Impact
The Dominican Porfirio Rubirosa, nicknamed Toujours Prêt ("Always Ready"), drove some of the most beautiful women around in the world (Marilyn, Eartha, Zsa Zsa, Soraya, & Ava among many others) before he crashed his Ferrari 250 GT into a chestnut tree & killed himself.
This chocolate suffers no such fatality.
Instead it follows his usual prowess of handling curves which was so great that to this day certain parts of the world refer to 16-inch pepper grinders by his name.
Maybe this will acquire an equally big rep for it too tastes of a finely-ground mill to earn the moniker 'the Rubirosa of chocolate bars'.
This chocolate suffers no such fatality.
Instead it follows his usual prowess of handling curves which was so great that to this day certain parts of the world refer to 16-inch pepper grinders by his name.
Maybe this will acquire an equally big rep for it too tastes of a finely-ground mill to earn the moniker 'the Rubirosa of chocolate bars'.
Appearance 4 / 5
| Color: | deeply penetrable brown (dark roast) |
| Surface: | swirls, divots, grease splatter... just the back / screw that... underneath a gorgeous face hot enough to condomplate whether to slip one on |
| Temper: | shimmering |
| Snap: | a little plugged with a bit of a cake edge |
Aroma 8.9 / 10
huge cocoa cloud backed by forest-high spruce needles & intense cedar timber -> creosote (more signs of roast in shades of Amano's Morobe from half a world away) -> leather -> dried cherry
Mouthfeel 13.7 / 15
| Texture: | among best in show even if light for the percentage |
| Melt: | precisely continuous |
Flavor 47.1 / 50
dense choc, cigar leaf & currant wrap around a tree planted in a mushroom patch -> green tea -> acidity strengthens to maracuya (passion fruit) -> rum -> mild bitter underside of some iron -> spice attack (vanilla / black pepper) -> breaded-chestnut note spreads the fruits thick as jam -> chocolate-chocolate (with a fantastic vanilla boost)
Quality 18.3 / 20
Good, such as it is; even better given its 84% low-sugar content. A well-timed machine of BIG chocolate.
Fairly non-complex for DR but no simple matter either.
Very tight, almost austere formulation (CBS [Cocoa mass: Butter: Sugar ratio]: 16:19:7). By easing off on the cocoa butter, Theo delivers effortless release of Flavor & Texture which at these percentages usually sags into a pasted consistency.
The controlled pitch on that mid-palate bitterness as well as the Naked cocoa, or CQ, suggest partially alkalized beans. Or at least a well-placed register on the vanilla (a judicious addition) with commensurate roast to color it true chocolate. Really solid chocolate backbone.
Then the acidity -- neither gregarious nor shy -- just dazzles into a psychological sweetener.
In all respects highly satisfying.
Theo has always been about image, sporting drop-dead gorgeous presentation from the wrapper to the bar finish. It takes on substance now too.
ING: cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, vanilla bean
Reviewed August 29, 2011
Fairly non-complex for DR but no simple matter either.
Very tight, almost austere formulation (CBS [Cocoa mass: Butter: Sugar ratio]: 16:19:7). By easing off on the cocoa butter, Theo delivers effortless release of Flavor & Texture which at these percentages usually sags into a pasted consistency.
The controlled pitch on that mid-palate bitterness as well as the Naked cocoa, or CQ, suggest partially alkalized beans. Or at least a well-placed register on the vanilla (a judicious addition) with commensurate roast to color it true chocolate. Really solid chocolate backbone.
Then the acidity -- neither gregarious nor shy -- just dazzles into a psychological sweetener.
In all respects highly satisfying.
Theo has always been about image, sporting drop-dead gorgeous presentation from the wrapper to the bar finish. It takes on substance now too.
ING: cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, vanilla bean
Reviewed August 29, 2011