Category: US chocolate

W is for Whiskey

Procrastination finally paid off!

This alcohol-related round of Eating the Chocolate Alphabet seems to have dragged on FOREVER! We’re almost at the end though. This is my penultimate post & I’ve been wondering when to write about whiskey. I wasn’t motivated for “Thirsty Thursday” or “Finally Friday.” This morning, I woke up to discover that it is World Whiskey Day. It’s a sign! (or serendipity, you decide!) Had I been more in tune with boozy theme days, I could have said it was planned this way.

OK, time to raid the stash now. I remembered at least 2-3 bars were just waiting for the right day, but searching the inventory spreadsheet I was surprised to find 6 whiskey bars (well, technically 7, but you’ll have to wait until the last post of this series to hear about that one!)

It’s now 11:45 AM & the only thing I’ve eaten in the last 3 hours has been boozy chocolate. It’s a tough job, but someone’s gotta do it. Suffice it to say that I’m craving protein, or carbs, or veggies…ANYTHING!

Since tasting and photographing started around breakfast time, the Zotter Whisky & Bacon bar seemed like a logical beginning! (You’re probably also wondering about “whisky” vs. “whiskey” – the Scottish spell it without the “e” while the Irish & Americans include it – there’s no difference in terms of the alcohol though.)

Don’t you just love the cute & colorful pig/pork inspired illustrations on the front of this wrapper?! I’m sow-prised that I couldn’t figure out puns about the piggy Marilyn Monroe or Blues Brothers characters. I was worried puns would “boar” you, so I’ll just “swine” about it instead 😜 (Sorry, those sounded funnier in my head!)

This bar is from Zotter’s hand-scooped collection, which means that there are multiple layers involved.

Beneath the thin layer of dark chocolate couverture there is a milk chocolate whisky ganache layer, as well as hazelnut praline with pork cracklings. The ingredients list says: “whisky (alcoholic extract of bacon)” which I suppose means that they steeped bacon in whisky to impart the flavor! It’s definitely creamy, crunchy, salty & sweet all at the same time. During my first tasting, I didn’t notice the baking spice flavors; but this time, I could taste the vanilla, cinnamon and star anise. There’s apparently also cardamom, but it must have been really subtle.

Next up is Bixby & Co.’s 70% Dominican Republic Bourbon bar. They used barrel aged, grain-to-glass, Maine-made bourbon from Split Rock Distilling.

Woah, there Trish! This is supposed to be “W is for Whiskey!” Why are you trying a bourbon bar? Maybe you’ve heard the saying “all bourbon is whiskey, but not all whiskey is bourbon.” It’s complicated, but the differences in the spirits have to do with the grain content, distillation and type of wood used for barrel aging.

A bourbon whiskey is made with at least 50% corn and barrel aged. From Split Rock’s website, it looks like they use 60% corn, 20% wheat, 15% barley & 5% rye and barrel age in new char 3 white oat.

Anyway, I digress…back to the chocolate.

Look at how DETAILED this mould design is! I see an octopus and books amongst the sworls. It seemed like such a shame to break into it. Straight out of the inner foil wrapper, the bar aroma reminded me of balsamic vinegar. With a medium to sharp snap, I placed a tasting morsel on my tongue. It started off floral/herbal and then tasted like a pound cake or marzipan. Lightly textured/thick mouthfeel during the slow/even melt and fruity on the finish with some tip of tongue tingles.

Next is Goodnow Farms’ Special Reserve Single Origin 77% dark chocolate with Putnam Rye Whiskey. They steeped the Esmeraldas (Ecuador) beans for several days in Boston Harbor Distillery’s rye whiskey. A rye whiskey means that more than 50% of the mash is that grain type. In fact, the BHD Putnam New England Rye is 95% rye and 5% two-row malted barley!

Love the nearly pristine matte finish of this bar, while the back of the bar had interesting swirls from the chocolate machine’s depositing heads.

Super smooth & creamy during the slow even melt since there is additional cocoa butter (pressed in house from the same Esmeraldas origin beans). Initially tasted like drunken raisins or cherries, which then evolved to walnuts or pecans with a yogurt-like tang at the back of the throat after the chocolate was gone from the mouth.

I saved this Chocolate Tree Whisky Nibs bar for last since they soaked the Marañon Canyon (Peru) nibs in a single malt from Islay, known to have very peaty/smoky notes.

With the topsy turvy tiles, some pieces were thicker than others. Straight out of the inner pouch, there was a drunken dried fruit aroma which is typical of Peruvian origin chocolate. Once I snapped off a tasting morsel, that distinctive earthy peat smell took over. Lightly crumbly when chewed, each bite was chock full of crunchy nibs. Here’s a close up of one of those inclusions:

In the opening “class photo,” you likely saw two other bars that I haven’t described yet. Well, let’s just say that those are mass produced/bulk industrial brands rather than craft chocolate.

The Canadian maple whisky inside the milk chocolate leaf shaped shell was very sweet, had a waxy mouthfeel and didn’t melt easily on the tongue.

The 58% dark chocolate + Irish Whiskey was a thick bar with a medium snap & a toothy bite. Again, it didn’t melt easily, was waxy/too sweet and had an overwhelming vanilla aroma (though none was added).

