Iain Burnett Highland Chocolatier: a chocolate & whisky pairing

Take note of this name: Iain Burnett Highland Chocolatier. You’ll want to remember it following the story I’m about to tell you.

Through my extensive research about Scotland and its world class food traditions, I found out that the Scottish Highlands has a world famous, award winning chocolatier. You guessed it – Iain Burnett Highland Chocolatier. The shop and brand bear the name of the the CEO and Master Chocolatier, Iain Burnett.

I scoured through their website and went down this rabbit hole of Chocolate Tasting Flights & Pairings. Chocolate pairings with coffee, champagne, and tea. And of course, chocolate (specifically, Velvet Truffles) and whisky pairings.

The Velvet Truffles create pairing flights as a fantastic “door” to highlight expression tastes & textures and attract a far wider audience into the world of whisky. 

Iain Burnett, Master Chocolatier

Even though their chocolate shop was closed at the time (due to covid-19), I emailed Iain to see if it was possible to ship me some chocolate, so I could do a virtual whisky pairing on my own. I was on my way to Islay and afterwards, I would spend a few days in Speyside. Both famous Scotch whisky regions. Instead, and unexpectedly, he invited me over to the Chocolate Lounge for a private whisky and Velvet Truffle pairing.

YES YES YES YES.

The Choco’Clock at Iain Burnett Highland Chocolatier says it’s time for a dream come true.

1. Pre-arrival “homework” for Iain Burnett Highland Chocolatier

You’re confused as to why there is pre-arrival homework. So was I, to be honest. I had zero clue how a chocolate tasting worked, having never, ever done one in my life. I knew nothing about the intracacies and the nuances of chocolate tasting.

A bad pairing [of gourmet couverture chocolate and malt whisky] will cheapen both, but a precise pairing combination heightens the experience and sheds extraordinary light on each – whisky vapours open up the palate to discover new characteristics of the Velvet Truffles and notes in the chocolate highlight or complement often unnoticed flavours in a fine malt.

Iain Burnett, Highland Chocolatier

The day before I arrived, Iain said I could bring some whisky and to share with him the tasting notes ahead of my arrival. He would arrange the right chocolates to pair with my whiskies.

Tasting notes?! I wondered if he meant from my own whisky tastings… I didn’t actually take any tasting notes. And I’ll let you in on a secret. I enjoy whisky, sure. I can tell you if one is peaty or not. But that’s the extent of it.

By that point, I knew I would be bringing 4 Kilchoman whiskies to pair with my truffles. Four beautiful single malt Scotch whiskies that I tasted on Islay the week before. Luckily, our beach whisky tasting came in little to-go bottles, and I only sipped a tiny amount that day. As a solo traveler, I am my own designated driver. Therefore, I had 4 tasting bottles ready for chocolate pairings.

I proceeded to go to Kilchoman’s website to see what their tasting notes were. What else was I supposed to do?

1. Sanaig: Rich and fruity with citrus, caramel and soft peat smoke
2. Loch Gorm: Spicy dark chocolate, cooked fruits, rich peat smoke and toffee
3. Machir Bay: Citrus fruit, layered vanilla and butterscotch sweetness
4. 100% Islay: Fragrant citrus and caramel sweetness, fresh fruits and light smoke.

Copy and paste, and off to Iain!

2. Iain Burnett Highland Chocolatier: The Chocolate Lounge

Iain and his wife created a shop and chocolate lounge that lives in a fairy tale. The interior design felt like I had fallen down the rabbit hole with Alice, and emerged in this magical, picture perfect shop. Iain’s wife, responsible for the interior design, describes it as Scottish fairy tale meets Disney. And it is stunning! The photos really don’t do it justice.

The shop is separated into two distinct sections – a chocolate shop and the Chocolate Lounge. While walking through the shop, Iain gave me a brief orientation. First, he only uses only unblended, Scottish cream from the local dairy industry. Then, only natural and fresh ingredients. No artificial flavorings, additives or preservatives. Finally, the cocoa? You’ll never guess where it’s from. The South Atlantic island of São Tomé (part of the “chocolate islands”). What drew him to São Tomé’s single-origin cocoa, is its rich, complex flavor.

