Chocolate & Gin Tour at York’s Chocolate Story - review

YORK is well-known for its chocolate heritage and cherishes the legacies of both the Terry's and Rowntree's factories which dominated the city's manufacturing life for decades.

Enter the 21st century and Rowntree's (now Nestle) is still a prolific chocolate maker, producing an astonishing four million KitKats a day (or 3,000 a minute!).

Terry's - famous maker of the much-loved Chocolate Orange - closed its factory at Knavesmire in 2005 and moved production abroad.

Their stories - and that of other confectioners in York - are told at the interactive York Chocolate Story in King's Square.

The attraction runs tours telling visitors all about our city's sweet past - and present.

But new for autumn is a chocolate tour with a twist.

It combines the story of gin-making in the city too, in a link up with local distillers Hooting Owl (which have a new base in Rougier Street, in a former nightclub).

Its first adults-only Chocolate & Gin Tour will run every Friday - we were invited to a Press preview this week.

If you love chocolate and gin, this is not to be missed.

Lasting 90 minutes, the tour is informative, fun - and delicious.

Lizzie O'Callaghan leading the new Chocolate and Gin Tour

We began with an introduction to the confectionery history of York. Our tour guide, enthusiastic York theatre student Lizzie, served us a gin and tonic featuring Hooting Owl's signature tipple alongside an example of chocolate made to an early Rowntree's recipe. It was dark and grainy on account of it not being processed long enough. Today, chocolate is smooth and glossy - back then it was much rougher. But it still tasted amazing - dark and satisfying, with the right balance of sweet and bitter. I liked the raggedy bits, although one guest said it tasted like eating stones!

Part of the fun of the tour was interacting with the other people, comparing tasting notes on the chocolate and gins that were served.

We enjoyed four gins in total. My favourite was a shot of the Chocolate Orange gin, served neat in a small glass, accompanied by a segment of Terry's Chocolate Orange.

I'd never considered eating chocolate with gin before, but this tour made me realised what I'd been missing.

Here's something we made earlier - Maxine's effort at making a chocolate heart

We tried a lemon gin with a piece of white chocolate and then a square of dark chocolate. It was fascinating how the chocolate affected the taste of the gin. The white chocolate enhanced the lemon flavour of the spirit, while the dark chocolate dialled the citrus down and emphasised the sharp, alcohol taste of the drink.

We had fun too, making our own chocolate bars - then watched a master at work as one of the museum's chocolatier's rustled up some lemon treats for us.

York Chocolate Story hopes this will be the first of several new tours.

Cheers to that!

Find out more

York’s Chocolate Story’s Chocolate & Gin Tours take place every Friday, from 5pm until 6.30pm. Adults only. Tickets cost £29.95.

Find out more: yorkschocolatestory.com/events/chocolate-gin-tour