R is for Rum

One of these bars is NOT like the other. Can you tell what the difference is?!

As I gather bars together for each post, I realize that A) I over-plan and buy too many bars ahead of time (meaning that the “best by” usually elapses well before I have the chance to taste them) and B) I’m a little obsessive 😜
I have too many chocolates!! I know you’re all shocked by that statement!

Anyway, did you guess that four of the five bars photographed above are Rum + Raisin? If so, bonus points for you!

Tasting in alphabetical order (would you expect anything else from me)…

Cultura Craft Chocolate (Denver, Colorado)
Limited Release 72% Rum + Raisin

While the packaging mentions raisin, the list of ingredients does not. Maybe this was a typo/oversight or maybe raisin refers to the flavor profile that they are highlighting?

This one is described as being a Guatemalan dark chocolate infused with Bear Creek Distillery’s Spiced Rum. The surface is lightly frosted since the “enjoy by” date had elapsed by a whole year. YIKES! 😲

There’s a vegetal aroma to the bar that (strangely) reminds me of miso soup. Dry, brittle snap & crumbly when chewed. I encountered a yogurt-like tang and a grainy mouthfeel during the slow/even melt. Finishes with fruity/cherry notes.

Charley’s Chocolate Factory (Queensland, Australia)
70% Dark Chocolate PLUS Rum and Raisin

This bar is truly a melting pot of ingredients! The cocoa beans are from the Madang Province of Papua New Guinea, the cocoa butter is Venezuelan, the soy lecithin is from Germany, the rum is from Queensland (Australia) and the raisins are also Australian.

Speaking of which, just look at the generous amount of plump, chewy drunken raisins dotting the back of this bar!

No aroma straight out the packaging, which is surprising given that my past experience with PNG chocolate has been heavy on the smoke since traditionally those cocoa beans have been smoke dried.

The 3 ounce bar feels hefty/dense in my hands and has a medium snap. It’s slow to melt on the tongue and produces a thick/not completely smooth mouthfeel during the even melt.

It’s what I would consider a good snacking bar with all those rum infused raisins on the back!

Jasper + Myrtle (Canberra, Australia) Spiced Rum Dark Chocolate

OK, now that I look at the packaging again, this doesn’t specifically say raisin, but it DOES say “dried fruit” as part of the ingredients list. Does that count?! Other ingredients listed are: Australian Rum, spices and bourbon vanilla.

Again, this one has a lightly frosted appearance since the “best by” date is also almost a year ago 😢

There’s an immediate spice aroma. Is it cinnamon or nutmeg? I’ll say cinnamon as my final answer!

Sharp snap, slow/even melt releasing primarily caramel notes plus black pepper and other spices, with an oaky/woody taste mid-melt and on the finish. No visible inclusions or mouthfeel texture from the dried fruits, so I wonder if they were ground in with the cocoa beans.

Solkiki (UK) 63% Coconut Dark Milk Rum n Raisin

The outer, cardboard packaging could hardly stay closed due to all the lumpy inclusion goodness encased in Gran Nativo Blanco (Peru) dark non-dairy (vegan) milk chocolate. There are small, chewy, boozy Diplomatico Reserva rum infused raisins studding the bar as a textural treat.

Medium to sharp snap, vibrant tropical fruit flavor with a creamy, slow/event melt. It’s rich and satisfying and could easily stand in as an after dinner dessert!

Last, but not least…

Wm. Chocolate (Madison, Wisconsin) Honduras Wampusirpi 72% dark + Roaring Dan’s Rum

Another lightly frosted outer surface (it’s about 6 months out of date), with a high pitched snap. This one has an intense molasses/prune-y aroma and flavor. I wonder if these notes come from the rum or the whole cane sugar used as sweetener. Silky smooth, creamy, slow/even melt with a malty and light leather finish.

The Wampusirpi, Honduras cacao was soaked in Great Lakes Distillery’s Roaring Dan’s Rum, named after Dan Seavey, a pirate who sailed in the Great Lakes at the turn of the 20th Century.

Lately I’ve been pairing chocolates with a matching cocktail.