At the time that I first tasted these chocolates, it was TOO early to pair with whiskey. But now that “happy hour” is approaching, maybe I’ll do some cocktail pairings. Stay tuned for the results, though I can already tell you that the Chocolate Tree bar pairs well with Laphroaig!

To learn more about the craft chocolates described here, check out each maker’s websites:

Bixby & Co. – https://bixbyco.com/
Chocolate Tree – https://www.choctree.co.uk/
Goodnow Farms – https://goodnowfarms.com/
Zotter (USA) – https://www.zotterusa.com/

Cheers & how are YOU celebrating World Whisk(e)y Day? 🥃

U is for Uinta Brewing

When I started this round of Eating the Chocolate Alphabet, I knew that some letters would be more difficult to fulfill than others.

Really, how many alcohol names do YOU know of that start with “U”?

A Hungarian chocolatier friend of mine was going to make Unicum bonbons – but I chickened out because that liqueur is EXTREMELY bitter! You probably don’t believe me that Unicum actually exists, but here is a link to a Bon Appetit article reviewing it!

Anyway, I digress…

When I attended the Northwest Chocolate Festival in November 2019, my problem was solved. Lo and behold, a chocolate made with a U alcohol: a beer from Uinta Brewing! Yes, I realize that using a brand name is a bit of a stretch, but I already feel guilty about not covering every letter this round!

The Chocolate Conspiracy from Salt Lake City, Utah infused unroasted Peruvian cacao nibs with Uinta Brewing’s Baba Black Lager.

Love the stylized honeycomb mould design which reinforces the fact that this chocolate is sweetened only with raw, unfiltered Utah wildflower honey. Or, it could be that it is paying homage to Utah’s nickname: the “beehive” state!

Deep dark brown color, trending toward black – which makes sense given the name of the beer! Medium to soft snap, smooth/silky to the touch and a slight fruity aroma at the cut edge. Placing a hexagon-shaped morsel on your tongue, your taste buds awaken as if you’ve just sipped an aperitif. There’s a slow/even melt and a distinctive sweetened-with-honey texture when chewed (meaning that it’s lightly grainy, reminiscent of halva or fudge). I’m not much of a beer drinker, so I can only assume that the long lasting bitter after taste can be attributed to the multiple types of malt in the beer.

Utah isn’t really the first place that comes to mind when you think of beer, but Uinta Brewing has been around since 1993 (starting out in an old mechanic’s garage…imagine the confusion of people wanting to get their cars repaired!) Since 2001 they have been 100% wind powered (one of the first Utah businesses to do so) and added solar panels a decade later. With their commitment to precision, passion & people, they are always looking for ways to make beer in a way that is better for the planet. If you would like to learn more about their history and products, please visit their website.

Can you believe there are only 3 more chocolates lined up for this round of the Alphabet! Do you have any suggestions for the next theme? Leave me a comment to let me know!

To obtain one of these chocolate bars for yourself, head over to Chocolate Conspiracy’s website: https://www.eatchocolateconspiracy.com/

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/

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/

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

F is for Fernet

Oh, the things we do for this Alphabet project…and by *we* (in this case), I mean both my “anything can be found on the internet if you try hard enough” boyfriend as well as Jess (aka Dessert Geek), the most intrepid and knowledgeable vlogger I know.

About a decade ago, I was introduced to fernet by someone I was dating at the time. He mentioned that it was an acquired taste, but that bartenders and restaurant industry types swore by this liqueur for an end of a long shift pick-me-up. I was game to taste it & instantly hated it the moment I took a sniff, let alone when it touched my lips! That initial disgust faded from memory such that I was genuinely eager to feature fernet as part of this project, the only issue was actually finding it combined with chocolate!

A couple of months ago, a mysterious package arrived addressed to me & I noticed that the shipping origin was a company in Italy. I know I probably should have waited until my boyfriend visited that weekend before snooping since he was secretly so proud of himself for saving the day yet again…but, I couldn’t help myself. Not patient enough to be surprised, I googled the business name (Dulcioliva) & discovered that they have a licensing partnership with Fratelli Branca Distillerie and make fernet branca bonbons! I excitedly called up my boyfriend profusely thanking him for finding my elusive alcohol-related chocolate & he was perplexed as to how I knew that information or that the box had come from him. ;-p

Since it’s always better to have options rather than to be left empty-handed, Jess was simultaneously working her magic with Intrigue Chocolate Company, because she remembered in the past they had made fernet flavored truffles. I ended up receiving THE LAST ONE in existence!

What is fernet, you might ask? Well, the simple answer is that it’s a type of amaro, a bitter and aromatic spirit. Fernet Branca happens to be one of the most popular brands of fernet.

According to the Ultimate Bar Book: The Comprehensive Guide to Over 1,000 Cocktails by Mittie Hellmich, fernet branca is “[a] slightly peppermint-accented bitter [that] is enjoyed not only as an aperitif to stimulate the appetite, but also as a digestif that is highly regarded as a hangover cure, settling digestive distress. A deep brown liquid with an extremely aggressive flavor made from 40 herbs and spices.” The exact recipe is a trade secret known only to the generations of the Branca family who have made this liqueur in Milan, Italy since 1845.

