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/

Bonus – P is for Pisco

Fruity, frothy & light. That’s how I like my cocktails. Seems like I’ve just described a Pisco Sour (among other things); so, why not feature a bar called Pisco Sour! OK…don’t mind if I do!

More than a year ago (yes, it’s taken me *THAT* long to finally post about this bar), I tasked a friend to find me this Chocolate Tree Scotland bar during his trip to the UK. Woo hoo! Mission accomplished!

If you’re concerned that the box seems awfully large for the bar next to it…don’t despair! There is a second, individually wrapped, bar in this box for portion control or just double the fun! Love the eye-catching kaleidoscope of llamas on the packaging + the chosen colors make me think of lemons/limes/citrus. So appropriate for this bar!!

Since this bar experienced a trans-Atlantic trip, the topsy-turvy tiles are a little bloomed/frosted in appearance, which also explains why it’s slow to melt on the tongue. Regardless, I prefer to chomp to enjoy the crunchy nibs embedded in the 70% Piura (Peru) dark chocolate. And when I do chew, it then heightens the fruitiness. Bright fruit punch flavors explode in the mouth with a tart zing at the back of the throat on the finish.

From the packaging, it sounds like the nibs were infused with the ingredients of a classic Pisco Sour cocktail: pisco (a type of colorless brandy), lime juice & bitters. Not sure which came first: the Peruvian town and/or river Pisco or the spirit/alcohol. According to Wikipedia, 1764 was the first recorded use of this term to denote a Peruvian aguardiente (literally translated as burning water, the English equivalent is “fire water”), even though there are debates whether Peru or Chile was the first to produce Pisco.

It surprised me to learn that Pisco is made from fermented grape juice distilled into a high proof spirit since I’m generally not a fan of wine; but I do like a good Pisco Sour.

Pairing the chocolate with the cocktail heightens the citrusy notes of each. YUM!😋

Cheers on this Thirsty Thursday! 🍸

To learn more about Chocolate Tree Scotland, please visit their website: https://www.choctree.co.uk/

P is for Pálinka

My original goal for this round of Eating the Chocolate Alphabet was to feature lesser-known or new-to-me alcohols. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Lilla (aka Little Beetle Chocolates) for sourcing this chocolate bar directly from Hungary!

According to Wikipedia, pálinka (a fruit brandy commonly made with plums, apricots, apples, pears or cherries) has been around since the fourteenth century and might have been used medicinally by the Hungarian King and Queen during the Middle Ages to treat their arthritis. Like champagne and Parmigiano-Reggiano, pálinka has a PDO (protected designation of origin), meaning that unless the beverage was mashed, distilled, matured and bottled in Hungary, it can’t be called pálinka.

Now to taste the chocolate!

Just look at this gorgeous mould design that reminds me of a fireplace tile! {forgive the slight frosted appearance since the “best by date” is actually tomorrow 😲}

Lucky for me (depending on how you look at it), I didn’t have my usual pangs of conscience in breaking off tasting morsels since the bar was already segmented into various pieces. I could immediately smell and taste star anise, which surprised me, until I read the ingredients: fennel is listed at the very end!

Slow to melt on the tongue (likely due to the condition of the bar), it definitely becomes creamy on the palate after a few moments. Once the chocolate has warmed up, then it’s easy for your tongue to encounter chunks of candied nibs that add texture and crunch. I wonder what specific type of pálinka was used to soak the Venezuelan cocoa nibs before they were candied since fennel is the overall flavor note that I can taste (which isn’t a bad thing, mind you!)

If you are curious about Rózsavölgyi Csokoládé, take a look at my post from 2016 where I provided more details on the makers and their packaging.

For those of you in the U.S., you can buy a variety of bars from Caputo’s: https://caputos.com/rozsavolgyi/

Now I’m on a quest to find a bottle of pálinka, preferably apricot, since Lilla shared a filled chocolate ball that had this exotically perfumed and potent spirit. Have YOU tried pálinka? Leave me a comment!👇🏻

M is for Mezcal

There was a time when the taste, let alone the smell, of mezcal made me recoil. Thanks to a certain someone (you know who you are!), now I fully embrace the bold and robust flavors of this spirit & often order cocktails with this as a main ingredient.

At the NW Chocolate Festival in Seattle last November, a friend literally dragged me to the Cuna de Piedra booth telling me I *HAD* to taste their mezcal bars. He also mockingly told me that I couldn’t buy the Mezcal Reposado bar since HE BOUGHT THE LAST ONE! 😧 To console myself, I purchased this Mezcal Joven bar paired with 73% Soconusco, Chiapas origin dark chocolate. Hopefully I can get my hands on the other bar soon!

