Why Whisky and Chocolate Are a Match Made in Heaven (And How the Belgrove Box Elevates the Experience)
Doc. Choc here,
Little secret for you, I love Whisky.
There is just something about the way that it goes with chocolate.They both ask for a little pause, a little patience, and a little space to settle in and see what they might offer you; if you give them the time. (OMG, much like me on a first date)
Whisky rolls slowly across the tongue, opening itself layer by layer, while chocolate melts in its own deliberate way, transforming from something solid and certain into something fluid and lingering. Together they create an indulgence that feels rich and almost like an embrace you don’t quite want to end.
There was never really a question..
When I first thought about bringing whisky and chocolate together, it wasn’t just the idea of a pairing for the sake of it. It was because there is a genuine connection between the way flavours in whisky and chocolate speak to each other. They share compounds and characteristics that make them natural friends. Caramelisation, Maillard reactions, roasted depth, warm vanilla and subtle spice. You take a sip of whisky and you find notes that mirror what cocoa brings to life. You take a bite of chocolate and you feel the sweetness soften the whisky’s edges, (or maybe it’s just the more whisky you drink that does it?) It’s a match made in heaven.
About working with Belgrove
For our whisky chocolate box I turned to Belgrove Distillery, which to me is one of the most remarkable distilleries in the world.
Belgrove sits out in Kempton, where Rye Grain is grown 100m from the door of their shed. The grain is malted right there in a repurposed dryer, the door removed so the wild yeasts of the valley can wander in and do their work. The spent grains find their way back into the bellies of sheep that graze the same land, and the still itself is one of only a handful of direct flame versions left in the world, built by Peter Bignell with his own hands.
The heat of the flame creates this extraordinary Maillard reaction inside the still, the same kind of caramelising depth that makes toast taste the way it does or onions turn golden when they sizzle. The result is a whisky unlike any other, lush and creamy, warm and enveloping, like the perfect bowl of porridge or one of those long, soul filling hugs on a cold cold morning.
And Milk Chocolate
That whisky is already a story, already an experience, but I wanted to double it down.
So the chocolate that we use is not just any milk chocolate, but one enriched with malt powder, deliberately intense, fatty and creamy and caramelly. The idea of amplifying flavour rather than balancing it is something I carried with me from my time in kitchens, particularly at Restaurant Orana under Jock Zonfrillo, and it remains the biggest lesson I’ve learned. Take two bold things and let them collide, let them lean into each other rather than hold back. The whisky meets the chocolate on equal footing and expands further, literally filling your whole mouth with warmth and richness.
When we make this ganache we add the whisky at exactly thirty-one degrees. That may sound like a small technical detail, but it changes everything. Most people blend it in at forty five degrees or even more (to be honest, I don’t think they even know what temperature), but by then you have lost the quiet, delicate flavours that sit in the background. By adding it cooler, we keep them intact, and so every bite of chocolate carries not just the boldness of rye and the caramel of flame, but the tiny flickers of spice and grain and honeyed warmth that otherwise disappear. It means the whisky is not simply present but alive in the chocolate, shimmering even. It’s bloody magical.
To make something special
That is why this chocolate box feels different to me. It’s the chocolate that I am most proud of to be honest.
It is broad, diverse, and layered.
