Nuance Chocolate - Special Series Cherry Whiskey 70% Dark (bar) - Sept. 11, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Nuance Chocolate

Spirit Series - Cherry Whiskey 70% Dark (bar)
Good ++ - Good +++
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) / 1.9 oz. (55 g.) in total bar 
Calories: 155 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $17.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Nuance Chocolate, order by phone/online 

Welcome to Day #5 of Chocolate and Spirits Theme Week. And Happy 19th Year of Chocolate Banquet.*

Today's Spirit Series - Cherry Whiskey 70% Dark (bar) (Batch #40413) was from Nuance Chocolate (Fort Collins, CO). Nuance is a small-batch, bean-to-bar maker producing high-end bars and confections.

This bar was a Colorado collaboration between Nuance Chocolate's blend of premium cacao beans and a lovely whiskey from Leopold Bros., an independently-owned distillery in Denver, CO.

Aroma notes for this chocolate (from Nuance Chocolate's "Spirit Series" of bars) included: rich, smooth chocolate-y chocolate with subtle, rounded red fruit notes (cherry) and faint spirits (whiskey, brown sugar, oak, vanilla).

Texture: Pleasing, hearty, creamy melt and mouthfeel. Just the right thickness, that enabled easy access to aroma and flavors as well as a great melt.

Flavor notes included: deeper, richer, smooth dark chocolate and more of the layered spirits (whiskey) notes mentioned above. Lingering, balanced, cherry, chocolate-y (dark chocolate chips, chocolate torte, and the ghost-of-a-good-whiskey in the pleasant finish. 

I loved the rich, nuanced flavors in this bar, all coaxed from just four ingredients. This subtly spirited 70% dark chocolate was great all by itself...

...But, if you want to fancy things up, this Cherry Whiskey bar could be a part of a dessert plate, a chocolate and spirits flight, or incorporated into almost any chocolate dessert. There was enough natural sweetness to evoke a high-end chocolate cocktail or a slightly-spiked hot chocolate. Warm and inviting; nothing too harsh or spiky. Relatively low in acidity and bitterness. Versatile and classy, with warm overtones.

Maker's description: "A transcendent pairing of barrel-aged Leopold Brothers Cherry Whiskey and a special blend of fully-fermented cacao from around the world. First on the palate is chocolate, followed by cherry, whiskey and charred-oak barrel. No trickery--just cacao, cane sugar and real American whiskey."

Ingredients: "cacao, cane sugar, cocoa butter, cherry whiskey."

Allergen-related information: "Manufactured in a facility that also processes tree nuts, peanuts, milk, eggs, wheat, and soy."

*Chocolate Banquet is the blog-site that celebrates cacao and chocolate makers--and has featured Corinne DeBra's tasting a different chocolate every day for (as of today) 19 years.

Cuna de Piedra - 73% Mexican Cacao from Soconusco, Chiapas with Mezcal Joven (bar) - Sept. 10, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Cuna de Piedra 
73% Mexican Cacao from Soconusco, Chiapas with Mezcal Joven (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1.05 oz. (30 g.) / 2.1 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 100 calories in /12 bar (per label)
Cost: $12.99 for 1 bar

Purchased from: Caputo's Market, online order

Welcome to Day #4 of Chocolate & Spirits Theme Week.

Today's 73% Mexican Cacao from Soconusco, Chiapas with Mezcal Joven (bar) was from Cuna de Piedra (Monterrey, N.L., Mexico).

Today's cacao + mezcal bar was a celebration of two, time-honored traditions in Mexico. The cacao used to make this bar was from Soconusco, Chiapas, in southern Mexico. And the Mezcal was made with 100% Maguey Espadin from Santiago Matatlan, a town located in the Central valleys of Oaxaca, considered to be the 'world capital of Mezcal.'"

Aroma notes included: rich, relatively sweet chocolate with soft, sweet green (and very, very slightly smoke-y) botanical (lightly sweetened cactus and green fig jam with a tiny squeeze of lemon).