Love the reddish brown color and that each rectangular baton is emblazoned with part of a Spanish phrase that translates to: “Mexico, cradle of cacao. From the bean to the bar.” Cuna de Piedra translates to “stone cradle” – though I’m not certain if they are referring to the metate, a tool that is often used to grind cacao into paste.

Citrusy aroma & lightly bitter taste, like pith or peel, which makes sense when reading the informational panel on the outer label: “Young Mezcal made from 100% Maguey Espadin from Santiago Matatlán, a town located in the central valleys of Oaxaca, considered to be the ‘world capital of mezcal.’ The agaves were crushed into an Egyptian stone mill, known as tahona, the liquid was fermented in oaks vats and double distilled in clay pot stills to obtain the freshest citrus and herbal notes, which blend harmoniously with our Soconusco, Chiapas 73%.”

Medium to sharp snap; flourless chocolate cake texture when chewed. There is an immediate burst of bright fruity flavor as soon as a piece hits your tongue/palate. There’s a lightly smoky taste without being overwhelming. Thick/palate coating mouthfeel during the slow/even melt. The texture is not completely smooth, but also not grainy. I was surprised to read that the alcohol had been removed from the Mezcal, making this bar non-alcoholic.

For no other reason than there was “Piedra” in the company name, I paired this chocolate with a dram of Santo de Piedra Mezcal Joven. This mezcal had a granny smith / Jolly Rancher apple flavor on its own. Sipping the mezcal while having a piece of chocolate in my mouth resulted in an unusual savory flavor combination that made me think of salsa, with notes of tomato, onion & garlic! 🤯

To find out more about the chocolate, please visit: https://shop.cunadepiedra.com/

As an added bonus, I tried a second mezcal/citrus dark chocolate bar. This has languished in my stash for over a year, the best by date elapsed more than 7 months ago. I wouldn’t say that I’m a procrastinator, I just started planning this round of the alcohol Eating the Chocolate Alphabet too early!

This Parliament Chocolate bar (from Redlands, CA) has a muted smoky aroma straight out of the inner wrapper. I was surprised to see so many holes/gaps along the edges as well as an unexpected crunch – I’m assuming it’s from candied citrus peel even though it wasn’t listed as an ingredient. Medium to sharp snap; crumbly texture when chewed. Slow to melt on the tongue & there is none of the smoky “bite” that I associate with mezcal.

Since this Peloton de la Muerte mezcal is known to have fruity flavors, I thought it would be a good pairing with the chocolate. That first sip was pure fire, but once that subsided it was smooth & tangy. I’m not sure that it enhanced the chocolate, but it certainly didn’t detract from it.

In case you’re curious about the tiny drams of mezcal, these were from a 2017 Drinks by the Dram advent calendar from Masters of Malt, not sure when they will be shipping to the US again, but hopefully soon!

Many restaurants have Tequila Tuesday events, but I say we need to institute Mezcal Miercoles ASAP!! Salud!

L is for Laphroaig

Imagine the intensity of 100% cacao, a chocolate without ANY sugar! Next, imagine the intensity a Laphroaig Single Malt Scotch Whisky, which is known to be smoky and peaty. Now, what if you combined those two very polarizing flavors?! These Mademoiselle Miel smoked honey bon-bons with scotch will blow your mind! 🤯

Thanks to Susan Brown (aka Madamoiselle Miel) for sending me a couple of sets of these bonbons for this Alphabet project. My apologies for not tasting them sooner, but I can assure you they were still SO VIBRANTLY flavored!

I enjoyed learning that Susan, who is both a beekeeper and an award winning chocolatier, collects honey from rooftop hives throughout the Twin Cities (Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota). If you’d like to learn more about Susan and Mademoiselle Miel, here is the link to a Well Tempered podcast episode.

Let me be honest, I’m not a big fan of unsweetened chocolate…it’s a little overwhelming for my palate. Scotch whisky, especially one that is smoky/peaty, won’t be at the top of my wish list either. BUT WOW, combining those two ingredients together is a revelation.

These bonbons are like tiny jewels unto themselves. Just look at how the edible, copper colored lustre dust shimmers in the sunlight.

