Unique Chocolate Liquor May Be Recession-Proof

Cacao Prieto, the artisan chocolate factory, was founded by inventor and former aerospace engineer Daniel Preston. Following a skydiving injury, Preston decided that he could design a better, safer parachute, one that would correct the design flaw that led to his own accident. The design was a major financial success and when Preston sold his controlling shares of the company he decided to go into the chocolate industry. He built his factory here in Brooklyn's Red Hook neighborhood.

The small factory uses custom-designed devices to improve upon the machine-heavy process of chocolate-making. Take, for example, the vortex winnower, a device designed by Preston. It allows the shell and the meat of the cacao bean to be separated quickly and easily, a huge time-saver and, according to Preston, a vital piece of his factory's workflow. Preston is working on designing other, more efficient machines for chocolate production and is making them available to other small chocolatiers. But, that's not the only thing Cacao Prieto is using cacao beans for...

They make chocolate liquor. Using a still designed by Preston, the fermentation of the cacao is harnessed and can produce stable liquors that carry a distinct chocolate flavor.  The factory has the capacity to produce 200,000 bottles per year as is.  If their liquor hooks the public, they plan to expand and produce up to 5 million bottles a year.

Cacao Prieto has the benefit of being the recipient of the only commercial distillery license in New York City since prohibition. The license allows them to use ingredients grown outside of New York State, giving them a distinct production advantage. But, more important to their success is of course the liquor's taste.

Alex Clark, Cacao Prieto Sales Manager, believes Cacao Prieto's chocolate liquor will have no problem winning over the public. Because the liquor is actually the product of cacao bean fermentation and not simply chocolate flavored, he says it has a more mature taste. And they've already created numerous cocktails with the liquor. It's strength he said, is its mix-ability.

The success of Cacao Prieto's chocolate liquor remains to be seen. The first bottles will be finding their way into New York City liquor bars in the upcoming weeks.  But it's not all sweets and drinks at Cacao Prieto. The company is also conducting biotech research on cacao and continuing to develop a 2000 hectare farm in the Dominican with the goal of revolutionizing organic and self-sustainable farming methods.