So what do you get when a ganache specialist combines rich and complex cocoa (from the chocolate islands, no doubt!) with fresh, Scottish dairy cream, without all the additives or artificial flavoring?

A socially distant tasting,

with Beautiful Velvet Truffles

3. All ready for Kilchoman whisky and chocolate pairing!

With Kilchoman’s core range poured into a glass each, and a tray full of Iain’s velvet truffles for tasting, we set off.

Step by step, here’s how we did it.

1. Read the tasting notes of the whisky.
2. From that,  Iain makes a shortlist of potential flavours and textures from the tasting notes, then finding the best supporting or complementary combination is discovered through repeated nosings and returns, depending on which characteristics in the expression are to be highlighted or subdued.
   • For example, citrus notes with citrusy truffle. Butterscotch sweetness, with a gentle caramel.
3. First, nose the whisky. For us amateurs, swill the whisky a bit, and then “Sniff, sniff and sniff again (and, well, sniff once more).” – Whisky Foundation.
4. Think about the aroma of the whisky. Peaty? Sweet? Citrusy?
5. Eat the chocolate.
6. Wait 30 seconds.
7. Go back to the whisky and nose it again.
8. Did the aroma change? And if so, how?

Iain and I did a combination of this with a number of his Velvet Truffles and the 4 Kilchoman whiskies. For amateurs like myself, the really surprising thing was how the aromas in the whiskies enhanced or changed as a result of the flavors in the chocolate. Incredible!

I made some graphics to show the sampling we paired Kilchoman’s core range, just so that you can get a sense. Here is Iain’s.

Parting Thoughts

I’m sure this comes as no surprise to you – I had an amazing afternoon with Iain. It felt like an exploration of the hidden aromas of the Kilchoman whiskies, with a world-renown chocolatier and his rich velvet truffles as a guide to enhance the experience.

Quick Fun Fact

I wanted to share a quick fun fact before we go about Iain’s chocolate truffles. During lockdown, my friend and I delved deep into many seasons of the Great British Bake Off. Normally chocolates are made by pouring melted chocolate into a mold and shaking off the excess, so that the chocolate shells are thin. Well. At Iain Burnett Highland Chocolatier, the chocolate shells are extremely thin. How did they achieve this? Not through a mold, but by running the fillings through a chocolate waterfall.

A chocolate waterfall? This chocolate shop truly straight out of a Scottish fairy tale.

Looking for other whisky experiences in Scotland? How about

• joining a virtual (or soon-to-be in person) tasting at the Scotch Malt Whisky Society;
• visiting Islay, Scotland’s famous whisky island;
• hiking to Scotland’s only pyramid, and then rewarding yourself with a royal whisky tasting.

All the opinions contained in this post are my own. I am affiliated with Iain Burnett Highland Chocolatier, however am an affiliate of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society.

Affiliate links in this post are in green, for which I may earn a small commission, if you choose to purchase from it.

Visit Iain Burnett Highland Chocolatier

The Shop and Chocolate Lounge is located in Grandtully, Pitlochry, near the southern edge of Cairngorms National Park. It is about 45 minutes north of Perthshire and an hour and a half north of Edinburgh.

If you’ve stopped by Iain Burnett Highland Chocolatier, don’t miss Dewar’s Aberfeldy Distillery and the Birks of Aberfeldy down the road!

Pin it for later!

Lannie

Lannie is a perpetual wanderer and loves to share her travel adventures and the food she eats along the way with everyone.  She works during the day while bouncing around the world and dreams about new places and faces at night!  She has a home on the magical Isle of Islay in Scotland, where the whisky flows freely and happily.

Click on the blue icons below to follow her on social media!

lanniesfoodandtravel.com/index.php/about-me/