Our team here at Bass and Flinders Distillery are dedicated to creating premium quality, artisanal Australian gins & brandies and sharing our spirited passion with others.
Sometimes we’re lucky enough to meet other teams who share a similar passion for creating the most exclusive and iconic versions of their craft.
We have the absolute pleasure to have collaborated with local, artisanal chocolate makers - Cuvée Chocolate to create a decadent, Special Edition Brandy Snap using our very own Bass & Flinders Ochre Fine Australian brandy.
Cuvée Chocolate was founded right here on the Mornington Peninsula in 2015 by world-renowned Maître Pâtissier, chocolatier and wine connoisseur Deniz Karaca and his wife Kylie. Since their humble beginnings, Kylie Deniz and their team of passionate chocolate makers have dedicated themselves to making Cuvée Chocolate the Home of Australia’s most exclusive and iconic range of chocolates. They are definitely ‘bringing back real chocolate one bean at a time.’
Similar to us here at Bass & Flinders, family owned and operated business Cuvée Chocolate produce small batch, traditionally made products that are second-to-none in texture and taste. Cuvée chocolate are an artisanal bean-to-bar operation using only sustainably grown, ethically sourced ingredients to create Australia’s most iconic artisanal chocolate, specifically crafted to complement fine wine and spirits.
Our Special Edition Brandy Snap is quite possibly the finest piece of chocolate in Australia. It is made using Piura Blanco, one of the rarest cocoa beans in the world, a native white cocoa bean from the ancient rainforests of Peru.
The intense cocoa flavour is complimented by the subtle brandy notes that permeate through from the Bass & Flinders Distillery Ochre Brandy. The brandy spirit's bouquet exudes initial notes of orange peel and cherry blossom which mature into deeper layers of raisins, caramel and vanilla. The result is a distinctive, refined and irresistible flavour designed to seduce taste buds.
Perfectly paired with Crème Broulee, a Chocolate Soufflé dessert or, of course, a nip of Fine Australian Brandy.
Join us as we chat with world-renowned chocolatier Deniz and Kylie Karaca owners of Cuvée Chocolate - producers of our Special Edition Brandy Snap chocolate available exclusively at Bass & Flinders Distillery:
1. Deniz and Kylie, we’re convinced that our Special Edition Brandy Snap chocolate made in collaboration with yourselves, is quite possibly the finest piece of chocolate in Australia. What was your inspiration for crafting stoneground, small-batch traditionally made chocolate from scratch, instead of sourcing widely available European couverture chocolate?
We wanted to bring a product to our customers that is unique and a true reflection of ourselves as a chocolate maker, I don’t believe you can achieve that by melting someone else’s chocolate and packaging it.
2. Tell us about your passion for wine & food and the idea behind creating a high quality Australian chocolate brand specifically crafted to complement hand crafted artisanal spirits?
I always had a passion for food & wine… having worked in kitchens for most of my adult life has only cemented this passion and eventually cumulated into wanting to make my own mark on the industry here in Australia.
I don’t think that in the early days of my career I would have expected to end up making chocolate, but I’m sure glad I did!
3. The incredibly refined texture and body of Cuvée Chocolate just blows us away. How do you manage to create such a smooth mouthfeel and create such a perfect pairing with the flavours of premium spirits, such as our Bass & Flinders Ochre Fine Brandy?
All our chocolates are made what I would consider the ‘old school’ way of chocolate making, stoneground and conched for up to 10 days continuously. It’s one reason our chocolates are quite different and definitely why they are so smooth.
4. Deniz you have been named as the top chocolatier in Australia and Asia twice, and have ranked in the Top 3 in the World Chocolate Masters in Paris. How do you share your passion for your craft, knowledge and expertise with the next generation of chocolatiers?
I have trained and mentored many apprentices along the way, taught at Culinary Schools and our kitchen is always open to TAFE and industry students. I think passing on your knowledge is not only imperative to ensure we have the next generation of professionals receive proper training and mentoring, but also a moral and professional obligation anyone working in a trade has!
5. Tell us more about the most rewarding aspects of being a family owned business?
It’s a bit like the business becomes part of your family, being able to share the journey, special moments and achievements along the way with the people closest to you is very special and I believe it gives our business it’s soul and strong foundation.
6. We are passionate about creating high end premium quality Australian gins, brandy, spirits & liqueurs and appreciate the refined, high quality of your chocolate. What do your customers say about what makes Cuvée chocolate so special?
Definitely taste, and texture first. But I think people also appreciate the fact that our chocolate is not only hand crafted, but also made using ingredients that are sustainably and ethically farmed and sourced. Transparency in our supply chain is very important to us as chocolate makers…