Impact
The definition of a Chocolate Meltdown™. As crystals in this 4-bean blend lose their structural integrity, the ensuing instabilty releases manifold chemical compounds once contained to nucleate a virtual full-body bender.
Brought to chocobots everywhere by Patric’s chief mind-hacker -- Alan McClure.
Brought to chocobots everywhere by Patric’s chief mind-hacker -- Alan McClure.
Appearance 4.9 / 5
| Color: | neural umber with cool violet cast |
| Surface: | padded vinyl; triplex of swirls on the back |
| Temper: | cosmetic matte |
| Snap: | bends some; finely-sanded edge wall |
Aroma 9 / 10
triple layer: a) huge scoop of sweet dried currants atop tapioca & raw saddleback hide, almost 1-dimensional until b) roasted tonka bean commingles with it (in a heady mix all its own of mahagony creosote, vanilla & hay) -> c) ocean undertow (shells, beach floor, seaweed)
Mouthfeel 14.2 / 15
| Texture: | lean lipids mounted on a Cadillac CTS-V8 suspension |
| Melt: | free-glider; absolutely effortless |
Flavor 46.2 / 50
slightly contretemp to its measured Melt so grab attention fast: chocolate goes black on those Aroma’s dried currants followed by huge blackberry swells with carob, licorice + frangipani underneath (very Caribe) -> sapote & breadfruit align for sweet cream sensations -> hits a citrus pocket (Madagascar coming thru in whites [langsat / loquat / luli aka ‘beach mangosteen’]) -> cocoplum -> stalls momentarily on White Chocolate (incredible; consider it a breather)... flash back to pure chocolate & black coffee + black cherry interlined ruby red as in rhubarb / strawberry -> shifts & rolls out soft hazelnut + almond (more Venzy) in a brownie batter echoing in the corridors of the mind
Quality 19.4 / 20
A big bar; a beautiful bar. Solid thru & thru with just minor fissures of those rumbling coffee grounds found in Patric’s Rio Caribe. Otherwise, seamless in its unfolding.
Alan McClure revives the art of blending, where talent & peripheral vision are further tested, which has been largely lost in the mad market rush to the single-origins dominating new era chcolate for the past decade.
Imagine a world with only Black & White TV & photographs. Or museums filled solely with pencil drawings. Beautiful in their own way, just bereft of full spectrum color.
This bar is almost that in fact. The black fruits recall Zokoko’s Tranquilidad except this lifts with more levity & contrast from the citrus & the creams which enlighten the progression. It finishes however with a brush stroke of red that swipes a lite welcome grip of astringency. And then those golden hues from the nuts in the afterglow to suggest Venzy’s famed western valleys, or perhaps slightly inland toward Patanemo. McClure keeps quiet on that, as his wont to always play it close to the vest. Which means a couple new origin releases are probably in store, tossed into the mix here though, until he dials them just right on their own.
Superb control, no flash mobs or pandemonium, attributable in part to a streamlined nature compared to more massively complexed blends of 9 beans or more, & also because McClure roasts up compared to his American peers. And as ever with this label, phenomenal clarity to the flavor definition.
In league with Domori, nobody goes to further lengths to get a read on cacáo seeds. Both are mentalists that way.
An intelligent blend to re-assert Patric’s position as among the most assiduous barsmiths on the scene today.
Moreover, its landmark quality heralds that the New World is ready to rival Europe for supremacy in the quest to return chocolate to elevated heights in its birthplace.
ING: cocoa mass, sugar, cacáo butter
Reviewed August 15, 2011
Alan McClure revives the art of blending, where talent & peripheral vision are further tested, which has been largely lost in the mad market rush to the single-origins dominating new era chcolate for the past decade.
Imagine a world with only Black & White TV & photographs. Or museums filled solely with pencil drawings. Beautiful in their own way, just bereft of full spectrum color.
This bar is almost that in fact. The black fruits recall Zokoko’s Tranquilidad except this lifts with more levity & contrast from the citrus & the creams which enlighten the progression. It finishes however with a brush stroke of red that swipes a lite welcome grip of astringency. And then those golden hues from the nuts in the afterglow to suggest Venzy’s famed western valleys, or perhaps slightly inland toward Patanemo. McClure keeps quiet on that, as his wont to always play it close to the vest. Which means a couple new origin releases are probably in store, tossed into the mix here though, until he dials them just right on their own.
Superb control, no flash mobs or pandemonium, attributable in part to a streamlined nature compared to more massively complexed blends of 9 beans or more, & also because McClure roasts up compared to his American peers. And as ever with this label, phenomenal clarity to the flavor definition.
In league with Domori, nobody goes to further lengths to get a read on cacáo seeds. Both are mentalists that way.
An intelligent blend to re-assert Patric’s position as among the most assiduous barsmiths on the scene today.
Moreover, its landmark quality heralds that the New World is ready to rival Europe for supremacy in the quest to return chocolate to elevated heights in its birthplace.
ING: cocoa mass, sugar, cacáo butter
Reviewed August 15, 2011