Texture: Relatively smooth and creamy with a very slight stone-ground quality (that I associated with all the flavors being intact).

Flavor notes: Rich cacao flavors including dark chocolate with lush botanical, and balanced tart-sweet elements (balanced, sweet, gentle red fruit, apple and nopales (cactus) marinated with brown sugar). I'm assuming what I was tasting (embedded in the dark chocolate) were balanced, fermented and very lightly pit-smoked agave flavors, that when mixed with the single origin Chiapas cacao yielded a complex and wonderful bar. 

I liked the flavorful, yet subtle aroma and flavors; the short list of only three, quality ingredients; and the opportunity to try two great Mexican traditional foods/beverages in one bar. Once again, I feel fortunate to have experienced Cuna de Piedra's dedication to Mexican Cacao.

Ingredients: Cacao beans, Cane sugar, Alcohol removed Mezcal Joven from 100% Maguey Espadin (Agave angustifolia Haw).

Allergen-related information: "Manufactured in a facility that processes wheat, milk, soy, peanuts, tree nuts and eggs." Non-Alcoholic Product. 

Cuna de Piedra - 73% Mexican Cacao from Comalcalco with Mezcal Reposado (bar) - Sept. 9, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Cuna de Piedra 
73% Mexican Cacao from Comalcalco with Mezcal Reposado (bar)
Good ++ 
Weight: 1.05 oz. (30 g.) / 2.1 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 100 calories in /12 bar (per label)
Cost: $12.99 for 1 bar

Purchased from: Caputo's Market, online order

Welcome to Day #3 of Chocolate & Spirits Theme Week.

Today's 73% Mexican Cacao from Comalcalco with Mezcal Reposado (bar) was from Cuna de Piedra (Monterrey, N.L., Mexico).

Today's cacao + mezcal bar was a celebration of two, time-honored traditions in Mexico. The cacao used to make this bar was from Comalcalco, Tabasco, in southeastern Mexico. And the Mezcal was made with 100% Maguey Espadin from Santiago Matatlan, a town located in the Central valleys of Oaxaca, considered to be the 'world capital of Mezcal.'"

Aroma notes included: rich, sweet chocolate, clean mineral and sweet green botanical (green figs in syrup), and very faint spirits and brown sugar and spice.

Texture: Relatively smooth and creamy with a slight, tart botanical and fruit astringency.

Flavor notes: Rich cacao flavors including dark chocolate with lively, tart-sweet elements (balanced, almost pickled, sweet fruits and nopales with vinegar and brown sugar). This tartness helped replace the fact that the alcohol had been removed from the mezcal, allowing us to taste (what I'm assuming was) some balanced, fermented agave flavors, that when mixed with the single origin Tabasco cacao yielded a hearty, flavorful bar. 

I liked the complex, flavors and the short list of only three, quality ingredients.

Ingredients: Cacao beans, Cane sugar, Alcohol removed Mezcal Reposado from 100% Maguey Espadin (Agave angustifolia Haw).

Allergen-related information: "Manufactured in a facility that processes wheat, milk, soy, peanuts, tree nuts and eggs." Non-Alcoholic Product.

Marianne's Ice Cream - Irish Coffee & Chocolate Chip Ice Cream - Sept. 8, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Marianne's Ice Cream 

Irish Coffee & Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
Good ++
Weight: 1/2 cup / 1 Quart (946 mL) in total container
Calories: 155 calories (estimate) in 1/2 cup serving (+ nibs topping)
Cost: $ Missing information

Purchased from: Piazza's, Palo Alto, CA 

Welcome to Day #9 of Chocolate & Coffee Week, and Day #2 of Chocolate & Spirits Theme Week.

Today's Irish Coffee & Chocolate Chip Ice Cream was from Marianne's Ice Cream (Santa Cruz, CA). I paired/topped this ice cream with (home-made) whiskey-soaked cacao nibs.

