The Bourbon (pronounced or ) is a

sandwich biscuit A sandwich cookie, also known as a sandwich biscuit, is a type of cookie made from two thin cookies or medium cookies with a filling between them. Many types of fillings are used, such as cream, ganache, buttercream, chocolate, cream cheese, jam ...

consisting of two thin rectangular dark chocolate-flavoured biscuits with a chocolate

buttercream Buttercream, also referred to as butter icing or frosting, is used for either filling, coating or decorating cakes. The main ingredients are butter and some type of sugar. Buttercream is commonly flavored with vanilla. Other common flavors a ...

filling. It was voted the UK's number one biscuit in 2018. The biscuit was introduced in 1910 (originally under the name "Creola") by the biscuit company

Peek Freans Peek Freans is the name of a former biscuit making company based in Bermondsey, London, which is now a global brand of biscuits and related confectionery owned by various food businesses. Owned but not marketed in the UK, Europe and USA by De Be ...

, of

Bermondsey Bermondsey () is a district in southeast London, part of the London Borough of Southwark, England, southeast of Charing Cross. To the west of Bermondsey lies Southwark, to the east Rotherhithe and Deptford, to the south Walworth and Peckham, a ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, originator of the

Garibaldi biscuit The Garibaldi biscuit consists of currants squashed and baked between two thin oblongs of biscuit dough—technically called a currant sandwich. The biscuits are similar to Eccles cake as well as the Golden Raisin Biscuits once made by Sunshine ...

. The Bourbon name, dating from the 1930s, comes from the former French royal

House of Bourbon The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a European dynasty of French origin, a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Navarre in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Spanis ...

. A 2009 survey found that the Bourbon biscuit was the fifth most popular biscuit in the United Kingdom for dunking into

tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of '' Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and northe ...

. The small holes in bourbon biscuits are to prevent the biscuits from cracking or breaking during the baking process, by allowing steam to escape. Many other companies make their own version of the biscuit under the "Bourbon" name, including major supermarkets. McVitie's chocolate-coated Penguin biscuits are made with the same biscuit mix as their bourbon biscuit, but the filling is different.

Etymology

It is commonly believed that

chose the name based on the French House of Bourbon.

References

External links

BBC News: The Link Between Bourbon Biscuits and Bourbon Whiskey
Biscuits Products introduced in 1910 Food and drink introduced in 1910 {{confection-stub