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The RuPaul Chocolate Bar

 

 

 Sweet Hollywood, a candy store in Los Angeles, has designed a chocolate candy bar in honor of the fabulous RuPaul. A portion of the proceeds of this bar go to the Jeff Griffith Youth Center for homeless LGBTQ youth. A fantastic cause that helps offer support, feed, shower, and helps employ LGBTQ youth in need of help.

 

 

Now, I am glad to help pitch in for these kinds of causes, but I am not going to lie, I bought this bar for the packaging. I don't even care what it's made of. I started seeing this pop up on twitter and bought it immediately. I love RuPaul and everything he represents. He is an icon. But admit it, look at how fierce this package is. I love Drag Culture and I couldn't be more thrilled to have my hobby life intersect with the fabulous life.

So, what does it taste like?

It's a peanut butter bar in milk chocolate and has sea salt. It has a very soft milk chocolate shell and a gooey peanut butter filling.

I can't seem to find the full list of ingredients for this bar, but the bar was made in The Chocolate Lab for Sweet Hollywood. They do a series of customizable bars, as well as an LA series of neighborhood bars dedicated to the iconic neighborhoods of of Los Angeles. I have a few of those that will be coming up for review too. But I don't know how natural the bar is or all th ingredients in it. This bar has been labeled fair trade, and is with 33% cacao content for the milk chocolate.

 

On the surface, it's a light mahogany color, it's outer milk chocolate shell is so soft there are cracks on the surface and some noticeable air bubbles. And at least we know it's a handmade product because the finger prints on the surface are not mine!

It's aroma is a rich milky butter smell of milk chocolate, and deep roasted peanuts. Great aroma. It just smells like candy, smells like Halloween.

It's very sweet and although the aroma suggests it might have a full roasted peanut butter flavor, it's not very nutty. The saltiness is only there for a second and then the milk chocolate sweetness over takes it. It's very sweet. There is salt in this bar but some bites are more sweeter and some are more salty than others. It's still pretty good though. The peanut butter is a blend and not a full peanut butter center. It's more of a gooey peanut flavored paste. But the best part is the milky characteristics of typical milk chocolate (the lingering milk after taste) don't weigh heavy on the mouth which makes it more enjoyable than most. It tastes like peanut butter bon bon's in a bar form.

All in all it's not bad but it's not high quality either. But that's not really the point. A novelty candy shop making novelty chocolate bars is fun and it serves a purpose of charity. I would eat this again and again. I would buy more to support, but I wouldn't compare it to anything artisan.

 

Surprises by William Curley

 

 

My yearly delivery of William Curley has arrived thanks to my mate Angelo, and this time I called ahead to see if Mr. Curley could put something together that I have never had before. Outside of having their fine pastries in their shop, I have had a good round of delicious treats from them over the years. This time he sent over some new treats.

On top of 3 boxes of truffles plus some other gems, there were two unlabeled boxes. I opened them to find candy bars! 3 treats from his Nostalgia line. A version of a Mounds Bar, A Snickers Bar, and a Jaffa Cake. Excited be thy name. All awesome and all things I like!

 

Nostaligia Coconut Bar: White chocolate and toasted coconut ganache coated in Toscano 70% dark chocolate.

A sophisticated version of a Mounds Bar. Amedei Toscano 70% dark chocolate shell with white chocolate and coconut center.

I am in love with coconut. I grew up on Mounds and Almond Joy's. They are still a favorite. But this was super rich and decadent with real dark chocolate. All coconut center. Meaning it does have white chocolate in it, but it's good and meaty with the coconut too. An Almond Joy is for a Halloween basket, this Nostalgia Bar is for a coconut lover you truly care about. It's ridiculously good. It defines rich from the dark chocolate and the insanely good coconut center.

 

Nostalgia Jaffa Cakes: Our version of a Jaffa Cake. Genoise sponge topped with homemade seville orange marmalade and chocolate ganache, coated in Toscano 70% dark chocolate.

