Chukar Cherry Co. - Pinot Noir Cherries - Jan. 2, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Chukar Cherry Co., Inc.
Pinot Noir Cherries
Good - Good +
Weight: 1.41 oz. (40 g.) / 7.5 oz. (213 g.) in total package
Calories: 176 calories in 1 serving
Cost: $11.50 for 1 package
Purchased from: Sonoma Cheese Company, Sonoma, CA

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

Today's Pinot Noir Cherries from Chukar Cherry Company, Inc. (Prosser, WA) were made with dried Bing cherries surrounded by dark chocolate and "the rich essence of Pinot Noir (red) wine."

This slightly chewy, sweet rounds delivered authentic cherry and chocolate flavors, without preservatives, sulfites, trans fats, gluten or artificial flavors/colors. The red wine flavor was very subtle.

Chukar also makes other chocolate covered cherries, including Cabernet Cherries.

SOMA Chocolatemaker - Cherry Bomb - Jan. 1, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

SOMA Chocolatemaker
Cherry Bomb
Good +++
Weight: 2.5 oz. (70.7 g.) (guesstimate) in 1 piece
Calories: 335 calories (guesstimate) in 1 piece
Cost: $10.00 for 1 piece
Purchased from: SOMA Chocolatemaker, Toronto, ON, Canada

Happy New Year, and Day #1 of Chocolate and Cherries Theme Week!

Today's Cherry Bomb kept the holiday celebration going into the New Year (2017). This bright red foil-wrapped cherry-filled confection from SOMA Chocolatemaker (Toronto, ON, Canada) was big!

The rich, thick milk chocolate shell—with cocoa nibs, roasted coconut and pecans—contained a cherry center bathed in Kirsch (cherry liqueur liquid interior). I was unable to slowly eat this filled Cherry Bomb in two bites without making a mess.

I'd suggest eating this Cherry Bomb over a plate to capture any of the spirited cherry ambrosia that tries to escape.

Chocolate and Licorice spirited baked goods - Dec. 31, 2016

Chocolate of the Day: 

Licorice chocolate cupcakes + cookies

Welcome to the final day (Day #8) of Spirited Chocolate Theme Week.

Today, the last day of 2016, we're going off-track a bit, by making some homemade licorice chocolate cookies and cupcakes, with at least three different chocolate ingredients and some added flavors.

What spirit infused today's baked goods? I tried to decide whether to use Ouzo or Pastis liqueur to flavor today's (gluten-free) chocolate cookies and cupcakes. I decided to use a little of both.

I used chopped bits of a left-over licorice chocolate bar to enhance the licorice flavor, and added some dried, crushed fresh fennel and bits of tangerine peel.

I thought they were wonderful, but I tend to like all Mediterranean-leaning flavor combinations. Even if you don't like licorice, you might want to give these a try.

The small, thin cookies were slightly crunchy around the edges and slightly moist and cake-like in the middle.

The cupcakes were moist and full of chocolate, licorice, fennel, citrus flavors.

Woodstock After Dark Bourbon & Chocolate; brio milkshake - Dec. 30, 2016

Chocolate of the Day: 

Woodstock Kentucky Bourbon
After Dark Bourbon and Chocolate (liqueur)
Good ++
Weight: 1.5 fl. oz. (44.3 mL) / 25.3 (U.S.) fl. oz. (750 mL) in 1 bottle
Calories: 123 calories (estimate) in 1.5 fl. oz. serving
Cost: $5.99 for 1 bottle
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #7 of Spirited Chocolate Week.

brio
(distributed by Nutricopia, Inc.)
Mellow Dark Chocolate (frozen dairy dessert)
Good
Weight: 1/4 cup (80 g.) / 14 fl. oz. (414 mL) in total container
Calories: 80 calories in 1/4 cup serving
Cost: $1.99 (estimate) for 1 container
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Today's chocolate items were combined to make an adult milkshake.

Woodstock Bourbon + Chocolate liqueur cocktails
Enjoying an ounce or two of Woodstock's After Dark Bourbon and Chocolate liqueur all by itself is quite satisfying. However, it's also a great ingredient to pour over vanilla ice cream, to include in a frozen dessert, or cocktail.*

Today's cocktail came in the form of an adult milkshake. I blended together a generous amount of milk, a small scoop of brio Mellow Dark Chocolate frozen dairy (gluten free) dessert, and a generous splash of Woodstock After Dark liqueur. A simple after dinner treat.

