Lisa Fitch insists she’s no chocolatier—she just makes a darn good bourbon ball. The former women’s-health nurse practitioner honed the Bootleg Bourbon Balls recipe from a traditional family dessert she’d been making with her mother and grandmother for years, paying homage to prohibition-era bootleggers along the way.
The process didn’t happen overnight. Fitch studied the resurgence of craft distilleries in and around Kansas City, making contacts and learning more about flavor profiles. She hails from an entrepreneurial background and talks about her father’s work ethic as an inspiration to give back to the community. “My dad is a hard worker, and he’s very honest,” she says. Fitch works with local businesses and uses as many locally sourced ingredients as possible. “All our pecans are locally sourced from Nevada, Missouri. We’re trying to keep up the tradition of a true Kansas City bourbon ball” Fitch says. “Kansas City is a small, relatively tight-knit community. There are so many people who support each other.”
Most new businesses fail within the first five years. Well, Lisa Fitch is still here—going on seven years and grateful every day for the small business community. “When I reach out to people to ask them questions, nobody shuts the door on me,” she says. “They’ll say, ‘This is what I went through, and this is what I’ve learned.’ And I try to pay that back to people who reach out to me.”
Bootleg Bourbon Balls are unique in the world of Kansas City chocolate. They’re not only hand-crafted—each ball is hand-rolled and individually weighed to 0.65 ounces by one of four full-time staff members. You won’t find any molds inside the Fitch’s Riverside production kitchen. “It’s a labor of love,” Fitch says. “You couldn’t find many people to get up at 3:30 or 4:00 in the morning to come roll bourbon balls. Our staff are pretty darn cool.” The Bootleg staff makes new batches fresh weekly because the product is best consumed within a couple of days of purchase. “We don’t believe in setting our stuff on a shelf,” says Fitch.
Bootleg Bourbon Balls are best eaten fresh, at room temperature. “Just like what you would do with a really nice cheese,” says Fitch. And though bourbon is in the name, the chocolate treats have also branched out into regional liqueurs and whiskeys. The Hotsy Totsy features Platte Valley FireShine corn whiskey and cinnamon liqueur, and the beloved Jitterball uses an espresso-infused vodka from Good Spirits Distilling.
Though Fitch enjoys keeping a competitive edge, it’s not her main drive. “Learning a new craft, learning a new business, it’s been really good for me. It’s important to reach out to other businesses, develop a network of colleagues and friends to share the journey with so you don’t feel like you’re all alone out there,” says Fitch. “The problems you have are not unique to you—everybody’s going to have those issues. It’s nice to reach out to people and ask, ‘How did you handle this?’ The best part of all this has been getting to know my community.” Fitch also has a great appreciation for her customers, love for her staff, and a deep pride in her product. “I take pride in Kansas City. I’ve lived here my whole adult life. It’s something I want to be a part of, and I’m very proud of the bourbon balls we make,” she says. It’s clear she’s earned a place in Kansas City’s chocolate landscape. And as she would say, there’s room for everyone.