Now, I never grew up with Jaffa Cakes. We had similar things in the US in terms of jelly rolls and things like that. But I like all the things in it. Sponge cake with jam dipped in Amedei chocolate. I am totally down with this. Also, this just looks 1000x better than the store bought ones.

Tangy and bright marmalade, bitter and perfect with the Amedei Toscano 70% shell. Soft spongy cake. It's a good balance of a lot of elements here. The tangy oranges, the bitter chocolate, sweet sugars in the marmalade and cake. I liked it.

 

 

Nostalgia Peanut Nougat Bar: Peanut and chocolate nougat topped with a salted peanut caramel and coated in Toscano 70% dark chocolate.

This would be a supped up version of a Snickers bar. Even better with it being dipped again in Amedei Tsocano 70% and with a salted caramel inside. Snickers is one of my all time favorite candy bars. It's right up there with Kit Kat bars. Previously I have tried Liddabit's version of a snickers. Handmade candy bars from Brooklyn. They set a very high bar, but didn't load it up with enough peanuts. This bar has plenty of peanuts.

It's a little sugary, but the nougat was soft and packed with lots of peanuts. The salty caramel gets a bit lost, but it is in there and there is a slight peak of it when you bite down into the bar. You get more of the buttery flavor than the salt. Again it is very sweet but I'd take this any day over a snickers.

 

Why do you do this to me William Curley?!?!?!?! Why do you make everything so awesome?

Xocolatl de David ~ Bacon + Chocolate = <3

 

 

**Archived Notes

 

The bacon revolution continues. I for one, am not standing in the way. Where once I foolishly thought the bacon craze in general was going overboard, I never turned my back on the bacon and chocolate craze. Bacon and dark Ecuador cacao with a caramel center. Can't go wrong with that.

Similar to the Raleigh Bars, this is a similar theme from Xocolatl de David whom often works with bacon in his confections. Bacon and caramel in a slender bar/tablet form. Only without the nougat like the Raleigh bars.

 

 

Bacon & Caramel Bar

 

Type: Filled candy bar, 72% dark chocolate.

Bean Varietal: Nacional

Ingredients: 72% cacao (cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, vanilla), sugar, cream, bacon, invert sugar, fleur de sel.

Sample Size: 2.2oz or 62g

 

Right away you can notice from the pictures it's sloppy appearance. A side effect from the salt and the caramel bulging the chocolate. I had a hard time capturing the bulging, but you can sort of make it out in the last picture above. It leaves for a hot mess in the appearance. Ashy, white, streaking, and the shine has gone off the bar.

All that aside, it smells fantastic. Like salt cure, smoky bacon, and sweet buttery caramel with earthy, fruity dark chocolate. Wonderful aroma. If they could make reed diffusers in this scent, it would be a best seller.

Sweet, and tangy bitter on the taste from the rich bitter dark chocolate, then buttery caramel with salty cripsy bacon. While the taste is full on with the bacon, I do wish it had bigger bacon pieces in it. It's the plight of my blog to demand chocolate makers to stop being skimpy with the bacon. It's bacon, you can never have TOO much in one bar. But more than that, it has the taste, but if needs the meaty back bone to make you feel like you just chewed on a fatty piece of bacon covered in chocolate and caramel. Because as rich and delectable as this is, large greasy, fatty bacon pieces would set this bar apart from any other bacon bar on the market.

I love the Ecuador chocolate they use on their products. It's rich, fruity, and bitter, and with the caramel and smoky bacon, it brings out a nutty richness to the chocolate with slight brewed coffee notes. Nice combination of flavors. It's very bitter too and that helps round out the sugars and sweetness on the bar.

A real decadent and fantastic bar. The salt makes it that much more addicting too. I am giving this bar a higher score based solely on how it tastes. It's very balanced. Savory, salty, buttery, sweet, rich, and deeply chocolaty and bitter. It's appearance is a side effect from the gooey caramel. It's really bad on this particular bar. But knowing exactly what this bar is and how it tastes shouldn't detract from making this a regular treat or gift for a true bacon lover. It's that good.