What you see here is a Hop Toad: equal parts white rum, apricot liqueur & lime juice. Here are the results from individual tastings:

The citrus notes were highlighted when pairing the cocktail with Charley’s and Jasper + Myrtle. The citrus was especially intensified/more pronounced with Wm. Chocolate.

Alternatively, the apricot sweetness was enhanced by Cultura and Solkiki.

I realized too late that I also have a unique sugar cane alcohol made in the Peruvian Amazon. Sounds like I have more pairings and experimentation in my future!

If you have a rum cocktail recommendation, please leave me a note in the comments section.

Please visit the various makers’ websites for more details on their offerings!

Cultura Craft Chocolate: https://www.culturachocolate.com/
Charley’s Chocolate Factory: https://www.charleys.com.au/
Jasper + Myrtle: https://jasperandmyrtle.com.au/
Solkiki: https://www.solkiki.co.uk/
Wm. Chocolate: https://wmchocolate.com/

G is for Gin

Up until about five years ago, I wasn’t much of a drinker. I’m not fond of wine (unless it’s sweet/dessert/Late Harvest); mass produced beer smells and tastes like pee (I’ve since discovered that I like craft beer sours); and I thought that all cocktails were served on the rocks or blended with ice (my throat doesn’t do well with super cold things). My boyfriend is a firm believer that everyone should cultivate an acquired taste, so gin became my thing! He also opened my eyes to cocktails that are served “up” (meaning that they are chilled, but come sans ice) and my world has never been the same since. 😂

I love the complexity of gin! This spirit can be distilled from seemingly almost anything. I’ve tried one made from clementine oranges and another from grapes, as well the more traditional grain distillation. Each gin is distinct depending on the blend of botanicals used. Most makers keep their ingredients a secret, others proudly detail that it contains juniper, bergamot, orange peel, angelica, coriander as well as many many other herbs and spices. My recent gin acquisition has a vibrant purple hue thanks to butterfly pea flowers that changes color when citrus juice is added! 😲

Confession time: I’ve been planning and gathering bars for this alcohol-related Alphabet for about a year now and this round has been rolling out at a much slower pace than the previous three, so the first two bars featured below have (unfortunately) past their prime after languishing in my stash, waiting for their moment in the spotlight…one of the drawbacks of being a chocolate hoarder! 🤦

First up is Zotter’s Gin Zitronic Hand-scooped bar:

A fellow gin lover and chocophile from the UK visited the Zotter factory in Austria over a year ago (yes, I’m shaking my head too) and sent me this bar. The label is entirely in German, so I’ve been struggling to translate it to English. I’m pretty sure it says something about Josef Farthofer’s O. Gin (the O meaning organic) and that this gin has 24 different herbs and spices, with juniper and orange called out specifically.

Don’t you just love the undulating waves of 60% dark milk chocolate that enrobe this bar and how you can see each distinct layer?

The bar is like a soft fudge and doesn’t snap, so it’s advisable to cut off portions with a knife. The lightly crisp, thin dark milk chocolate top and bottom fall away easily so that you can taste the creamy dark chocolate ganache layer and the citrusy lemon cream layer separately.

Deconstructing all the elements allowed me to better enjoy the latent botanical flavors as well as discover tiny pieces of citrus zest that add texture and enhanced flavor. Again, based on my rudimentary translation, I think the lemon cream is made with their house-made lemon soda + vermouth, though it’s really not boozy.

Another thing that baffles me on the label, is that the “zi & r” of Zitronic are in green, whereas everything else is in black…if anyone knows the significance, please fill me in!

Next up, is Cultura Craft Chocolate’s Limited Release 75% Gin + Juniper bar:

Based on the label description, Belize dark chocolate was infused with Denver-based Leopold Bros Navy Strength gin and finished with juniper sugar; piloncillo (unrefined brown sugar) in particular, I believe.

What is “Navy Strength” you might ask? Well, the quick answer is a spirit that is bottled at exactly 57% alcohol by volume (ABV). The longer answer is that during the 18th Century, the UK Royal Navy mandated that a certain quantity of gin be carried on board as a way to combat scurvy or malaria as they traveled around the world. Since suppliers were notorious for watering down alcohol, mariners would test the product by igniting the liquid with gunpowder. If it failed to light, this indicated that they had been duped. Only gin that passed the gunpowder test were classified as Navy Strength.

