Commuters who want a sweet bite with breakfast
A Bourbon needs no preparation and can travel with you. If breakfast needs to be more than a biscuit, the NHS suggests foods such as porridge, wholemeal toast or plain natural yoghurt with fruit.
Who is this for?
Shoppers looking for dark chocolate
If the chocolate type matters, check the name and ingredients of the exact product. A dark-looking cocoa biscuit is not, by itself, evidence of dark chocolate; M&S describes its chocolate-coated Bourbon as milk-chocolate-coated.
Shoppers checking nutrition or allergens
Per-biscuit figures help when deciding how many to take. For allergen requirements, read the current pack: the Asda Bourbon listing declares wheat and carries precautionary may-contain statements for several other ingredients.
What should you check?
Decide whether you want the Bourbon format, dark chocolate, or a breakfast you can eat on the move. Then compare the exact product’s label with that choice.
| Priority | What to check | Your needs |
|---|---|---|
| Chocolate type | Read the exact product description and coating type. Check any stated cocoa percentage rather than treating cocoa flavour or a dark colour as a dark-chocolate claim. | I want dark chocolate, not simply a cocoa-flavoured Bourbon. M&S identifies its coated Bourbon as milk chocolate. |
| Breakfast role | Decide what will make up breakfast before adding a biscuit. The NHS lists porridge, wholemeal toast and plain natural yoghurt with fruit among its breakfast swaps. | A sweet biscuit is convenient, but I want something else to make up the main part of breakfast. |
| Portion and label | Compare figures on the same basis, including per biscuit and per 100g, and consider how many you will eat. GOV.UK explains that traffic-light labels indicate whether fat, saturates, sugars and salt are high, medium or low. | I want to know what my portion contains. Sainsbury’s lists 3.4g sugars and 1.3g saturates per Bourbon biscuit and marks both high; Tesco’s 592g Bourbon listing gives 4.0g and 1.7g per biscuit, also marked high. |
| Allergens | Read the current ingredients, declared allergens and may-contain statements on the exact pack. Do not use a vegan label as a substitute for an allergen check. | If an ingredient matters to me, I need the current pack details. Asda’s vegan-labelled Bourbon contains wheat and has may-contain statements for milk, rye, oats, barley and sesame. |
What is easy to overlook?
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Taking a dark-looking Bourbon to mean dark chocolate
Cocoa ingredients and biscuit colour do not establish the chocolate type. The M&S coated Bourbon is described as milk-chocolate-coated.
If dark chocolate is essential, look for an explicit description on the exact product. You may need to consider a different biscuit type to meet that preference.
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Making several Bourbons the whole breakfast
Sainsbury’s and Tesco mark sugars and saturates high on their cited per-biscuit labels. Eating several changes the amount consumed.
If you want a Bourbon in the morning, consider it alongside breakfast rather than in place of it. The NHS suggests options including porridge, wholemeal toast and plain natural yoghurt with fruit.
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Choosing extra cream or a coating without reading the panel
M&S lists 36.7g sugars and 15.1g saturates per 100g for Extra Cream Bourbon Creams, compared with 47.4g sugars and 15.4g saturates per 100g for its milk-chocolate-coated Bourbon. Those figures describe the listed products, not every premium Bourbon.
Compare nutrition on the same per-100g or serving basis and decide whether the extra cream or coating is what you want.
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Relying on an earlier ingredient list
Recipes and precautionary allergen statements can differ between products and change over time. Tesco advises shoppers to read the product label because ingredients and allergen information may change.
When an allergen matters, check the current physical pack before eating, even if you have bought the biscuit before.
Which brands offer Bourbon creams?
These named products illustrate different Bourbon formats; a brand name alone does not tell you whether a biscuit contains dark chocolate.
Sainsbury’s
Its 200g Bourbon is a standard cream-filled biscuit with per-biscuit nutrition shown on the retailer’s listing.
- Sainsbury’s lists 63 kcal, 3.4g sugars and 1.3g saturates per biscuit.
- Sugars and saturates are marked high; the listing does not establish a dark-chocolate variant.
