Old Bushmills Irish Whiskey teams up to create an innovative hot chocolate

It’s a hot chocolate with a ‘kick’ in that it includes among its ingredients a premium Irish whiskey blend from Bushmills.

The Co Antrim business, the world’s oldest licensed distillery and the best known Northern Irish brand around the world, collaborated recently with artisan Grá Chocolates in Galway to create the Black Bush flavoured hot chocolate that’s the latest in a lengthy line of collaborations between the company and artisan and smaller enterprises across the island. The imaginative collaborations range from tea and coffee to handmade candles and cheese.

As well as creating greater awareness of the multi-award-winning Black Bush premium blend that’s long regarded as among the world’s best, Bushmills has been helping artisans in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland to create and promote innovative products and their talents to a wider audience through an extensive marketing campaign that’s branded as ‘Black Bush Stories’.

Black Bush is acknowledged as among the world’s best whiskey blends, winning ‘Best Irish Whiskey in the World’ at major international competitions.

The Black Bush Stories has seen a series of exciting collaborations and activities with independent, talented and spirited enterprises across Ireland. The focus on new product development by artisans reflects the distillery’s own investment in innovative whiskeys and marketing techniques.

Gráinne Mullins, founder of Grá Chocolates, was “thrilled to collaborate with the distillery in innovative product development and recently hosted a special masterclass at Eatyard, a popular ‘street food’ take away in Dublin, as part of the latest Black Bush masterclasses.

“It’s great to see the globally successful Irish whiskey sector reaching out to new audiences and at the same time shining a light on some of Ireland’s great talent,” she says.

“When I was invited to create something new with one of the most innovative whiskeys here I had to say yes, because chocolate and whiskey go so well together. The intense sweet sherry profile of Black Bush balanced with the notes of my rich cacao chocolate make this a stand-out marriage of flavours to savour. It is pure happiness for people to enjoy as we approach the Christmas season!”

Gráinne developed her love of great food from her family background and has worked in Michelin star restaurants as a pastry chef over more than 10 years. Having worked in many of Ireland’s top restaurants her talent was recognised as winner of the 2019 Euro-Toques Young Chef of the Year. in 2020, during the Covid lockdown, Gráinne decided to found Grá Chocolates in her hometown of Kilchreest, near Galway city.

She handcrafts Grá Chocolates from the finest ingredients – ethically sourced Valrhona chocolate, Casar Luker cocoa butter and the world’s best dairy produce, Irish cream and butter.

Grainne’s chocolates are “luxurious and decadent”, and have gained prestigious awards including the Blas na hÉirann gold for the past two years. Her talent has also been recognised abroad as she was included in this year’s Forbes 30 under 30 awards in the US.

Working with Bushmills’ Black Bush whiskey, Gráinne created a new limited edition Grá Chocolates x Bushmills Black Bush hot chocolate that was showcased with Bushmills Brand Ambassador, Mark McConville at a series of special Black Bush Stories Masterclasses in Dublin. Bushmills has organised an ongoing series of masterclasses with artisan enterprises here and in the Republic.

Black Bush combines a high amount of malt whiskey married with a lighter grain whiskey and then matured in former Oloroso Sherry and Bourbon casks.

Among other artisan companies which have benefited from being an integral part of Black Bush Stories is Suki Tea in Lisburn, a multi-award winning processor of tea and herbal infusions. The business was formed in 2005 by Oscar Woolley and Anne Irwin. A winner of a host of UK Great Taste Awards, Suki, which began life as a stall at St George’s Market in Belfast, created a Black Bush tea blend in a special tin.

Established Coffee, a coffee house in Belfast, is another beneficiary of the Black. The café and roastery, founded by Mark Ashbridge and Bridgeen Barbour, is a leader in the coffee revolution in NI. Founded in 2013, the roaster created an exclusive coffee blend using beans that had been finished in bourbon and sherry barrels from the distillery to create the popular Black Bush blend.