Aroma and flavor notes included: rich coffee, chocolate/cacao and subtle vanilla and whiskey flavoring. (The spirits were mostly from the whiskey soaked cacao bean nibs topping.)

These weren't your ordinary chocolate chips. The chocolate included fairly large, thin rectangular dark chocolate pieces--made with coconut oil and butter oil to stay relatively soft when frozen. My kind of ice cream.

Texture: creamy ice cream with thin, rectangular pieces of dark chocolate that were formulated to be just the right texture for ice cream-- not so hard that the splinters would hurt you,  

I liked the subtle, creamy coffee and that I could taste the dark chocolate--as if I was eating chocolate at room temperature. (Often chocolate chips in ice cream are cold and brittle, and too cold to taste.) These pieces were slightly chewy for a few seconds followed by a creamy chocolate melt and rich chocolate flavor release.

Very tasty overall with a satisfyingly creamy coffee ice cream base. Cool and refreshing on a warm day. And the whiskey-marinated cacao nibs added some authentic cacao and spirits oomph.

Ingredients: "milk, cream, sugar, whey, locust bean gum, guar gum, instant coffee, bourbon, chocolate chips (corn starch, coconut oil, cocoa processed with alkali, butter oil, soy lecithin, natural flavor)"

Allergen-related information: Contains: Milk, Soy. " in a Facility that handles peanuts, treenuts, wheat, soy and eggs"

Hammond's - Espesso Martini Dark Chocolate (bar) - Sept. 7, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Hammond's Candies 
Espresso Martini Dark Chocolate (bar)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.125 oz. (32 g.) / 2.25 oz. (64 g.) in total bar
Calories: 160 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $3.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Ace Hardware, Mountain View, CA

Welcome to Day #8 of Chocolate & Coffee Theme Week, and Day #1 of Chocolate & Spirits Theme Week.

Today's Espresso Martini - Espresso Flavored Dark Chocolate Infused with Coffee Caramel (bar) was from Hammond's Candies (Denver, CO).

Aroma notes for this filled bar included: very sweet chocolate, and caramel, vanilla and coffee latte flavorings.

Texture: Smooth dark chocolate filled with a coffee-flavored, flowing caramel (with crunchy ground coffee bits and possibly vanilla bean specks) filling.

Flavors: smooth, uniformly flavored dark chocolate--that encased and blended with a dark-caramel hued, thick syrup-like caramel-coffee and vanilla filling. There were more sweeteners (sugars, corn syrup) and added flavorings (see ingredients list) than expected in this bar.

I enjoyed the idea behind and blend of flavors in this bar, even if it was too sweet for me. (This was like a high-end candy bar.) 

Note: there was no alcohol in this chocolate + espresso martini inspired chocolate.

Ingredients: Dark chocolate (chocolate liquor, sugar, cocoa butter, soy lecithin, natural vanilla flavor, filling (corn syrup, cream [heavy cream, milk, contains less than 0.5% of: mono and diglycerides, polysorbate 80, carageenan], sugar, butter [cream, natural flavor], mocha espresso coffee paste [coffee, canola oil, sugar, soy lecithin], ground roasted coffee beans, vanilla paste [sugar, water, vanilla extract, vanilla bean specks, gum tragacanth], sea salt, cappuccino tiramisu extract [natural flavor, sugar, caramel color], natural flavor).

Allergen-related information: Contains Soy and Milk. May Contain Wheat, Peanuts, and Tree Nuts.

Millcreek Cacao Roasters - Espresso 70% Dark Chocolate (bar) - Sept. 6, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Millcreek Cacao Roasters 
Espresso - 70% Dark Chocolate (bar)
Good ++ 
Weight: .88 oz. (25 g.) / 1.75 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 140 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $7.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Caputo's, online order

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

Today's Espresso - 70% Dark Chocolate Arriba Nacional Hacienda Limon Farm, Ecuador (bar) was from Millcreek Cacao Roasters (Salt Lake City, UT).