Tesco
Tesco describes its Bourbon creams as chocolate sandwich biscuits with chocolate-flavoured filling.
- Its 592g product listing gives per-biscuit figures of 66 kcal, 4.0g sugars and 1.7g saturates.
- The cited 592g label marks sugars and saturates high; chocolate flavour is not a dark-chocolate description.
Asda
Asda lists a 300g standard Bourbon biscuit labelled with Vegan Society status.
- The vegan label gives shoppers a clearly identified dietary-format option.
- The product contains wheat and may contain milk, rye, oats, barley and sesame; vegan status does not remove the need to check allergens.
McVitie’s
Asda lists McVitie’s Tasties Bourbon Cream Biscuits in a 300g pack.
- It offers a named Bourbon cream product for shoppers seeking the conventional format.
- Asda declares wheat and says it may contain sesame and milk; the listing does not describe it as dark chocolate.
M&S
M&S lists both Extra Cream Bourbon Creams and a separate milk-chocolate-coated Bourbon.
- The listings distinguish extra chocolate cream from a 52% milk-chocolate coating.
- Neither description establishes dark chocolate. The listed sugar and saturates values also differ, so compare the exact product.
Waitrose
Waitrose describes Essential Bourbon Creams as chocolate-flavoured cream sandwich biscuits in a 400g pack.
- The listing states that its cocoa is Fairtrade sourced through mass balance.
- “Chocolate flavoured” does not identify the biscuit as dark chocolate; check its label for the nutrition details you wish to compare.
Joybuy options for a dark-chocolate preference
These are dark-chocolate-named biscuits and a cacao-named cookie option for a portable sweet bite. They are not Bourbon creams, so choose them for the chocolate preference rather than for the Bourbon biscuit-and-filling format.
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Gullon Zero Dark Chocolate Ginger Oaties 285g
An oat-and-ginger biscuit named for dark chocolate, rather than a Bourbon cream. Consider the ginger flavour if you are choosing it as a sweet addition to breakfast.
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McVitie’s Digestives Dark Chocolate Twin Pack 2 x 266g
A dark-chocolate-named Digestive in a twin-pack format. It meets the chocolate-type preference but has a different biscuit base from a Bourbon.
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McVitie’s Digestives Dark Chocolate 400g
A 400g dark-chocolate-named Digestive for someone who wants that biscuit format as a sweet accompaniment. It is not a Bourbon cream.
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Nestle KitKat Cacao 72% Cookies
A cacao-labelled option for a different kind of portable sweet bite, not a Bourbon cream. If comparing nutrition with biscuits, use the same per-100g or serving basis from the current pack.
Common questions
Are Bourbon biscuits dark chocolate biscuits?
Not necessarily. Cocoa-flavoured Bourbon creams do not automatically contain dark chocolate, and M&S describes its coated Bourbon as milk-chocolate-coated. Check the exact product’s chocolate description and any stated cocoa percentage if dark chocolate is the reason you are buying it.
Can a Bourbon biscuit be part of a grab-and-go breakfast?
It can be a portable sweet addition, rather than the whole breakfast. If you need another breakfast component, NHS breakfast-swap guidance includes porridge, wholemeal toast and plain natural yoghurt with fruit.
How should I compare standard and coated Bourbons?
Check the chocolate type, then compare nutrition using the same per-biscuit or per-100g basis. Sainsbury’s lists 3.4g sugars and 1.3g saturates per standard Bourbon biscuit; M&S lists 47.4g sugars and 15.4g saturates per 100g for its milk-chocolate-coated Bourbon. Those different serving bases cannot be compared as though they were equal portions.
Does a vegan-labelled Bourbon avoid common allergens?
No: vegan labelling does not establish that a biscuit is free from allergens. Asda’s vegan-labelled Bourbon contains wheat and carries may-contain statements for milk, rye, oats, barley and sesame. Check the current pack against the ingredients relevant to you.
Should I reread the label when buying a familiar Bourbon?
Yes, especially when ingredients or allergens matter to you. Tesco advises that recipes, nutrition and allergen information may change, so check the current pack rather than relying on an earlier listing or purchase.