Zotter - Cognac + Coffee - Coffee Couverture filled with cognac cream (bar) - Aug. 13, 2026

Chocolate of The Day

Zotter
Cognac + Coffee - Coffee Couverture filled with cognac cream (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1.23 oz. (35 g.) / 2.47 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 180 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $12.89 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Xocolatl Garden, Carmel, CA

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate & Spirits Theme Week.

Today's Apricot Waltz - Milk Chocolate 40% filled with apricot ganache and marzipan (bar) was made in Austria and distributed by Zotter Chocolates US LLC (Fort Myers, FL).

Aroma and flavor notes included: chocolate, coffee and Cognac with faint vanilla and caramel.

Texture: creamy, layered textures chocolate with a velvety couverture and ("hand-scooped") creamy cognac-infused center.

This was a relatively sweet, filled bar, but (happily) the coffee, cognac and chocolate helped balance the sweetness and the sugars were not overwhelming. Dark brown sugar and a bit of butter added pleasing caramel taste and added flavor depth.

The cognac was subtle, well-balanced and not too boozy.

I enjoyed this sophisticated bean-to-bar chocolate bar; and I appreciated the use of organic and fair trade ingredients.

Ingredients: Cane Sugar*+, Cocoa Mass*+, Cocoa Butter,*+, Cognac (10%), Dry Whole Milk, Invert Sugar Syrup*, Butter (Cream), Glucose Syrup*, Ground Coffee Beans*+ (1%), Dry Skim Milk, Dry Sweet Whey, Dark Brown Cane Sugar*+, Lecithin (Soy)*, Coffee Powder*+ (0.1%), Salt, Vanilla Bean Powder*+, Cardamom*.

*=Organic [87% Organic Ingredients]; +=Fair Traded, Fair Trade Content in Total: 72%

Allergen-related information: "Contains: Milk, Soy. - Manufactured on Equipment That Processes Tree Nuts, Peanuts, Eggs, Gluten and Sesame." 

Anthon Berg - Golden Jubilee Selection: 1.) Cointreau, 2.) Remy Martin Cognac, and 3.) Southern Comfort - Mar. 20, 2025

Chocolate(s) of the Day

Anthon Berg 

Golden Jubilee Selection
1.) Cointreau - Good ++
2.) Remy Martin Cognac Fine Champagne - Good + - Good ++
3.) Southern Comfort - Good ++

Weight: 1.69 oz. (48 g.) in 3 bottles / 2.2 lbs. (1 kilogram) in total 64-pc. Golden Jubilee Selection box
Calories: 216 calories (estimate) in 3 bottles 
Cost: $N/A - gift from a friend
Purchased from: N/A - gift from a friend

Welcome to Day #8 of Chocolate and Gold Theme Week. 

Today's three foil-wrapped chocolate bottles were part of a deluxe, 64-bottle Anthon Berg Golden Jubilee Selection (housed in an attractive gold package). The filled chocolate assortment featured several well-known spirits/liqueurs fillings from different countries.

Anthon Berg (Ballerup, Denmark) is a Danish Chocolatier (now a division of Toms International) with a history that stretches back to 1884.

How did each one taste? 

Cointreau 

The chocolate "bottle" had a smooth dark milk chocolate taste with a creamy melt and mouthfeel.

The Cointreau liquid (syrup) filling was authentic, with pleasing, clean, clear fragrant sweet orange and  very faint, pleasing herbal and balanced bitter orange notes toward the finish.

Remy Martin Cognac Fine Champagne 

Sweet, creamy and aromatic dark milk chocolate surrounded a generous sip of sweet, boozy, cognac/brandy flavored syrup.

Southern Comfort

The well-tempered, creamy dark milk bottle-shaped exterior contained a sweet, relatively complex warm, sweet whiskey, with very faint citrus and oak notes.

Note: The dark chocolate did not contain milk, even though it had the smooth taste and creamy texture of a dark milk chocolate.

A testament to how versatile chocolate can be, the chosen dark chocolate couverture complemented all the spirits-based fillings well.