 

   score
    A

Xocolatl de David ~ Raleigh Bars

 

 

 

Handmade candy bars by Xocolatl de David in Portland, Oregon. Created for the affable Pine State Biscuits in Portland.

 

A few years back, my friends at the world renown Pine State Biscuits here in Portland asked me to create something for them to sell at their restaurant.  More specifically, a candy bar.  They bugged me for a good 3 months before I came up with the first and only prototype. It was so well received that I knew I was not going to be able to sell it just at Pine State Biscuits. To thank them I named it after the founder of the "Pine State" (North Carolina, for those not in the know), Sir Walter Raleigh.

To me the classic candy bar is, nougat, caramel, and nuts coated in chocolate.  I created mine with a southern vein since Pine State Biscuits is a southern style restaurant.  

 [Original Raleigh Bar]

Chocolate Pecan Nougat & Salted Caramel, coated in 72% Chocolate from Ecuador.

 

 

Bourbon Caramel

Buffalo Trace Bourbon Caramel, pecan chocolate nougat, 72% dark chocolate from Ecuador.

 

 

Visually this one was a little disappointing with the ashy appearance. But that's superficial for the huge flavors on this bar. Huge flavors except for the bourbon that is. Cutting into the bar I cut right through a pecan bit. Sadly it was the only real bit of pecan in the bar. I found this to be an issue as well with Liddabit's The Snacker bar. Handmade candy bars from Brooklyn, NY. Skimpy on the nuts and I am not sure why. In this case, the size of the bars maybe be a reason why. They are only about 2 inches long. But if they make them in bulk batches and strips only to be cut smaller, it doesn't completely make sense. Still, a small detail compared to the over all flavor but an issue with texture. You need those crunchy nuts to break up the chewy nougat and caramel mou consistency.

The aroma was dominated by the rich and full Ecuador chocolate. 72% and fairly bitter. It interacted nicely with the flavors of the burnt caramel and the chewy nougat. Salty caramel and sweet nougat. Lot's of contrasting flavors giving it an up and down quality for the palate. No one taste or flavor is the focus. I wished the aroma had more bourbon on it. Buffalo Trace is a big woody bourbon perfect for things like this and chocolate. I use it for my own Bourbon Pecan Truffles. But the subtle use of it in the caramel left everything else to dominate. The good news is though, the bourbon is present in the flavor but not really until the finish. It's lighter, but definitely distinguishable. The salt and then the sweet sugars dominate with the bitter chocolate leave the bourbon hanging on in the finish.

Texturally the caramel was awesome. It's burnt and salty at the same time with a gorgeous burnt rust color. It has a texture midway between runny caramel and caramel mou. The nougat was also soft and chewy. Right where you want it to be. Not too hard and not too chewy. Soft and easy. It just needed that extra crunch with more pecans.

It's an excellent bar full of big flavors, but it needs more pecans and more bourbon. I could be a raging alcoholic who just wants more booze at any cost, but realistically it's a subtle approach with the bourbon. It's the right size for all the flavors it packs and for how sweet and rich it is. The salt balances it out and makes it addicting like a fat crack rock. Not that I know anything about that. I wonder if David Briggs could make this even more ridiculously good by adding caramelized or cinnamon sugar pecans in the nougat.

 

 

Bacon Caramel

Bacon Caramel, pecan nougat, and 72% Ecuador chocolate.

 

 

Much better appearance with a shiny surface. The aroma dominates with big smoky bacon and rich chocolate. Did I mention crack in the previous review? Yeah, times that by 10 for this bar.

Same issues with the skimpy pecans. Again, it needs that break up with the chewy caramel and chewy nougat. I also think this could have benefited from crispy bacon in the caramel for added texture. It certainly had all the bacon flavor, but the crunch factor was missing again. It should be like their Country Ham bar. As with the bourbon bar, I could be a raging bacon-holic in my need for more bacon in this bar, but realistically it's a textural issue. It needs crunch some where, why not add bacon bits?

