Chocolate lovers might soon be able to legally enjoy chocolate made with alcohol, if a recently introduced bill in the N.C. General Assembly becomes law.
The bill would allow as much as five percent alcohol by volume in confections — including truffles, chocolate, and cakes.
Reginald Savage, chocolatier and proprietor of Azurelise in Raleigh, said the use of alcohol in chocolate has been around for a long time.
Current law allows a maximum of .5 percent alcohol to be used as an ingredient in candy.
Savage said he makes many types of chocolate, but that his chocolate julep and genius chocolate — both of which contained less than .5 percent alcohol as a flavoring — were his big sellers.
He said he had to show the state that the alcohol used in his chocolate was just used as an extract for flavoring.
If implemented, the new bill would remove the condition that alcohol in candy must first be converted to extract or flavoring, he said.
Given the way he uses it, Savage said the alcohol in his chocolate is automatically converted into an extract.
“I would never just pour alcohol into it,” he said.
Tia Davis, a sophomore journalism major at UNC, said it makes sense to allow luxurious chocolates, such as rum balls, to be sold with alcohol.
Since the amount of alcohol would be very small, parents should be able to be responsible for their children’s consumption, she said.
“At the end of the day, the government has to let parents be parents,” she said.
Meredith Sherrod, a sophomore elementary education major, said the effect of the alcohol would be irrelevant in such a small amount.
She said chocolate containing alcohol might be fun to try.
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