Friendship happens over Whisk(e)y & Craft Chocolate

Let's start by saying that FRIENDSHIP is the most important thing that gave me the biggest hope in 2020.

Friends, whom I got to know over Instagram share the same passion as mine and we bonded over that. Never did I know that so many amazing people could unite over a shared enthusiasm. It started with our common love for whisk(e)y and rum and other amazing spirits and one by one my friends fell in love over “bean to bar” craft chocolate as well.

What is that , you ask?

Bean to bar chocolate begins with the cacao bean. This might sound obvious, but the truth is that most confectioners, chocolatiers, and pastry chefs buy pre-manufactured chocolate and then melt it to make confections, bon bons, truffles, and all kinds of treats. But a craft chocolate maker starts with the cacao bean. She / he knows where the beans are coming from… the country, the co-op, the farm. Sometimes even the harvest year.

Think, for example the Talisker distillers cut 2020 vs 2019. Or how you know exactly which farm grew the blue agave that went into your anejo tequila and what cask was used. Or how an agricole rum from Hawaii is different from a Barbados rum. It tells you the story of a place, the sense of being in that same land from where the barley, the sugarcane, the agave or the cacao came from. Don't we all love to hear the tales that the brand ambassadors and the distillers tell!!

So, back to what the chocolate maker does : The whole beans are cracked & winnowed into nibs; the nibs are then then ground into a liquid paste called chocolate liquor. Then some use a process called conching that involves heat/time/motion and a specialized piece of a equipment. This process further develops the flavor. Now is the time chocolate makers (exactly like the master distiller) must use their taste and intuition to make it ready to be tempered and poured into bar molds.

See how strikingly similar the master distillers and the chocolate makers are. They are involved in every step and know how to address the flavors of the grain and the bean and make the best out of these. They make us feel proud of what we are smelling and tasting which not only builds a strong community but also keeps us together.

As the conversation between friends carries on, we break off pieces of the bar and raise a glass to this friendship. As we smell them, we marvel at how aromatic the little squares and the golden liquid are. A small piece of chocolate melts in the mouth , a sip of the drink mixes in and brings out an extremely different combined flavor.

From "Eureka!! We found this whoaaaah", it literally goes to Slàinte Mhath!