The chocolate has a less dominating flavor on this bar, but it's bitterness is very present. Bitters not acidity. The salty burnt caramel wins again, and the nougat rounds out the sweetness. The dominate flavor though is of course the smoky bacon. It's all in there. Sweet, salty, burnt sugars, chewy nougat and smoky bacon. How could you not love this thing? It's very sweet and rich. When you do get a bit of pecan in the bar, it adds a really nice layer of depth to the flavor. Needs moar!

Seattle Chocolates ~ Birthday Cake

 

 

Seattle Chocolates 

Birthday Cake filled truffle bar in milk chocolate. Yellow cake mix with confetti bits wrapped in milk chocolate. 

 

Birthday Cake

Type: Filled, truffle/candy bar.

Bean Varietal: N/A

Ingredients: White Chocolate (sugar, cocoa butter, whole milk powder, whey powder, soya lecithin, pure vanillia), Milk Chocolate (sugar, cocoa butter, whole milk powder, chocolate liquor, soya lecithin, pure vanilla), Confetti cake mix (unbleached wheat flour, sugar, colored bits [sugar, corn syrup, corn, palm oil, modified food starch, colors {elderberry juice, spinach extract, paprika, tumeric, citric acid}, baking soda, natural vanilla flavor, cream of tartar, salt, carob bean gum, guar gum), palm kernal oil. 

Sample Size: 2.5oz or 70g

 

Milk chocolate surface with Seattle Chocolates signature wavy patterned surface. Four large tablets. Shiny surface and creamy milk chocolate color with some slight surface marks. 

Smelled a bit artificial out of the package. The milk chocolate gives off a bit of a smoky and creamy aroma. Once spilt open, the center gives way to a creamy milk chocolate aroma. 

Nice and fully filled center. The center was a blend of white chocolate with cake mix and confetti's. The center was a little hard at first with crispy crunchy confetti bits. It melts away to a softer creamier texture. 

The white chocolate is a big distraction. If you are a white chocolate fan than this will be good, but if you were expecting cake flavor, it's dominated by the white chocolate. The milk chocolate was artificial tasting too and ends up being more distracting to the cake idea too. There is nothing really cake-like about this bar at all. Except with it's appearance when you break into the bar. It looks like a layer of cake covered in chocolate but the confetti's barely pop out. 

I wanted to like this bar because it sounded like fun and it sounded like a good idea. They ruined it with white chocolate in the center and the white and milk chocolate tasted completely artificial which ruined the taste for me completely. I don't mind white chocolate that much but it overpowered this bar and left no yellow cake taste. The confetti's added a fun crunchy texture, but the rest of it was hard and waxy at first until it began to open up and melt on the palate. 

Playful? Yes. Tasty? Disappointed. 

 

  score
 D-

 

Seattle Chocolates ~ Campfire S'More

 

 

Seattle Chocolates

Now we're talking. After having the Chuao Milk chocolate bar with Potato Chips, I follow up my filled bar appreciaton posts with a milk chocolate bar filled with graham and marashmallows. I am all about anything S'Mores. 

Seattle Chocolates has a line of truffle bars and this Campfire S'More bar is one of them. I also have their birthday cake bar pending a review. I picked these up at Beacon Hill Chocolates in Boston. 

 

Campfire S'More

 

Type: Filled, milk chocolate

Varietal: Unknown

Ingredients: Milk chocolate; sugar, cocoa butter, whole milk powder, chocolate liquor, soya lecithin, pure vanilla. Graham biscotti; enriched wheat flour [wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid], sugar, butter, eggs, baking powder, natural flavors, salt. Marshmallows; Corn syrup, beet sugar, corn starch, corn dextrose, water, carrageenan, soya protein, natural vanilla flavor, titanium dioxide. 