Ingredients: Sugar, cocoa mass**, cocoa butter**, water, spirits 6% (whiskey, liqueurs, cognac, whisky, vodka, liqueur (coconut), rum), natural orange flavor (Cointreau(R)), 0.8%, flavoring. (Minimum 50% cocoa solids in dark chocolate.)

** = Rainforest Alliance Certified

Allergen-related information: Contains Coconut. May contain traces of milk and tree nuts.

Goldkenn - 37% Swiss Milk Chocolate with Remy Martin Cognac Fine Champagne (bar) - Mar. 19, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Goldkenn 
37% Swiss Milk Chocolate with Remy Martin Cognac Fine Champagne (bar)
Good ++ 
Weight: 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 500 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $16.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Worldwide Chocolate, online order

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate and Gold Theme Week.

Today's 37% Swiss Milk Chocolate was filled with pockets of Remy Martin Cognac Fine Champagne Syrup. It was "Swiss made by Goldkenn" (La Locle, Switzerland).

This bar was part of Goldkenn's Liquor Collection (chocolate bars filled with different spirits). The company also offers a Gold Collection that includes gold (chocolate) coins, gold bars, and even a gold van filled with...yes, gold chocolates.

Aroma and flavor notes for this cognac chocolate included subtle dark milk chocolate--that tasted a bit darker than many 37% cacao milk chocolates (less sweet, hurray!), while also having a very smooth flavor that I associate with fine Swiss chocolate.

The chocolate complemented the "Remy Martin Cognac Fine Champagne" syrup filling quite nicely. The syrup did contain real Cognac--a brandy (spirit distilled from wine) from the Cognac region in France. And each filled square of this bar had an authentic (slightly bitter, boozy) cocktail flavor.

Texture: Smooth mouthfeel. The bar was divided into eight, scored, 37% milk chocolate squares. Each square had a protruding dome that contained a flowing (liquid), cognac liqueur-like filling. (Note: Eat over a plate or a napkin if you want to avoid possible cognac drips.)

There was a small percentage of alcohol in this adult chocolate.And each filled square of this bar did have an authentic (very slightly bitter/strong) miniature cocktail flavor. 

This bar paired well with a fruit plate. In keeping with the gold theme, golden tangerines added some extra sweet citrus sparkle.

Ingredients: "sugar*, cocoa butter**, cocoa mass**, Remy Martin(R) Cognac Fine Champagne (7%), whole milk* powder, skimmed milk* powder, butter*fat (milk), whey* powder (milk), emulsifier: rapeseed lecithin, natural vanilla extract. (* = Ingredients from Switzerland; ** Rainforest Alliance Certified). Made in Switzerland.

Allergen-related information: Contains Milk. May contain hazelnuts, almonds, walnuts, pecan nuts, cashew nuts, pistachio nuts, eggs, soya, wheat and barley. "This product may contain traces of coconuts."

Timothy Adams - Bourbon, Scotch and Cognac chocolates - July 15, 2018

Chocolate(s) of the Day: 

Timothy Adams Chocolates
Bourbon, Scotch and Cognac chocolates
Good ++, Good ++ and Good +++
Weight: .39 (11 g.) (estimate) x 3 = 1.17 oz. (33 g.) in 3 pieces
Calories: 175.5 calories (estimate) in 3 pieces
Cost: $7.50 (estimate) for 3 pieces
Purchased from: Timothy Adams, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate, Bourbon and Whiskey Theme Week.

Today's trio of dark chocolate truffles (Bourbon, Scotch and Cognac) were created by Timothy Adams Chocolates (Palo Alto, CA).

Each had a 58% creamy filling infused with the spirit of choice, and was covered in a 72% dark chocolate shell.

All three flavors were worth sampling. And a side-by-side, blind tasting was enjoyable and informative.

XOX Truffles - Lavender, Hazelnut, Cognac Truffles - Sept. 27, 2016

Chocolate(s) of the Day: 

XOX Truffles

1.) Lavender - Very Good
2.) Black and White - Good ++
3.) Hazelnut - Good ++ - Very Good
4.) Cognac - Very Good
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) (estimate) for 4 truffles
Calories: 150 calories (estimate) for 4 truffles
Cost: $1.00 each (quantity pricing for 20 truffles)
Purchased from: XOX Truffles, San Francisco, CA

Bienvenue a (Welcome to) Day #4 of French Chocolate Theme Week.

