral spirit. I was worried about ruining the taste of the existing port.

Doug....how did the port turn out for you? Glad to see you are at this stage, and the time to pick mulberries again will be here before we know it!!

Ask me in a few months. I want to see what it's like with the extra bit of chocolate flavor. I might want to backsweeten it a bit, too. I hit the FG I wanted, but the acid is a bit high, so I'm thinking of adding some additional sugar.