Sample Size: 2.5 oz or 70g

 

Nice thick bar with simple patterend, but non-monogrammed molding. Appeard to have generous "fixin's" or S'Mores bit in it. Smells sweet and creamy like good milk chocolate should. Chewy marshmallow bits, creamy and sweet milk chocolate, but not enough graham taste or bits in it. In fact it's really quite skimmpy on the graham, but the overall taste is there. It does taste like a S'More. Just perhaps a bit more on the sweeter vanilla side with the chocolate and marshmallow dominating. 

One thing that maybe a little petty to point out and may not entirely matter, is the name Campfire S'More. While all the ingredients are there, campfire makes me think charred marshamallows. I wonder if they could have charred them a bit before putting them in the chocolate. Char then, cool them, then put them in. It might make that name a bit more authentic and the taste bit more dynamic. 

Very sweet filled bar of chocolate.The flavors were there, the textures were all there with chewy marshmallow, creamy milk chocolate, faint hints of graham though. My only gripe is not enough graham crackers through out the bar and not enough graham cracker taste. It's there on the finish but as an afterthough and not really as an entire S'mores picture. I can't help it, I am a sucker for graham crackers. The milk chocolate is good and creamy and smooth with a nice melt time on it. 

 

   score
 B+

Chuao ~ Potato Chips in Milk Chocolate

 

This is every junk food-aholics dream. Milk chocolate, premium milk chocolate using Venezuelan beans and potato chips mashed into the chocolate. A sweet/salty lovers dream in one chocolate bar. 

 

A little about Chuao Chocolatiers via their website:

 

Founded in 2002 by Master Chef Michael Antonorsi and his brother Richard Antonorsi - the company's CEO; Chuao Chocolatier is pioneering “fusion chocolate” through a commitment to creating unusual, unexpected and delicious flavors using their secret blend of premium chocolate and fresh natural ingredients.

The Venezuelan born brothers, now San Diego residents, named the company Chuao Chocolatier after the legendary cacao-producing region of Chuao (pronounced chew-WOW) located in central Venezuela. The Antonorsi’s decision was a reflection of their commitment to both high quality and their Venezuelan family heritage. Chocolate is part of their roots, as their ancestors once ran a small family farm that was an important part of the criollo cacao plantation industry.

 

 

Potato Chips in Chocolate Bar

 

Type: Filled milk chocolate, 41% 

Varietal: Hybrid

Ingredients: 41% cacao, cocoa butter, sugar, dehydrated milk, soy lecithin, natural vanilla, potatoes, vegetable oil, sea salt. 

Sample Size: 2.8oz or 80g

 

Nice shiny surface, molded in a signature cocoa pod monogrammed patteren. Lots of crushed chips throughout the bar. Soft milk chocolate which gives way to a light medium snap. Smells like rich milk chocolate. I feel like the milk powder or something in it takes away from some of the more rustic aroma's of Chuao region cocoa, but still smells pretty good. 

Smooth chocolate texture, crunchy potato chips. It's not as salty as I would like, but the balance of sweet and and salty is still good. More on the sweet side though. I thought at first, with the way the chips were broken up, that it would be skimpy on the chips. Kind of like Vosges skimps you on the bacon in their famed Bacon bars. There are plenty of chips throughout and it balances really well the insanely rich milk chocolate. Only 41% on the cacao, but still rich and creamy. Excellent smooth melting texture to contrast the crunchy chips. Lingering milky chocolate taste, with potato chips on the finish. 

This is a great and super fun bar of chocolate. The potatoes miraculously stayed crunchy and good. And even though I think it could use a pinch more salt because the milk chocolate is super rich and creamy, this is easily one of my new favorite filled bars. I love sweet and salty combos. Calories wise, it's not the greatest move one could make, but that won't stop a glutton like me. 