*Earlier this week, I shared the formula for a micro-drink I created, that I called a Sweet Almond 'Sky: 1/3 Amaretto, and 2/3 Woodstock Kentucky Bourbon After Dark Bourbon and Chocolate (liqueur).

Wallick Family Bourbon Balls - Dec. 29, 2016

Chocolate of the Day: 

Wallick Family Bourbon Balls
Good +
Weight: 1.3 oz. (37 g.) (estimate) in 3 pieces
Calories: 189 calories (estimate) in 3 pieces
Cost: $N/A - holiday gift
Purchased from: N/A - holiday gift; thank you Trudi!

Welcome to Day #6 of Spirited Chocolate Week.

The holidays are linked in my mind with traditional family recipes, ones that have been handed down for generations. Today's Wallick Family Bourbon Balls originated from such a recipe.

Thank you Trudi Wallick-Horrocks for not only keeping your family recipe for Bourbon Balls alive, but also creating a gluten-free version. (Many recipes call for crushed vanilla wafers; these Bourbon Balls were made using gluten-free wafers.)

As soon as I un-screwed the Ball jar that held these balls, my nose was greeted with a strong authentic bourbon aroma. These cocoa confections, given an extra sparkle after being rolled in sugar, were flavorful, soft, and slightly lighter in weight and texture than one might expect. And they were perfect for the holidays.

Maverick Chocolate Co. - Prohibition Milk Chocolate bar - Dec. 28, 2016

Chocolate of the Day:

Maverick Chocolate Co.
Prohibition Milk Chocolate bar
Good +
Weight: .92 oz. (26 g.) / 2.3 oz. (65 g.) in total bar
Calories: 138 calories in 2/5 bar
Cost: $13.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Cacao at The Heathman, Portland, OR

Welcome to Day #5 of Spirited Chocolate Theme Week.

Maverick Chocolate Co. is a bean-to-bar chocolate maker based in Cincinatti, OH.

The company's Prohibition* Milk Chocolate bar was made with Kentucky bourbon, dark milk chocolate and smoked salt.

The chocolate had a pleasing sweet, light fruit and nutty aroma, and relatively creamy texture. The bar was well-tempered and contained a generous shake of smoked salt. The bourbon flavor was very light. (To be sold without restrictions, spirited chocolates need to contain less than a certain percent of alcohol.)

*Prohibition History
For 13 years, between 1920 and 1933, following passage of the Volstead Act in 1919, a nationwide constitutional ban on the importation, production, transportation and sale of alcoholic beverages was in effect across the U.S. This period has also been referred to as the Prohibition era or, more simply, as Prohibition. 

Much earlier, in the 1790s, the U.S. Government levied a tax on spirits, which led to a "Whiskey Rebellion." Some makers moved west to the frontier in Kentucky. In Bourbon County, they found corn growing and water (rich in limestone, no iron) conditions were perfect for making what came to be known as Kentucky Bourbon. Prohibition resulted in the shut-down of Kentucky Bourbon and other distilleries; but operations resumed after the ban was repealed. 

It is perhaps with the some of the same American spunk, persistence and maker spirit that craft adult beverage and chocolate making have seen a revival in recent times. 

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Goldkenn - Jack Daniel's Tennessee Honey bar - Dec. 27, 2016

Chocolate of the Day:

Goldkenn
Jack Daniel's Original Recipe Tennessee Honey bar
Good+
Weight: 1.75 oz. (50 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 240 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar (4 squares)
Cost: $6.99 (sale price) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Fresh Market, Nob Hill Foods, Alameda, CA

Welcome to Day #4 of Spirited Chocolate Week.

The Jack Daniel's Original Recipe Tennessee Honey bar was from Goldkenn (Le Locle, Switzerland), a company that also offers other chocolates with alcohol, the result of partnerships with distilled spirits company brands.

Made of Swiss 37% cacao milk chocolate, each square of this bar had a bubble-shaped capsule (lined with a crunchy sugary layer) that was filled with a delightful boozy liquid: Tennessee Honey liqueur syrup. So bite into these carefully.