Popping one of these morsels in your mouth is a multi-layered experience. The thin, bitter outer shell easily gives way to the semi-liquid center. The honey is smoked over sweet hickory wood and then paired with the Laphroaig. Not sure if the mouthfeel is supposed to be slightly grainy/crystallized; maybe it’s because I waited a little too long or perhaps that’s just what happens when alcohol interacts with honey. The comparatively sweet center disappears quickly and the smoky/leathery taste coats your palate. The flavors linger and there is a short-lived astringency/drying of the mouth once the chocolate is gone.

With 3 more bonbons left, now I’m curious to pair them with a dram of Laphroaig. Wish me luck! 😲

According to a Laphroaig timeline, their whisky was “officially” born in 1815 when they decided that it was more cost effective to distill alcohol than raise cattle. Check out their website to learn more about their products.

If there is a whisky or chocolate lover in your life, might I remind you that Valentine’s Day is just around the corner! ❤️

Visit https://www.mademoisellemiel.com/ to get some. Let me know your thoughts if you do!

Slàinte or Cheers on this Thirsty Thursday!

K is for KōHana Rum

Surprisingly “K” was an elusive alcohol letter to find paired with chocolate; I thought for sure that a Kahlúa chocolate would be available, but no luck 😲

When a subscriber to this blog commented on my Honey Brandy post and mentioned Hawaiian maker Manoa, I discovered that they made a bar called KōHana Rum. Woo hoo, problem solved! Luckily, I was able to contact Manoa before they traveled to Seattle for the Northwest Chocolate Festival in November and I sourced this bar without paying for shipping – then again, even overnight mail from Hawaii would have been MUCH less expensive than my trip to Seattle, but I digress.

From the inside of the packaging: “We teamed up with local rum distiller KōHana to create this bar. KōHana Agricole Rum is meticulously crafted from farm to bottle. They grow single varietal sugar canes that are hand harvested, pressed to juice and then distilled to perfection – resulting in one of the world’s finest pure cane rums. Our Hawaiian cacao nibs are soaked in their rum, which we then process into chocolate.”

I’m not much of a rum drinker, so I wasn’t familiar with all the types of rum out there. That’s where this VinePair article came in super handy.

Classic rum is distilled from fermented sugarcane products, usually molasses, a syrupy byproduct of refining cane or beet sugar.

Rhum agricole differs from [classic] rum in that it’s distilled directly from pressed cane sugar instead of fermented juice or cane byproducts like molasses…

“Agricole” means “agricultural” in French. Because it’s so pure, drinkers can really taste the terroir. In rhum agricole’s case, this generally means a grassy, slightly funky taste.

It was great to read that last description, because this chocolate bar is indeed funky; though I would describe the flavor as leather rather than grassy – maybe the rum itself is grassy?!

Love the deep, rich, dark brown color to this nearly pristine bar with a detailed mould design. The aroma reminded me of wet tea leaves or used (already steeped?) coffee grounds. The bar segmented easily with a medium to soft snap. Super smooth & creamy during the slow even melt. As mentioned earlier, there was a unique flavor to this bar & I struggled with descriptors until I read someone else mention that Agricole Rum can sometimes taste leathery. Bingo! That’s it!

A fellow chocolate blogger recently posted about pairing this bar WITH the rum that was used to impart the distinct flavor. Take a look at her post, if you’re curious about it.

To find out more about KōHana rum, please visit their website: https://www.kohanarum.com/home

For Manoa Chocolate, here’s their website: https://manoachocolate.com/

As a side note, you’re probably thinking: Hey, did I miss the letter “J”? Well, truth be told, over the last year I’ve lost enthusiasm for this round of Eating the Chocolate Alphabet. After some soul searching, I’ve decided to feature only the bars that were already set aside for this project, but won’t be fulfilling every letter or filling in the gaps. My apologies for those completionists out there & thanks for your understanding!

H is for Honey Brandy

Maybe it’s a bit of a stretch, but I say that honey brandy counts for the letter “H” in this round of the alcohol-related Eating the Chocolate Alphabet!

If I remember correctly, Violet Sky’s Instagram feed first mentioned a Honey Brandy Barrel Aged Monte Grande in August 2017 and I think I acquired this particular 72% dark chocolate bar in early to mid-2018, so yeah, I’ve been “aging” this in my stash for a while.

But, OMG, I wish there was smell-o-vision to go along with this post because both the aroma and the flavor were unlike anything I’ve ever encountered, in the best possible way!

The moment I removed the bar from the iridescent “snake skin” outer paper wrapper and the thin, purple/magenta colored foil inner wrapper, the aroma was so vibrant, unique, unusual and hard to describe. The best I can think of is floral; like a jasmine or an orchid, but that’s just about a tenth of all the scents that wafted to my nose.