 

  score
 A-

Vosges ~ Mo's Dark Chocolate Bacon Bar

 

 

 

Sometimes I go through so much chocolate I forget about notes I have been sitting on. This is one of those moments with Vosges. I had tried the Mo's Bacon Bar in milk chocolate and I liked it very much. I just had to give the dark chocolate bar a chance. It's pretty inexcusable to let notes about a bacon and dark chocolate bar to go by unpublished for this long, nearly a year ago now, but that won't stop me from posting these tempting notes now. Although this bar isn't the most pristine looking bar I have reviewed, it's still a bacon and chocolate bar. You know what's up.

 

 

Mo's Dark Chocolate Bacon Bar

 

Type: Flavored Semisweet, 62% (48% cocoa solids, 39% cocoa butter)

Bean Varietal: Unknown

Ingredients: Dark chocolate (cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, soy lecithin, vanilla), 10% uncured bacon (pork, sea salt, raw sugar, white pepper, dry juniper berries, celery juice, lactic acid-starter culture), salt.

Sample Size: 3oz or 85g

 

Appearance: Very messy surface. Same issues I had with the Milk Bar. Far more matted appearance with this bar. This comes from it's sealed plastic wrapper. The type of wrapper that seals everything in and I appreciate, but makes for messy surfaces. Monogrammed, large square molding. Deep, dark rich brown color.

Score: 75

Snap: Good firm snap feel, light snapping sound.

Score: 90

Aroma: Big, deep aroma of cocoa and cocoa powder. Bacon, salt, smoke, pepper, nutty, smells sweet and cocoa-y and then the bacon.

Score: 94

Taste: Sweet and salty, deep rich chocolate right up front, bold chocolate with a big nutty flavor that comes through even through the bacon, salty, crispy bacon.

Score: 95

Texture: Smooth chocolate silky texture, quick melt time, crispy bacon bits. *Waxy.

Score: 92

 

Very tasty bar of chocolate, fun and trendy. Despite it's bad matting on the surface, it was still a relative shiny surface. That's something you couldn't tell based on the pictures. The flash highlighted the matting in a bigger way. I can't get too mad about it since I prefer the sealed plastic wrappers. They hold in all the aromas and keep chocolate much longer. But it always does leave these kinds of appearance issues.

The aroma was surprising. I expected all smoke and bacon, but got deep rich cocoa aromas instead. Nutty, and cocoa-y, then the bacon aromas of smoke, pork and pepper. It was a nice balance.

The taste was pretty balanced, big rich chocolate flavors for a 62% bar, but the chocolate texture was fantastic. Lot's of cocoa butter and it was good. Very smooth and silky. *It was a bit waxy however, if you just chomped on a square. If you let it sit for a second before chewing into it, you get a sense of the silky quality.

Despite a balance of flavors, I am still disappointed with the bacon. It's crispy and flavorful, but pathetic with the tiny nuggets peppered through the bar. The package shows you two delicious looking slabs of bacon and you really hope for that inside, but all you get is the taste, essence of, rather than the real deal. I mean yes, the bacon bits are real, but I want BACON in my chocolate not bacon bit salad toppers. Not to mention the bacon in the milk bar still had some chewy fat bits in it. This bar, it was all crunch. They amount of bits are also skimpy. It's simply not what the package advertises. With the way Vosges is priced, you should be getting so much more.

Still it is bacon and chocolate and it does taste really good. It does hit some good technical marks despite the bad ones. I think this is a fun for the chocolate purists or snobs about dark chocolate. Definitely good for bacon nerds. But while I like this bar a great deal, I think I like the Milk bar more.

 

Final Score: 89.2

    score
     B

Zotter ~ Hand-Scooped Black Cherries with Vanilla

 

 

Zotter "Hand-Scooped" Black Cherries with Vanilla. Artwork by Andreas H. Gratze.

 

Black Cherries with Vanilla

Fine Bitter Couverture 60%

A fine dark chocolate that has the air of a chartbreaker. A black-cherry fruit puree and its layer of vanilla-almond nougat are determined to make it to the top.