Today I sampled the last truffle flavors from my recent XOX Truffles (San Francisco, CA) purchase.

The team at XOX offers truffles in the true French style, and they are creamy, authentic and delicious.

The Lavande (Lavender in French) truffle was suffused with beautiful lavender flower flavor. If you like lavender and dark chocolate, you'll love this one.

The Black and White truffle was a dark chocolate truffle covered in white chocolate.

The Hazelnut truffle had authentic hazelnut flavor (a great blend with chocolate) and was rolled in hazelnut bits.

The Cognac truffle was boozy and marvelous. I had tasted this one a few years ago, and decided to re-taste it with the others today, as I remembered it fondly. And while I may occasionally forget other details about life, I felt gratified to find that I wasn't wrong about this truffle.

ChocolateBet: April 23, 2011

Chocolate(s) of the Day:

L.A. Burdick Chocolate

1.) Easter Rocher Egg (chocolate almond shell)
1 taste of egg shell
Very Good +
Cost: $35.00 (egg, pail and truffles)
Purchased from: L.A. Burdick Chocolate, Walpole, NH

2.) Easter Polka Dot Egg (dark shell)
Good + - Very Good
1/2 egg shell
Cost: $24 (for egg filled with truffles)
Purchased from: L.A. Burdick Chocolate, Walpole, NH

3.) Cognac miniature truffles (inside Easter eggs)
Very Good +

4.) Honey Caramel miniature truffles (inside Easter eggs)
Very Good +

Good chocolate is best when shared. Thank you to the Saturday crowd at The Chocolate Garage for helping me taste test the contents of these two L.A. Burdick Easter Eggs.

Both eggs were filled with assorted truffles, including miniature Cognac truffles (round-shaped, Dark Grenadian chocolate with cream and cognac, dusted in cocoa powder), and more rectangular-shaped Honey Caramel truffles (caramelized honey with herbs and vanilla, dusted in cocoa powder).


The truffles were bite-sized bits of heaven, but the egg shells themselves were also highly edible -- especially the Easter Rocher Egg shell -- made of dark chocolate covered caramelized almond pieces.

Today was Day #25 of Chocolate Egg Appreciation Theme Month.

ChocolateBet: March 28, 2011

Chocolate(s) of the Day:

Christopher Elbow - 4 individual pieces
1.) Balsamic Caramel (2 pieces) - Very Good
2.) Spiced Pear - Very Good - Very Good +
3.) Vanilla Cognac - Very Good - Very Good +

I always enjoy visiting Cocoa Bella in San Francisco; they carry individual chocolates from some fine chocolate artisans. Christopher Elbow chocolates look like small works of art.

The two "Balsamic Caramels" were worth framing, or treating as subjects for a chocolate still life. I, however, ate them instead. Other than a very slight salad dressing taste, these pieces filled with a rich, dark caramel filling were very good. Not all balsamic vinegar flavored chocolates trigger the salad taste, but vinegar and wine are very tricky flavors to blend. And it's easy to associate vinegar flavors with salad.

The bright green, faceted "Spiced Pear" was filled with a bottom layer of dark ganache and a top layer of almost liquid pear caramel. Sadly, this piece was cracked a bit by the time I unwrapped this bag at home. Next time, perhaps I'll bring a small box to protect them.

Last, but not least,  I tried Christopher Elbow's "Vanilla Cognac" chocolate, covered in gradated, black licorice colored shell. It was filled with a dark chocolate ganache that was flavored with vanilla and aged French Cognac, worthy of eating slowly.

ChocolateBet: April 15, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:

1 piece
Camille Bloch
Cognac Noir (Dark Chocolate bar, with Cognac filling)
Very Good
Wt: .5 oz. (14.2 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) total bar
Calories: ~ 75 cals.
Cost: $5.99
Purchased from: Z. Cioccolatos, in San Francisco, CA

Happy U.S. Tax deadline day.