Cellar Door Chocolates

Delightful! Chocolate + bourbon = the key to my heart. What a beautiful shop filled with delicious treats! I sampled the bourbon and coke truffle and it was such a delectable treat! I also LOVE all of the derby-​themed sweets! As a Kentucky native, I was definitely feeling at home! The lovely lady working behind the counter was helpful and sweet. The coffees were delicious as well :) This is the best chocolatier in Louisville!!1

Chocolate? Yes please! Louisville is blessed with several quality chocolatiers but Cellar Door is in a lane of its own. The creativity and taste profiles of their products are truly unique. They always have a plate of samples to taste. Cellar door has exploded and now has 3 locations. Butchertown Market — the first shop — is where they actually roast their own cacao beans to make chocolate. You can watch the process on weekdays. Cellar Door opened a larger store downtown on 4^th Street and also have a location in Oxmoor Center.

I absolutely love their chocolates. While the bourbon chocolates have a bit more bourbon than I would like, I know that’s exactly what people love, so props to cellar door to being generous with the booze. So far, my absolute favorite chocolates are their salted caramels (so, so creamy) and their bourbon sugar almond bark. I always buy their chocolates as gift for people — and it’s always hard to resist eating them myself.

I love love love cellar door chocolates. Their bourbon sugar bark is my new favorite find! Their sea salt chocolates are delicious as well. I think their chocolates are perfect gifts for friends and family, and will make great stocking stuffers this Christmas. And for your out of town friends, I suggest getting the bourbon balls or caramels, featuring Kentucky bourbons such as Evan Williams and four roses.
Cellar door has a location in downtown as well, but this one is nice because it has a full seating area. You can order a cupcake, chocolate covered Oreo, fudge, or enjoy the chocolates you bought right in the shop!

I can’t say enough about how wonderful the chocolates from here are. The staff was incredibly nice in assisting me and my girlfriend with picking out several varieties of bourbon balls as a gift for some friends. We came back later, because we realized we’d forgot to buy for another friend of mine, and they even slipped in some free espresso chocolates into our bag as a token of their appreciation, along with creating some custom labels so that the bourbon balls and other truffles we got could be easily identified, since they weren’t a pre-​sorted arrangement. We’ve had to restrict ourselves to eating just one or two at a time, because they’re so delicious, we don’t want to run out! Incredibly worth stopping by. Definitely get the classic and the sorghum!

Bought a box and went home to try it and realized how amazing it was and came back to buy more for some friends.
Went on a Saturday around noon and they were out of some flavors which was really sad but they were super nice and helped us pick out some other flavors for our museum box.
Super content that we visited and will definitely head back when we’re in Louisville.

The chocolate storm trooper I just used the force of my mouth on sent me to infinity and beyond. I am seriously amazed at the quality and freshness of the chocolates!
The brunette working was a doll and told us the process of how they make their chocolate in the Butchertown Market! The prices are inexpensive and will leave you with plenty to take home to a love one!!!

If you want world-​class chocolates, get yourself to Cellar Door Chocolates. You won’t go home empty handed, unless you eat it all before you get there. No doubt, this happens to many folks, so go ahead and indulge yourself. Eat desert first, in this instance. And then have some more. In fact, bring a large shopping bag to fill with superb goodies for yourself and friends.

Hand man and the wife just loved them of course it was chocolate so how could you go wrong. Good stuff right there and I had the cayenne pepper truffle and it had a kick which was great for me!

I first came across Cellar Door when I was searching for a local business to provide wedding favors for my wedding. I really wanted to do something edible but unique that my guests would enjoy. When I contacted the owner about doing a custom order she was so wonderful to work with. She sent us a taste test box with some of the chocolates we were interested in and some that she felt we might enjoy. My husband and I couldn’t help killing the box in one sitting! The bourbon buttercreams were definitely our favorite and we felt they embodied a bit of the Kentucky flavor that our out of town guests would enjoy. Our wedding favors were such a huge hit (we ended up going with a couple bourbon buttercreams and couple truffles so there would be a good variety.) I even ordered a v-​day assortment of bourbon buttercreams to have a little taste of our wedding again. Cellar Door holds a special place in our hearts and our tastebuds. :)

Absolutely amazing beautiful candies! Every single item I’ve had from this company is to die for. If you haven’t had the Sea Salt Caramels do yourself a favor and go do that now. They. Are. Awesome.

Great selection of locally made chocolates & candies. I have used their products for many corporate gifts to many International companies & everyone always compliments me on the chocolate selection. Truly another hidden gem inside the Butchertown Market Building. Go ahead & take the time to park. You won’t be sorry.

The chocolates are better than the ambiance. this is in part due to the confusing layout of the mini businesses and the proximity to the pig slaughterhouse factory. I Really, really wish I would have known of the latter prior to visiting. It was… Horrific. Trucks and trucks of sweet pigs sitting on the metal tiers of the semis out in the hot sun.
I digress…
The chocolates are SUBURB!
With such a cute little beauty and the beast library-​esq design of the shop, my hopes were high. However, I would have appreciated more hands-​on customer service. The shop keepers stayed behind the counter even though no one was checking out and three sets of customers had inquiries at different stations.
«Where can I find the XYZ?»
(Point in general direction) «over there.»
…Oh, you mean by all the other brown, round identical looking chocolates? Got it.
Pros:
Mini markdown section
BURBON BALLS!
Proximity to other shops (if you’re looking for gifts)
Parking spots can be paid via smart phone
The original bourbon balls are 5 out of 5 stars! THEY’RE INCREDIBLE!!! (Although, I’d prefer to go to other locations to purchase these.)
My rating would be higher if the location was different, if there was a sign for where the chocolate shop is (I went all the way to the 3^rd floor), and if the employees were friendlier and hands-​on.
I’m openminded to having more enjoyable experiences– At other locations– In the future. The factory was very upsetting and truly marred my overall experience. Although, it did encourage vegetarianism in me. So, that’s a plus!