The small (0.9 ounce) bar has no mold design and a nice amount of sprinkled inclusions. Once out of the inner wrapper, the aroma was herbal, like hay or grass. Sharp snap with a smooth, slow/even melt. Fruity/juicy notes with a tart tang at the back of the throat. Chewing a tasting morsel brought out more vibrant fruit notes. Returning to melting a piece on my tongue after chomping a few bites, now I was able to get the botanical notes that are characteristic of gin.

Since I don’t like to be pre-influenced when tasting chocolate, I didn’t read the label until AFTER trying the bar. I was pleasantly surprised to see Leopold Bros, since I just happen to have one of their gins on hand: mine is the Summer Gin. By the way, I always feel so guilty about drinking alcohol too early in the day; so I tasted and photographed the chocolates at lunchtime, but waited until an appropriate “cocktail hour” for the pairings.

The Summer Gin on its own is quite citrusy, but also smooth enough to be sipped neat. Paired with the Belize chocolate, this brought out raisin/stewed dried fruit and floral notes. What a delightful combo!

Last, but not least, Hunted + Gathered Four Pillars Rare Dry Gin bar:

How can you not smile when you see a cheerful sticker saying “time for more chocolate”! This should be my mantra, wait it IS my mantra 🤣

From the packaging, Four Pillars Gin botanicals were ground through with 70% Dominican Republic cacao to produce this bar. Granted this is my most recent acquisition (since a friend traveled to Australia within the last 6 months and brought back this bar for me), but it was also the one that MOST smelled like gin: VERY herbaceous!

The mold design makes me think of a tic tac toe board or a large Rubik’s cube panel. Forgive the lightly frosted surface appearance…remember, it traveled QUITE a distance to get to me!

Resounding snap, sending botanical aromas to my nose. This is like eating gin in solid form! Intensely juniper with resin/pine too. Bitter during the melt and long lasting flavor on the tongue during the finish. I was surprised to see that the ingredients list mentioned coconut sugar and dried orange.

While on a shopping spree recently, we spotted a Four Pillars Gin and knew we *HAD* to have this for the perfect pairing!

On its own, the gin has quite a kick (the first sip was mellow and then that second sip was WOW!) Paired together, I get all kinds of licorice-y and anise notes. Quite robust and complex!

Tomorrow I’m going to try a non-alcoholic juniper bar since it’s gin-adjacent! Follow me on Instagram to find out more.

If you know of any other gin bars out there that I shouldn’t miss, please leave a comment below.

Cheers & Happy Thirsty Thursday to all! Should we blame or congratulate my BF for corrupting me?! Regardless, I’m off to make myself a cocktail…with gin, of course 😉🍸

If you’d like more information on any of the makers featured here, please check out their websites:

Cultura Craft Chocolate from Denver, Colorado, USA: https://www.culturachocolate.com/

Hunted + Gathered from Victoria, Australia: https://huntedandgathered.com.au/

Zotter Schokolade from Austria: https://www.zotter.at/en/homepage.html

50 States Collaboration – Colorado / Cultura Craft Chocolate

My 5th grade choir learned the lyrics to the song “Fifty Nifty United States” and to this day I can still recite the states in alphabetical order…at least until where the soloists took over! Though, now that I’m thinking about it, I can’t decide if remembering 35 out of 50 states (70%) decades later is a point of pride or a quirk that I shouldn’t admit to?! Regardless, I’m thrilled to be asked to collaborate with Lori from Time to Eat Chocolate on this project to feature bean-to-bar makers from as many states as have them. We’ll be trading off sharing stories and featuring 1 to 2 makers per state, so be sure to also follow her blog so that you won’t miss a thing! 🙂

In fact, Lori started off the project yesterday by featuring a state near her: Maryland – here is a link to her post: https://timetoeatchocolate.com/2017/02/05/spagnvola/

The state I selected is close to me both geographically and alphabetically: Colorado

Cultura Craft Chocolate (established 2016) is the collaboration of two experienced chocolate makers: Damaris Ronkanen (formerly of Dead Dog Chocolate) and Matthew Armstrong (formerly of Mutari Chocolate). From their website: “Their shared values of always being curious, never compromising, pushing boundaries, and having fun are reflected in every aspect of Cultura – from the name, to the packaging and the origins they source their beans from, to how they make their chocolate and share their story.” This new brand is a tribute to the events that led them to chocolate.

