I’m distraught…….at work this week (chocolatier) i was asked to make dark chocolate whisky barrels by a local Distillery, i might add that is nothing unusual as i make them all the time with a cheap blended whisky, the use of expensive single malt is pointless as the nuances of a malt whisky is lost once you factor in a dark ganache base and whilst i do use a suitable single origin/estate 70%+ dark chocolate shell i feel that once you blend the flavours together, the origin of the base whisky is immaterial.

To my horror i was asked to produce the whisky barrels using a Bladnoch single malt…..Arghhhh wtf!…….it took every moral fibre of my body to abstain from necking the bottle surreptitiously and using a cheap blend but i held strong, sucked it up and used the single malt, They were produced for the Distillery (it’s local) so perhaps i’ll pop in on the bike some weekend and attempt to cadge an afternoons tasting session followed by a taxi ride home………….They were quite nice Barrels but the Bladnoch is a rather light, floral and fragrant malt to begin with so i personally felt that the chocolate overpowered the malt, i did need to have a few tastings of the malt before hand to gain an idea of the quantities to use though so it wasn’t entirely wasted, turned out to be quite a pleasant afternoon really………. 😀

Git 😛

so do you fill the barrels with whisky? or is it whisky-flavoured chocolate?

whisky and chocolate – what’s not to love… 🙂

there was clearly a bit left, chocolatier’s tax 🙂

I want your job.

“at work this week (chocolatier)”

Surely, this is the ultimate STW job? Can anyone beat this??

I wish my job involved booze and chocolate 🙁

.

How much do you have to pay to do this for a living??

brakes : I make a chocolate ganache using fresh cream and melted tempered chocolate of varying cocoa percentage and gradually add the alcohol, only prob wi this method is the chocs have a shelf life of days due to the fresh cream, or i can cheat and use a commercial product such as crystofill that has a long shelf life, every chocolate you buy commercially (thorntons/lindt etc…) uses a product such as this but there’s nowt quite like a fresh ganache product that Has to be eaten within 48hrs of making it 😀

Yeah…it’s not a bad job really…….for my sins i work the other 3 days of the week in a mates bike shop – i’m mechanic/sales.

One or two of those look defective. if you like you could send them to me and I will QC them for free… Email in profile!!!
😉
Nice work by the way…

:slavvers:

Been there, nice little distillery. The owner was there when we took our tour and he completely took over. Very interesting guy, passionate about his whiskey. Was hoping to go back there this summer but didn’t make it, hopefully next year.

I’ve been to Bladnoch on the tour and the new stuff isn’t any great shakes, probably plenty of blends out there that are a better drink IMHO.

I’d still eat them all though with pleasure…

Mix Jim Beam Honey and Laphroaig and wrap that in chocolate and I’ll buy some 🙂

A few years ago after a “strenuous ” ride from Orton I bought some chocs from the choc makers in the village loaded with Whisky not realising just what the effect of riding on a hot summers day and necking a few Whisky laced chops would have on me 🙄
Which days do you work in Next Level Kenny? Due a wee road ride next week 😀

I was staying in Tomintoul a couple of weeks ago and my host had the choice of Glanlivet or Tomintoul. Having tried Glenlivet before I opted for the Tomintoul which is rather nice 😆

the chocs have a shelf life of days due to the fresh cream

I have a suggestion rather than landfill.

Trekster : Generally a thursday/friday/sat, if you’re planning on heading down i’ll make sure i bring some samples into work, purely for energy related purposes of course 😉 , it’s the big Castle Douglas mtb crowd lake district weekender next weekend so all the local peeps decamp to a big house in the lakes to drink and fall off their bikes in strange sourroundings, i’m on my tod in the shop next saturday.

somafunk – in your view, what’s the ideal % cocoa in a dark choc for general scoffing purposes? I like it around 70%

Chocolate whisky.

It’s the drink to get both sexes in the mood.

Sounds like a good days work to me! I just poured a shot of Dalmore Gran Reserva into a pint of Hobgoblin.. I’m sorry 😀

sorry,only made it this far

somafunk – Member

I’m distraught…….at work this week (chocolatier)

somafunk – Member
Trekster : Generally a thursday/friday/sat, if you’re planning on heading down i’ll make sure i bring some samples into work, purely for energy related purposes of course , it’s the big Castle Douglas mtb crowd lake district weekender next weekend so all the local peeps decamp to a big house in the lakes to drink and fall off their bikes in strange sourroundings, i’m on my tod in the shop next saturday.

POSTED 18 MINUTES AGO # REPORT-POST
Probably Thurs then.
I was tempted by the Lakes weekend but dodgy knees atm and total lack of fitness compared to the others prevailed 🙄 Ullock Pike?
Digs look go tho….

neil : Anything more than 84% cocoa is utterly pointless as it will not melt along with your body temperature due to the reduced fat content, one of my favs is a 75% cocoa from a single Venezuela grower (porcelana) and from a certain area of his estate where the conditions are perfect for growing the finest beans, they are very carefully conched, turned into cocoa and the final result if tempered correctly is a very nutty and caramel aftertaste that lingers on the palate, not something to be scoffed like a dairy milk (not chocolate in my eyes) but like a fine malt it should be savoured on the taste buds.

Yep…i’m a tea, coffee and chocolate snob/bore……. 😉

Dodgy knees don’t affect the ability to quoff vast amounts of alcohol?, you’d be fine……. 😀

As an asthmatic with a gastric reflux issue I am struggling to enjoy chocolate atm 🙄

What coffee / chocolate combination for chocolate-dipped coffee beans then? Would you go for a more mellow coffee so it didn’t overpower the chocolate?

(coffee g33k here)

True but can affect asthma……willing to suffer for the cause tho 😯

So many choices for next weekend inc a works outing to Sulwath 🙂

dairy milk (not chocolate in my eyes)

How very true. American chocolate,though – argh!

Dipped/coated coffee beans needs a strong dark chocolate (obviously dependant on the roast and quality of the bean), preferably with a fruity tang to it as this will bring out the aromatics of the coffee bean, something like a decent madagascar 70%+ as they generally have a strong overtone of fruitiness along with a nice lingering smokiness about them – a very rich and rounded chocolate which complements a decent bean.

Trekster : an outing to Sulwath is always a welcome exercise, whether or not restraint is needed i’ll leave up to your discretion 😉

What a crap job you have somafunk :-)Whisky and chocolate!

T’is that….I wish i worked in IT……. 😉