This post is sponsored by American Heritage Chocolate. All opinions expressed here are my own.

American Heritage Chocolate: A Taste of History

Recently I took an exciting trip without the family to Nashville, TN! I joined four other bloggers as we learned about American History, and how chocolate is actually an important part of the shaping of our country. Specifically, American Heritage Chocolate brings chocolate history alive with it’s authentic flavor. The recipe of American Heritage Chocolate was developed from the same chocolate recipes used in the 1750’s. It’s like having a real taste of the past. 

The first stop on our trip was lunch at the flagship Cracker Barrel Old Country Store in Lebanon, TN. I have so many fond memories of eating Cracker Barrel growing up, and I still enjoy it now as an adult. I’ve always liked browsing their store, and finding antiques and historic items. Right now, for a limited time you can even find American Heritage Chocolate Bites at your local Cracker Barrel Old Country Store while supplies last. 

After our lunch we headed to the Cracker Barrel Decor Warehouse. Every antique item you see on display at your local Cracker Barrel Old Country Store comes from this warehouse in Lebanon, TN. It’s not open to the public, so we got a behind the scenes tour and closer look at all of the unique pieces. 

The warehouse even has one of the oldest Coca-Cola signs ever created. It was a cool tour! 

For the evening we headed over to The Hermitage. The Hermitage is actually the home of the late President Andrew Jackson. It happens to be one of the four most-visited presidential sites in the United States. It is now a historical site and Nashville’s first Smithsonian Institution Affiliate Museum. 

If you happen to visit The Hermitage, you’ll see more than 800,000 archaeological artifacts in The Hermitage Collection. The State of Tennessee purchased The Hermitage from Andrew Jackson’s heir in 1855-1856. In 1889 the Ladies’ Hermitage Association took over the property to operate it as one of the country’s first historic site museums. 

We were able to take a tour of the home, and get some amazing facts on American history. More than 95% of the furnishings, artwork, wallpaper, and personal items are original to the home and the Jackson family. Over the past 120 years, over 20 million people have visited The Hermitage. It was great to take a look at the past and and all of the original historic artifacts. 

We had a fully immersed historic experience at The Hermitage, and our evening ended with a lovely Southern dinner.  

Dessert was served with delicious Crème brûlée and pecan brownies both made with American Heritage Chocolate. 

Our first day of travel was completely full, but there was more to come! The second day we were able to enjoy an American Heritage Chocolate demonstration. Did you know chocolate was primarily served as a drink in colonial America? After the Boston Tea Party chocolate emerged as a drink in the colonies and it was unpatriotic to drink tea! American Heritage Chocolate is made with all-natural ingredients, having no preservatives, certified Kosher, and without dairy, wheat, peanuts, or tree nuts. It has an amazing flavor blend with cinnamon, nutmeg, chili pepper, orange, anise, and vanilla. It has a mildly spicy and slightly sweet taste that’s great for drinking, baking, recipes, and candy making. 

Cacao is grown on a tree and the beans are a milky white. The taste is actually bitter at first. They go through a fermentation process to create what we eat as chocolate today. It actually takes one cacao pod to create one bag of M&M’s! American Heritage Chocolate is 63% cacao and it’s imported directly from the Caribbean and Central & South America. American Heritage Chocolate & Mars are dedicated to sustainable cocoa efforts and has been recognized by the Rainforest Alliance for their works.  

I enjoyed my trip to Nashville and visit to The Hermitage! Stay tuned to the blog because I’ll be sharing my very own recipe using American Heritage Chocolate! You can find American Heritage Chocolate right now at your local Cracker Barrel and at over 160 gift shops at historic sites and museums across the US & Canada. I even spotted it this week at the Dr. King Historic Site Gift Shop! For more on AHC, location listings, or to buy online head to AmericanHeritageChocolate.com! 

Ashley