Around Halloween last year, the colorful and decorative sugar skull designs featured prominently on the packaging caught my eye on Instagram; so when I discovered that they would be at the Northwest Chocolate Festival in Seattle, I knew I had to visit their booth and try them for myself.

While Cultura also sells larger (1.75 oz.) single origin, two ingredient bars, I was drawn to their mini bars (0.8 oz.) that either highlight a single origin (with varying percentages of cacao) or are made with inclusion ingredients. A fellow blogger recently posted about the trend of mini bars, so check out this article for more details.

First up was the 70% Haiti (“PISA” 2015 harvest). By the way, “PISA” stands for Produits Des Iles SA, a new cacao processor and exporter in Northern Haiti.

After unwrapping this single origin, two ingredient mini chocolate from the black foil, I noticed some “ghosting” marring the top surface of the bar. I believe this type of “blemish” appears when there are problems removing the chocolate from the mold.

Segmenting a tasting morsel, there was a brittle snap and the chocolate appeared a little dry with some air bubbles along the edge of the break.

Since I had noticed a fruity, sweet, raisin-like aroma upon opening the foil, I was surprised by the initial bitter and roasted flavor that I encountered. The chocolate melted evenly on my tongue, but was not completely smooth in texture and left an astringent feel to my mouth. This cacao is said to taste like fig, tart cherry and lightly roasted nuts + the tasting notes on the box mentions biscuit, raisin and malt, unfortunately none of those came across strongly to me and instead I tasted red berry.

Next was the 70% Mexican Spice (made with Dominican Republic Oko Caribe 2015 beans)

Peeling back the black inner foil wrapping, I could immediately smell pepper, though I wouldn’t have known they were guajillo chiles, a staple in Mexican cuisine, that impart a pleasant back-of-the-throat heat (personally a “4” on a scale of 1 to 10 in terms of heat intensity). What you see is a generous (though uneven) sprinkling of toasted almonds.

The almonds looked a little dry/powdery, so that when segmenting the bar, the almonds tended to fly everywhere and there was a woody/dull snap (possibly due to some air bubbles in the bar).

Overall, the slow and even melt of this Ceylon cinnamon and chile infused dark chocolate reminded me of a hearty, savory mole dish or a “warming from the inside out” Mexican hot chocolate beverage. The inherent sweetness of the chocolate itself helped to tone down the peppery heat.

Last, but not least, the 70% Peppermint-Nibs (also made with Dominican Republic Oko Caribe 2015)

There was a light (not overpowering) and refreshing aroma of peppermint oil upon opening the packaging and a generous sprinkling of cacao nibs. One of the things that surprised me was seeing bits of cacao husk near one corner of the bar.

While I had heard that tea could be made from the papery shells, I had usually avoided tasting them before. This errant piece of husk was pleasantly nutty and crunchy, so I’ll definitely have to investigate this chocolate making by-product more in the future!

Another thing that caught my eye was a slightly purple nib (see top left in the foreground of this photo), since the rest of the nibs were dark or light brown in color.

Overall, this bar had a sharper snap, a smoother melt and a creamier mouthfeel than the other two bars. Also, it seemed easier for me to appreciate the chocolate itself aside from the inclusion ingredients than the previous bar, as I was able to get hints of citrus that is inherent in beans from the Dominican Republic. While peppermint makes me think of winter and Christmas, this bar is sure to be a perennial favorite.

To learn more about Cultura and their different bars, check out their website: http://www.culturachocolate.com/

Also, remember to follow Lori’s “Time to Eat Chocolate” blog to read about future installments of our joint 50 States project!

Other chocolate makers in Colorado:

Beehive Chocolates

Dar Chocolate

Fortuna Chocolate

Nuance Chocolate

WKND Chocolate

While not bean-to-bar, Nova Chocolate is a craft chocolate company.

NOTE: If you know of any other bean-to-bar makers in Colorado that aren’t mentioned above, please leave a comment or send an email so that we can keep this list as up-to-date as possible!