Monday, January 2, 2023

Spinnaker Chocolate - 70% Belize (bar) - Jan. 2, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Spinnaker Chocolate
70% Belize (bar)
Good +++
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 2 oz. (57 g.) in total bar
Calories: 120 calories in 1/2 bar (per label)
Cost: $12.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Spinnaker Chocolate, online order

Welcome to Day #2 of Chocolate and Belize Theme Week.

Today's 70% Belize (bar) was made by Spinnaker Chocolate (Seattle, WA) using cacao from Maya Mountain Cacao in southern Belize. 

Aroma notes for this bar included: Criollo-like (cacao variety) smooth chocolate; slightly honey-ed fruits (peach, light tropical fruit, goji berry, faint date); faint fleeting fresh bread; faint sweet green; and graham cracker/cookie.

Flavor: tangy, relatively tart fruity flavor notes including: mixed fruits (stone fruits (dried peaches, red plums), sweet citrus (tangerine), very faint sweet pineapple, and berries (golden and goji)), and gently complex dark chocolate.

Summary: This single origin 70% dark bar had an appealing chocolate complexity with abundant and complex fruit, a natural sweetness (warm, fresh baked bread with honey), and long pleasant and clean finish. It was also relatively low in bitterness. A well-executed chocolate that preserved and highlighted the best features of a wonderful cacao.

Ingredients: Cacao, organic cane sugar

Allergen-related information: Processed in a facility that uses milk powder and nuts.





Spinnaker Chocolate - 70% Belize with Bourbon - Jan. 1, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Spinnaker Chocolate
70% Belize with Bourbon (bar)
Good +++ - Very Good
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 2 oz. (57 g.) in total bar
Calories: 120 calories in 1/2 bar (per label)
Cost: $13.00 for 1 bar

Welcome to Day #1 of 2023, and the first day of Chocolate and Belize Theme Week.

Today's 70% Belize with Bourbon (bar) was crafted by Spinnaker Chocolate (Seattle, WA) using cacao from Maya Mountain Cacao in southern Belize, and with 100% Proof Straight Bourbon Whiskey supplied by Seattle distillery 2BAR Spirits.

Aroma notes for this New Year's Day bar included: Relatively "mellow(ed)" dark chocolate, sweet green notes, heady bourbon whiskey spirits, and faint, diffuse fruit (sweet orange, goji berry, very faint, fleeting fig and cherry).

Wow, the flavor. Notes included dark chocolate; diffuse and gently morphing/fluxing fruits (listed above); bourbon; sweet butter/cream; vanilla; very faint sweet corn; and much more. 

Flavorful may be an overused word to describe single origin chocolates, but today's 70% dark chocolate raised the bar for use of this term. There was more flavor per (ounce, gram, square, bar, ingredient, etc.) than 90% of 70%ers out there. 

And yes, I do like the flavors that spirits impart. Whiskies pair very nicely with many chocolates. Today, e.g., I enjoyed getting the maximum residual distilled and aged flavors without much (if any) alcohol.*

Thank you to Spinnaker Chocolate for making today's special chocolate. After some heavy rain yesterday in California (that included minor flooding in my kitchen, today's soothing, flavorful chocolate was especially welcome--and the Spinnaker "nautical" theme was humorously appropriate. Ride the waves!

Ingredients: Cacao, organic cane sugar, straight bourbon whiskey (for flavor)

*Maker's Note: "This product contains liquor and the alcohol content is one percent or less of the weight of the product."

Allergen-related information: Processed in a facility that uses milk powder and nuts.





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