I admit that the four year-​old in me wants to give 5 stars to every chocolate shop. But Cellar Door is special, even if we choose to compare it to other artisan chocolate makers rather than Hershey or M&M/Mars. Some highlights of why I keep coming back:
— 824 wicked delicious flavors of bourbon balls (give or take). I’m sure there are those who think the mixture of good chocolate with bourbon is flavor enough, but as any Louisvillian knows, bourbon isn’t just an alcohol, it’s an ingredient. And Cellar Door uses their talent with flavors like cayenne and espresso and dulce de leche. Which is why they are the only game in town.
— Owner Erika Chavez-​Graziano is totally rad. I wouldn’t call it a schoolboy crush. Okay, maybe it is. Either way, the whole team is talented and so friendly. Willy Wonka could take a lesson.
— If you go to their place in Butchertown be sure to ask them what they are making, because every day they make a point of trying something new. It’s easy enough to stick with the tried and true, but it’s more admirable to shake the tree a bit sometimes.
Superior sweets, great business.

Picture this: a fist sized chocolate cup filled to the brim with the most perfect caramel and topped with sea salt. Caramel that is not too sweet or sticky, but a perfect concoction that you probably want to die in. I choose death by chocolate caramel cup, if anyone is taking notes.
Listen, Cellar Door is straight up adorable. Everything from the myriad offerings (chocolate bark, truffles, aforementioned cups of all sizes, chocolate graham crackers and much more) to the beautiful set up, to the friendly staff, CD is A+ in my book. And then you actually taste the chocolate. Holy wow.
I will, however, caution those who choose to indulge in the oversized cups rather than the mini versions. The beautiful caramel straight up oozes out after one bite, so you better share that treat on the spot or realize that you may have to toss some of it, as mine wasn’t salvageable after a few glorious bites.

I admit that it would be hard for a candy shop NOT to score well with me, but Cellar Door Chocolates is the best of the best, in terms of what I’ve seen and tasted.
Their small shop, tucked into Butchertown Market, is chocked full of sweet treats. You can just see the eyes of passers-​by grow large as they spy the shop and eventually change course to head in that direction.
Of note is their vast selection of bourbon balls and truffles, which are both beautiful and expertly made. I also love their display of barks, which look like Hershey bars of many colors.
And their chocolate cups … Oh. My. God. Their sea salt caramel cups are my absolute favorite, and on my most recent trip I got to try the jumbo version of this. It was like swimming in caramel, which was smooth and not overly rich.
I also appreciate the sense of humor in this store. For Valentine’s Day they have chocolates in the shape of human hearts.
Erika, the shop’s owner, puts her soul into these chocolates, and you can tell they were made with love.
I think I’m going to go back and buy another chocolate cup … or 20 …

So I went with my girlfriend for her birthday to pick out chocolates. She loved it and I did too. There are so many flavors and so many options. There is definitely a price range. Plus if you go right after a major holiday (Christmas, Valentine’s day, etc.) there’s tons on sale!

Warning!
This place is dangerous to know about. The smooth, velvety chocolate shines through in their truffles. You taste CHOCOLATE and not sugar! They have a lot of prepackaged boxes and treats but we had to sample their fresh selections. Each was superb. The salted caramel was the best caramel I have had in a long time – the flavor explodes. We love dark chocolate. I am sorry I wasted one of my samples on their cashew cluster. The cashew competed with the chocolate. Just my taste preference but I will stay with the truffles next time.
Their location, within a boutique, does not allow for relaxed savoring of the chocolates (or espresso, which I want to try next time). Browsing is nice but we decided to take our indulgences home to enjoy. Parking in this area is difficult on most days. Finally, the price is expensive even for delicious chocolates. We paid $ 1.30/truffle. Maybe that is a good thing? Keeps us from feasting on them too often.

If I have a love affair with artisan chocolates, then Cellar Door is my go-​to mistress in Louisville. The chocolates are clearly made very thoughtfully from high quality ingredients.
What I really appreciate about Cellar Door is that they have several things they do really well – the salted caramels, the cayenne truffle, the girl power bars – but they are always trying new things. It’s clear that the owner and chocolatiers really love to come up with fresh ways to craft really delicious chocolates.
This is evidenced in their impressive variety of bourbon ball flavors. Honestly, every flavor I’ve tried has been tasty. I find an assortment of five makes a great gift for guests visiting from out of town (what better way to remember Louisville than with some bourbon confections?).
I also like that they get involved in events around the community. For instance, they paired with Comfy Cow for Chocopalooza (a benefit for Make-​A-​Wish and Boy’s and Girl’s Haven). On another occasion, the owner, Erika, gave a talk at the Library’s How-​To Fest.
The location in Butchertown Market is great and the staff there is very friendly. I’ve also seen a booth at the Douglas Loop farmers’ market and I’ve purchased their products at Greenhaus and The Wine Market.

I went back here again and the chocolates are just as good as I remember! I wanted to do a second review because they have their shop totally renovated (apparently I was last there during a renovation). It is totally adorable now and a) they have everything on their list and b) it’s easy to find all that stuff.
Apparently on the weekends they do a make-​your-​own chocolate bark bar and I totally want to go back and do that! Captain crunch and butterfinger chocolate? Heck yes!
The parking is still crazy, but if you park on the street (as opposed to the lots), you’ll probably be okay.