While taking photos yesterday, I decided to re-acquaint myself with fernet. It smells and tastes like Pine Sol or an antiseptic mouthwash. WHY do people like drinking this intensely resinous concoction?!

However, did you know that this liqueur has a cult-like following in Argentina? Fernet con coca (or Fernando) is essentially that nation’s unofficial drink, making them one of the biggest consumers of Coca Cola in the world!

Now for the chocolate tastings…

First up, Intrigue Chocolate’s Fernet & Ginger truffle:

The truffle is roughly the size of a Starburst candy, but WOW looks can be deceiving. This tiny morsel is creamy, unctuous, fudgey, buttery and quick to melt on the tongue. It’s like a flourless cake that can be devoured in just a single bite.

Lucky for me, the ginger flavor dominates this chocolate and has none of the intense pine notes that are the hallmark to fernet.

Next, is the cioccolatino al Fernet-Branca from Italy:

The individually wrapped, half dome bonbons all arrived slightly bloomed, but that’s merely a cosmetic defect.

Your teeth sink effortlessly through the thick chocolate shell to the generous amount of dense and lightly boozy ganache.

Again, thankfully this bonbon has obliterated fernet’s signature taste until the very end when there is a burst of bitterness as the melted chocolate slides down your throat.

I’m very glad to have featured this unique alcohol as part of the Eating the Chocolate Alphabet project, but NOW what am I going to do with the rest of the mostly full bottle? Any takers?! 😆

D is for Disaronno

{Note from Trish at ETCA: This post is LONG overdue. I really should have written this more than 2 months ago; however, for the second year in a row, June was an AWFUL month for me personally. I appreciate your patience during the hiatus & please imagine this was written earlier.}

Up until a few weeks ago, I was fully prepared to skip this letter of the Alphabet until I could find a suitable alcohol-related chocolate. Then, one evening, I received an urgent text message from my boyfriend with a link to a company that would be able to supply me with the chocolate of my dreams: DISARONNO! [cue a choir of angels singing!]

Even though it was well past bedtime, I hurried downstairs to my laptop to place an order. I needed those bonbons like yesterday since my conscience couldn’t let me move forward with the Alphabet without them. I explained my project in the “notes” section of the order system and the next day I received the nicest of notes from Barbara and Terri (the “Ba” and “Ter” of BaTer Chocolates in Goldvein, Virginia).

They took extra precautions with packaging and shipping to ensure that these tiny gems, carefully nestled in an oversized jewelry box, arrive intact!

It wasn’t until I opened the box that I learned the mission and purpose behind these chocolates:

As you can see, in a dream they were guided to create a company that would support women in need; a way for those women to make better life choices by working for a company that could empower them.

It makes sense for them to include a crown, since their tagline is “Eat Like Royalty,” but they also honor that founding dream by including a cross as part of their logo on the vellum tasting sheet.

Scrolling down the legend, I noticed the name associated with this particular bonbon and wondered why are they calling this one “Saronno” when all the others had cute nicknames?! All of a sudden (well, it dawned on me after seeing the country of origin on the namesake bottle’s label); I realized that, in Italian, “Disaronno” meant “of or from the city of Saronno” where this alcohol has been made since 1525!

The Disaronno website provides a timeline of how this unique Italian liqueur’s legend began during the Renaissance. They dropped the “amaretto” part of their description in 2001 as a way to distinguish themselves from other competitors and their label proudly states that this is “The world’s favorite Italian liqueur.”

On a relatively cool summer day (at least by Southern California standards), I took these bonbons out to my backyard for their photo shoot along with a bottle of the liqueur I had acquired at a local shop.

You probably won’t notice this detail, so I’ll mention it to you, I’ve arranged the 3 bonbons into the Braille letter “D”! Pretty clever, if I say so myself :-p

Biting into the thin chocolate domed shell, the boozy/creamy/whipped liquor filling couldn’t wait to escape…I was almost unable to capture the perfect cross section photo!

Since then, I’ve discovered a new technique: putting the whole bonbon in my mouth to “collapse” (or sandwich) the morsel, letting the filling ooze into my mouth instead of onto the plate. It’s boozy, sweet and nutty all at the same time + the thicker chocolate base melts slowly on the tongue.

The alcohol on its own smells enticingly of almonds & can be added to cocktails or served neat. Personally, I prefer it as part of a chocolate treat since there’s no “back of the throat” burn on the finish.

Have YOU tried Disaronno? Leave me a comment to let me know!

Interested in learning more about BaTer and order goodies for yourself? Then, please visit their website at: https://www.baterchocolates.com/ or their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/BaTerChocolates/

To Barbara & Terri: your warmth, generosity and EXCEPTIONAL customer service throughout the process make me smile to this day! If I could give you a hug, I would! Please accept this post as my way of thanking you for everything you did for me to make sure my project could move forward!

P.S. In the months to come, you’ll see more of those bonbons since the set includes other crucial letters of the Alphabet.

Cheers on this “Thirsty Thursday”!