"The sweet union of bourbon and chocolate has long been considered a flavorful match made in heaven, but produced more locally in the Bluegrass."Chocolate sweetens, and tones down the sharpness or 'burn' of bourbon," said Lisa Sharp, co-owner of Sharp's Candies.
Employee Natalie Smith suggested that the "savoriness of the bourbon and the sweetness of the chocolate combine, like an after-dinner drink."
Whatever the reason, chocolate and bourbon sales continue to grow, and so do sales of products that combine the two flavors. Local residents who are going to conventions out of state and want to share something from Central Kentucky have become a major part of the clientele for Sharp's bourbon and chocolate concoctions. Sales increase for Christmas giving and during Keeneland meets and Kentucky Derby week.
Sharp's bestsellers are the bourbon creams. "People are more familiar with them," Sharp said. For these candies, pecans are marinated in a blend of bourbons for several months. Then they're added to a cream center, which is then covered in milk or dark chocolate. The bourbon creams are also made as Easter eggs, covered in dark or milk chocolate.
Bourbon cherries, made only with dark chocolate, have the strongest bourbon flavor, because "the maraschino cherries really absorb the liquid bourbon," Sharp said. Valentine's Day is the biggest sale day for bourbon cherries.
Sharp's bourbon truffles have a thick version of the traditional chocolate ganache (chocolate plus cream), which is thinned by the liquid bourbon. They are covered in dark chocolate.
While probably best-known for pulled cream candy (chocolate dipped and plain) and its unique candy bar, the Blue Monday, Ruth Hunt Candy Company makes four bourbon and chocolate products.
Ruth Hunt bourbon balls are bourbon-flavored cream centers covered in chocolate and topped with pecan halves. The one pound "Churchill Box" of the bourbon balls, with a racing scene on the box top, carries the label of "The Official bourbon balls of Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby."
Ruth Hunt's two other bourbon products are made with a premium bourbon, Woodford Reserve. Both these bourbon balls and the bourbon truffles are packaged in boxes with Woodford Reserve's distinctive dark green and gold colors.
Visitors to the Woodford Reserve Distillery, 7855 McCracken Pike in Versailles, can sample an authentic Woodford Reserve bourbon Ball. Boxes of these bourbon balls and the Woodford Reserve bourbon truffles are also sold there.
Don Hurt's Old Kentucky Candy Company uses only Jim Beam 100-proof bourbon for the three bourbon candy products it makes. That's been true since 1967, when Jeremiah Beam, a member of the distillery family, called on Hurt and suggested that he try the company's bourbon in his candy.
Bourbon chocolates — Hurt prefers this name instead of bourbon balls, because that can also mean a type of cookie — sell the best of his three products. They are made by adding chopped pecans to a bourbon and fondant center, then covering the candy with semisweet chocolate.
Hurt operated a candy store in Frankfort until 1969, when he moved to Lexington. The bourbon chocolates sold so well that he added two more chocolate and bourbon candies. Bourbon cherries consist of cherries aged in bourbon plus a little fondant, all covered in semisweet chocolate.
Bourbon truffles are made by adding the bourbon to the traditional truffle filling of chocolate ganache. Then the candy is enrobed in semisweet chocolate.
Old Kentucky Candy Company's customers buy its bourbon chocolates and the other two bourbon products both for themselves and for gifts. All three candies are popular with tourists who take the candymaking tour the company offers to groups.
Hurt compared chocolate and bourbon to chocolate and wine, both being "great marriages" of flavors. He noted that "Kentucky people, Tennesseans, too, have always liked bourbon. It's a tradition here."
There's no doubt that a lot of sampling of bourbon and chocolate candy will take place in June 2010. That's when the Retail Confectioners International Convention will be held here, thanks to lobbying efforts by Hurt and other Lexingtonians.
Old Kentucky Candy Company is located at 450 Southland Dr. It is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. The company's phone number is (859) 278-4444, and its Web site address is www.oldkycandy.com.
Sharp's Candies is located on Regency Rd. Its phone number is
(859) 276-4625, and its Web site address is www.sharpscandies.com.
Ruth Hunt Candy Company's location at 550 N. Maysville Rd. in Mount Sterling is open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Sunday from 1-5:30 p.m. Its phone number is (859) 498-1556. The company's 2313 Woodhill Drive location is open Monday through Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from 1 to 6 p.m., and its phone number is (859) 268-1559. The company's Web site address is www.ruthhuntcandy.com.
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