Vosges - Cheddar and Apple 45% Cacao (bar) - June 6, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Vosges IP, LLC
Cheddar and Apple 45% Cacao (bar)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 3 oz. (85 g.) in total bar
Calories: 140 calories in 1/3 bar
Cost: $9.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Vosges website, online order

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

Today's Cheddar and Apple 45% Cacao (bar) was created by Vosges IP, LLC (Chicago, IL).

Aroma notes included: chocolate, diffuse fruit(s), and subtle savory (cheese).

Flavor notes included: sweet milk chocolate (sweet cocoa), with fine particles of diffuse fruit (dried apple) and authentic (12-month aged Vermont) cheddar cheese. Subtle warm spices included: vanilla, cinnamon (and very faint (imagined) allspice).

Hats off to Vosges for creating chocolates blended with various cheeses (cheddar, manchego, parmesan, other). Some of these bars also have fruits and/or nuts. I love sampling savory chocolate flavors and creating chocolate and cheese pairings. 

Ingredients: Milk chocolate (cane sugar, unsweetened chocolate, cocoa butter, whole milk powder, vanilla bean seeds), Cabot Cloth Bound Cheddar (pasteurized milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes, annatto (if colored), dried apples (apples, sulfur dioxide), cinnamon.

Allergen-related information: Contains milk. "Processed on equipment that also processes milk, soy, wheat, eggs, peanuts and tree nuts."

Kasama Chocolate - Trust Single Cask Madeira Whiskey 75% Cacao Barrel Aged Dark Chocolate (bar) - June 5, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Kasama Chocolate
Trust Single Cask Madeira Whiskey 75% Cacao Barrel Aged Dark Chocolate (bar)
Good +++
Weight: .97 oz. (27.5 g.) / 1.94 oz. (55 g.) in total bar
Calories: 225 calories in 3/4 bar
Cost: $18.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate, Spirits and Savory Snacks Theme Week, and Day #1 of Chocolate and Cheese Week.

Today's Special Release Trust Single Cask Madeira Whiskey 75% Cacao Barrel Aged Dark Chocolate was created by Kasama Chocolate (Vancouver, B.C.) in collaboration with The Liberty Distillery (Granville Island, B.C.) that makes spirits from "grain to glass."

Aroma notes included: faint, sweet boozy (sherry) infused dark chocolate, and brown sugar.

This chocolate had a smooth texture and flavor. And the creamy melt slowly released luxurious layers of warm, aged whiskey flavor notes, and very faint wood/oak and caramel.

The cacao used to make this bean-to-bar 75% cacao dark chocolate was from the Philippines. And, as mentioned above, The Liberty Distillery helped elevate this chocolate with their Trust Single Cask Whiskey that was aged for three years in Madeira barrels.

I highly recommend savoring this dark chocolate slowly, by itself, to fully enjoy the complex and sophisticated flavors (all very skillfully harmonized) in this special release, three-ingredient bar. 

After several bites, this chocolate also paired nicely with a cheese plate (goat cheese, aged blue cheese and manchego).

Ingredients: "Madeira Barrel Aged Cacao Nibs, Unrefined Cane Sugar*, Cacao Butter*" (*Organic)

Allergen-related information: "Made in a facility that contains nuts."