Bourbon Balls - it's the Kentucky Derby, Darl'in

The Kentucky Derby will be run Saturday, and many spectators will be sipping on Mint Juleps — and munching on bourbon balls, the sweet treats that have a little kick.

There are several styles of bourbon balls, says Louisville chocolatier Erika Chavez-Graziano. She describes her version as "a dark chocolate confection; it's a butter-cream center, very creamy, very sweet — and it packs a punch. It's pretty boozy, as bourbon balls go."




And the spiked sweets are good business for Chavez-Graziano's company, Cellar Door Chocolates.

"They're a huge part of my business, especially this time of year," she says. "Right now, we will sell about 800 pounds of bourbon balls, which is pretty big. It puts us at about 30,000 individual pieces."

Since the balls aren't baked, the alcohol from the bourbon isn't cooked off, as it is in many other candies and desserts.

"After eating one, you can smell the bourbon on you for a little while," says Chavez-Graziano. But that doesn't necessarily mean you should use a high-end bourbon in them.

"I think that those single-batch bourbons are best consumed neat" instead of in a candy, she says. "You would lose the finer nuances of all those wonderful bourbons — you would lose them in the chocolate, and the sugar, and the butter."

Chavez-Graziano uses 80-proof Evan Williams, which she describes as "not a sweet bourbon; it's robust. It's a little peaty, it's perfect when you complement it with sugar and chocolate."

Asked what kind of drink or food to pair with a bourbon ball, she says that one thing comes to mind: the espresso machine at her shop in downtown Louisville.

"Just drop one of your bourbon balls into a cup of coffee," Chavez-Graziano says, "and it's a lovely combination."

Recipe: Cellar Door Chocolates' Bourbon Truffles

by Erika Chavez-Graziano

Ingredients

1 pound dark chocolate (55-71%), chopped
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup Evan Williams bourbon
pinch of sea salt
1 cup finely chopped pecans

Instructions

Bring heavy whipping cream to a boil. Remove from heat. Add chocolate; stir until smooth. Add bourbon; stir until well-incorporated. Add salt. Let the chocolate mixture (ganache) rest at room temperature until firm (about 4 hours).

Using two spoons, portion out half ounce balls of ganache. Hand roll balls until smooth and then roll it in the pecans.

Makes about 40 truffles.

You can also use the ganache as a cake frosting — just pour over cake or cupcakes while the ganache is still warm. It also makes a wonderful coffee addition. Before you roll the ganache in the pecans, put a couple of the balls in your cup of coffee — stir and enjoy!

Erika Chavez-Graziano is the proprietor of Cellar Door Chocolates in Louisville, Ky.