 

Type: Filled bar, Semisweet 60%

Infredients: Raw cane sugar, almonds, cocoa butter, cocoa mass, fructose-glucose syrup, dried sweet cherries, full cream milk powder, cherry brandy, sweet whey powder, whole cane sugar, vanilla, salt, soy lecithin.

**Fair trade and organic ingredients.

Sample Size: 70g or 2.47oz

 

Major bloom on this bar. I like these Hand-scooped bars, but the chocolate coatings are very temperamental and finicky. This bar was the most bloomed out the three I have tried so far. And they are not past expiration or close to it. I can go as far as to say there may have been a big shift in temperature from transport or where they were bought in London. But I doubt that's the case. I think these bars are just delicate and temperamental.

Smells like cherries and a bit sweet like the kirsch brandy. Just a tad hint of that boozy character, but sweet overall with cherries, sugar, and vanilla.

Very sweet taste. Rich, sweet and slightly tart cherries, sweet vanilla filling, and semisweet chocolate rounding out the flavor. It's nice that the chocolate is at least present for this bar. On the other bars it was there but the fillings in the bar over took the chocolate. Then again, the chocolate is supposed to be an accent and not the main focus. But nice that you can taste it. 

There is a bit if a funky taste on the finish though that I do not like. I am left with a funky milk taste and milk breath. Something is artificial about it. The entire bar tasted good up until the finish. It's a leftover by-product of either too much milk powder in this bar or too much sugar and milk combined. It kind of ruins it for me.

I feel like this could have scored higher despite the bloom and overly sweet content of this bar because it tasted good, but it's the aftertaste that I can't get behind. The cherries were good, the vanilla was strong but good, the chocolate taste on the end was nice, but that finish kills it. It's not often I give something a score like this.

 

   score
 D+

Zotter ~ Hand -Scooped Scotch Whisky

 

 

Zotter "Hand-Scooped" Scotch Whisky with Highland Harvest Organic Scotch. Artwork by Andreas H. Gratze.

 

 

Scotch Whisky

Nobel bitter couverture 70%

The 'smoky flavour' of whisky and the dry acidulous flavour of dark chocolate blend together for that perfect combination.

 

Type: Filled bar, bittersweet, 70%

Ingredients: Cocoa mass, raw cane sugar, cocoa butter, whisky (6%), milk, fructose-glucose syrup, full cream milk powder, whole cane sugar, salt, vanilla.

**Fair Trade and organic ingredients.

Sample Size: 2.47oz or 70g

Highland Harvest Organic Scotch Whisky

 

Nice shiny surface with the blow dried chocolate waves on the surface. A few marks on the surface but probably from the packaging rubbing against the chocolate ripples. Still shiny though and in great shape.

Smells boozy and chocolate-y. A lot like the Grape (Grappa), Cheese and Walnut bar. Smells more like the sweet richness of the chocolate than it does of peaty scotch.

From the Caskstore page about the Whisky:

Deep golden amber color. Buttery caramelized nuts, anise, vanilla frosting, and dried fruit aromas. A soft silky entry leads to a dryish medium body of honeyed nut toast, caramel, honey, and spice flavors with wet grain and delicate mineral fade. A smooth, delicately flavorful, and evenly meshed blend.

Rich bittersweet chocolate and full scotch flavors without being overbearing. Has a bit of scotch esters and some slight peat characters, the buttery quality described on the page about the whisky comes through in a great way and interacts nicely with the sweet chocolate. Definite vanilla, cream, and honey from the scotch. There is a really nice flowery overtone to the bar as well which is either coming from the chocolate, or the scotch's honey notes, or a combination of the two. Either way, its really nice. And a nice nutty character just before the finish. Lot's of flavor profiles going on.

For someone who isn't a big scotch fan, this was very enjoyable. It is was it says it is too, unlike the Bacon Bits bar. Just a creamy center of chocolate and scotch covered in dark chocolate. A nice balance of esters, sugars, butter, and cream. And all organic ingredients including the whisky which falls inline with Zotter's principles perfectly.

 

   score
   A-