The family-owned company began their journey as "Farm to Bar Chocolate Makers" in 2011. They've focused on direct sourced heirloom cacao(s) from equatorial regions (Ecuador, Nicaragua) and "meticulous processing" of beans in their factory in Salt Lake City to create fine flavored chocolates.

The certified heirloom cacao used in today's Espresso bar was Arriba Nacional cacao from Hacienda Limon Farm in the Guayas Province of Ecuador--a region that contains views of the Pacific Ocean as well as lush forests in the interior.

Texture: smooth dark chocolate base, with a very faint (barely detectable) astringency and very tiny,  crunchy bits of espresso (finely ground coffee beans). The coffee was pleasant, not too harsh.

Aroma and flavor notes were balanced, with subtle complexity, and included: smooth, chocolate-y, dark chocolate; a very faint (agreeable) green botanical mix that included: a barely detectable, fleeting salted potato chip note at the very beginning (when bar was first unwrapped) that then shaded into delicate, authentic lush green forest; and last, but not least, smooth coffee notes. 

There were also very faint/diffuse red fruit (cherry, berry) and very faint roasted (almost nutty) notes--that could have come from the coffee or the cacao. It wasn't clear. I enjoyed them all the same.

This was a very pleasing bar. It was relatively low in acidity and had an agreeable, hearty quality to it. I loved the shy-er, almost-hidden aroma and flavor notes from start-to-finish; it was like following a rabbit through a forest.

Ingredients: "Cacao, Pure Cane Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Roasted Coffee Beans"

Allergen-related information: "May contain traces of tree nuts and milk"

Standout Craft Chocolate - Swedish Favourites - Gesha Coffee Organic 70% Dark (bar) - Sept. 5, 2025

Chocolate of the Day 

Standout Craft Chocolate
Swedish Favourites - Gesha Coffee Organic 70% Dark (bar)
Good ++ - Good+++
Weight: .88 oz. (25 g.) / 1.76 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 155.75 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $10.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Caputo's, online order

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate & Coffee Week.

Today's "Swedish Favourites - Gesha Coffee Organic 70% Dark Chocolate from Sweden" (bar) was from Standout Craft Chocolate (Goteborg, Sweden).

The cacao used to make this bar was from Oko Caribe, in the Dominican Republic. And the coffee was a "washed" Gesha* from Hugo Marino in the Cusco region in Peru. 

Aroma notes included: subtle chocolate and coffee notes; and very faint caramel and diffuse fruit.

Texture: smooth, relatively creamy texture and melt.

Flavor notes included: balanced, smooth dark chocolate and faint, diffuse and pleasing coffee. This bar had a lingering, friendly finish.

The aroma notes were relatively subtle (less aromatic than many coffee dark chocolate bars, but the overall taste was wonderful. Hats off to the maker for pairing this DR cacao with this Peruvian Gesha coffee.

I enjoyed this balanced, harmonious blend of single origin flavors; the opportunity to enjoy washed Gesha (aka Geisha) coffee, a rare high-altitude varietal known for its more delicate flavors; and the short list of four, high-quality organic ingredients.

The aroma notes were relatively subtle (less aromatic than many coffee dark chocolate bars, but the overall taste was wonderful. Hats off to the maker for pairing this DR cacao with this Peruvian Gesha coffee.

Maker's Taste Notes: "Light Roasted Coffee, Floral, Fruity"

Ingredients: Cacao beans*, Sugar*, Cacao butter*, Coffee beans* (*Organic)

Allergen-related information: "May contain traces of Milk."

*Gesha coffee is a rare, high-altitude varietal that is known for it's smooth, gently complex flavors. (For chocolate lovers, think of this coffee bean as being like a prized Criollo cacao varietal.) 

"Washed" Gesha coffee likely refers to a process where the coffee berry fruit/pulp is washed (removed) from the coffee beans relatively soon after harvesting.