The mold design is nondescript and there are a few burst air bubbles here and there, but the bar has a glossy shine that seems to catch the light and reflect its surroundings.

It is easy to segment and break rectangles in half with a medium to sharp snap. Placing a tasting morsel on my tongue created another rainbow of flavors that overwhelmed my senses. It was on the verge of being spicy/peppery like leather or tobacco and it reminded me of something that had just the right amount of burnt char. Was that a wisp of raw/unroasted pecans or black tea? Wait, now it’s savory like cheese. No, it’s botanical like gin! I’m getting light tip of the tongue tingles…what does THAT mean?

Slow/even melt, with a palate-coating, creamy (yet juicy) mouthfeel along with a drying sensation on the sides of my cheeks and lips. If you choose to take a bite, then it’s like a dense fudge, with a slight crumbly chew.

I don’t have much experience with the Monte Grande origin or Guatemalan cacao for that matter, so I’m wondering if aging the nibs in Virtuoso Distillers honey brandy barrels created this symphony of flavors and aromas or if these notes are inherent to the cacao itself. If anyone can provide more details on this, please leave a comment below!

As for the term “honey brandy,” sadly I’m not able to find much information online about that either. Is it a mead that was distilled to brandy strength? Is it honey fermented in brandy barrels? I looked for Virtuoso Distillers and only found a company in Mishawaka, Indiana that makes gin, rye and vodka. Even their URL (http://18vodka.com/) refers to vodka that’s been distilled 18 times. Could it be that in the 1-2 years since I’ve acquired the bar that they changed their portfolio of spirits?

Soon I’ll be sending samples of this bar to friends around the world to get their impressions! Maybe one of them will find the words that eluded me?

To learn more about Violet Sky American Craft Chocolate from South Bend, Indiana, please visit their Instagram feed: https://www.instagram.com/violetskychocolate/

C is for Cabernet Sauvignon

Chocolate paired with wine is popular…but, how about a chocolate that TASTES like wine?! Yep, Brooklyn’s Raaka Chocolate has that covered with their 68% CAC Pangoa, Peru dark chocolate Cabernet Sauvignon bar!

According to the description on the back of the outer packaging: “This chocolate is tipsy. You don’t even need a glass!”

Unroasted cocoa nibs are steamed over a simmering big/bold California cabernet wine to infuse juicy, grapey flavors with a raisin-like finish.

You wouldn’t know it, but this bar is almost a year old (it was part of the July 2018 First Nibs subscription shipment). I love that the detailed mold design mimics the abstract illustration on the paper wrapper.

Tasting morsels segment easily with a sharp snap, releasing a raisin/dried fruit aroma. Starting off subtle, there were bursts of bright red fruit during the slow/even melt & the mouthfeel was, surprisingly, not completely smooth. It seemed like the grape/wine flavor was more vibrant when chewing the chocolate rather than just letting it melt on the tongue. Maybe it’s my imagination (or my palate becoming acclimated to the taste), but I swear the intensity of the fruit flavors are cumulative since my second “chomp” was like eating wine in solid form! Lightly tannic and long lasting finish mostly on the tip of the tongue and back of the throat.

Normally I have so much more to say in my posts; but, honestly, bold red wine is not my favorite spirit. Give me a late harvest or dessert wine & I’ll ooh and aah. Give me a gin and I’ll wax poetically.

I’ve been told by friends who are wine drinkers, that this bar is one of their favorites! So if the taste of California red wine is your thing, check out Raaka’s website for more details!

A is for Absinthe

My hiatus from blog posts has been lengthier than I’ve wished or expected. However, when I woke up this morning (March 5th) & discovered that it was National Absinthe Day, I was inspired to launch my new Alphabet project even though I’m not fully prepared to do so…I just couldn’t let the perfect opportunity pass me by. In this round of Eating the Chocolate Alphabet, I plan on featuring chocolates that include or are inspired by different alcohols. So, if you have any recommendations for future letters, please leave me a comment or send an email!

You might have heard that for nearly 100 years it was illegal to import, manufacture or sell “real” absinthe in the United States. But do you know why? Well, many believe that wormwood (the bitter component to absinthe, as well as the herb responsible for its characteristic hue) contains a toxic chemical called thujone, and this was believed to be the cause of all sorts of bad things: drunkenness, hallucinations, rage, violence and even death.

With a back story like that, finding and tasting a chocolate called Absinthe intrigued me! To be clear, the following chocolate bar does NOT contain any alcohol, only botanicals which impart a licorice flavor that is similar to the beverage that inspired it!

Introducing, Endorfin Foods’ ABSINTHE 70% dark chocolate with anise & wildcrafted mugwort:

Endorfin leaves the cacao beans unroasted and uses caramelized coconut + coconut blossom sugar to sweeten their chocolate bars more naturally. Essential oils of mugwort, anise, sweet fennel and lemon balm provide the absinthe-like flavor profile without any of the bitterness.

Love the vintage font and corner illustrations on the 100% compostable packaging that makes me think of the Arts and Crafts movement / Craftsman style which is so prevalent in my hometown of Pasadena, California. If you look closely, the company logo sports a series of cacao pod cross sections, which at a glance could be mistaken for flowers.

Removing the relatively plain, conjoined 8-rectangle bar from the packaging, you immediately see a mostly pristine/glossy dark brown surface as well as smell a vibrant anise/licorice aroma.

Sharp snap, revealing a few tiny air bubbles at the break point.

Slightly crumbly when chewed and not completely smooth on the tongue, I attribute these to the coconut sugar. Creamy mouthfeel during the slow/even melt; the herbal flavors mingle harmoniously with the base chocolate making for a pleasurable experience, sans hallucinations!

Since I happened to have a few bottles of absinthe at home, I decided to conduct an impromptu tasting:

If I’m being completely honest, I MUCH prefer the aroma and flavor of Endorfin’s rendition of absinthe!

For more information on Northern California-based Endorfin Foods, please visit their website: https://endorfinfoods.com/

Z is for Zorzal

In the northern mountains of the Dominican Republic, there is a 1019-acre bird sanctuary where about 70% of the land is set aside to remain forever wild! On the rest of the acreage, they grow macadamias, bananas and grafted varietals of shade-grown cacao trees that have been carefully selected for their nuanced flavors and intense aromas. What is this place? It’s Reserva Zorzal, the Dominican Republic’s first private preserve which acts as a model for other landowners to create conservation solutions!

Chocolate makers who buy the meticulously fermented and sundried Reserva Zorzal cacao beans are willing to pay an additional value for each pound to invest in “Plan Vivo,” a project which focuses on habitat restoration and climate change mitigation. Reserva Zorzal strives to create a better habitat for their signature bird species, Bicknell’s Thrush (or Zorzal de Bicknell in Spanish), a rare migratory songbird which spends the winter at the preserve and then breeds in the northeastern United States and parts of Canada. In partnership with a couple of other Dominican organizations, there is a 50-year goal to increase the Bicknell Thrush population by 25%. Additionally (from the Reserva Zorzal website), by planting trees in the Dominican Republic, they aim to offset carbon emissions from chocolate producers and other manufacturers in North America.

One of the chocolate makers using Zorzal beans is Madison Butler from Piedmont Bleus in North Carolina.

Like the unassuming Bicknell’s Thrush which has a complex flute-like song, this relatively plain looking three-ingredient chocolate bar hides nuanced flavors and aromas.

The 12-rectange bar is medium to dark brown in color and sports a glossy shine. As always, I enjoy flipping a bar over to see if there are any interesting drip patterns. This did not disappoint! Hopefully the filter I applied to the photo below helps the image “pop” more! What do YOU see?

It’s easy to segment tasting morsels along the bar’s score lines with a sharp snap, revealing some nooks/crannies, as well as a textured shear pattern and a pleasant roasted nut aroma at the break point.

Popping a piece in my mouth, I encountered a smooth/creamy mouthfeel during the slow/even melt, vibrantly tart fruit flavors that reminded me of cherries or cranberries and little to no astringency on the finish.

Like the back of the label says (“Goes down smooth”), this bar certainly didn’t last long as there only 2 pieces remaining! I’m setting one of the pieces aside to pair with a mezcal as recommended!

Now I want to get my hands on their “Hot Minute” bar which is spicy & Mexican-inspired! Have YOU tried that yet?!

If you’d like to get bars for yourself, check out Piedmont Bleus’ website: http://piedmontbleus.com/

Can you believe that I’ve reached the end of another Alphabet series? Where does the time go?! I’ll be taking a short break from blog posts while thinking about the theme for “Round 4” – I have some ideas, but welcome hearing your suggestions too! Leave me a comment here or check out my Instagram page in the meantime! Have a delicious weekend!