Impact
'Lust for Life 5.0' commemorates Josef Zotter's 50th birthday (& coincides with the 1,700th review on the C-spot®).
How exclusive is that? To have your very own barsmith make a special chocolate just for the occasion? Beats out a mug-Skype from POTUS, a Kim tweet, or even a personal DJ for the festivities.
Ranks right up there with Iggy Pop showing for the party & singing "Happy Birthday" before blowing out the candles with his track of the same title (Lust for Life).
This bar could just as well celebrate that Josef Zotter has reached Master Level 5.0 as a flavorist too.
For those who believe chocolate can talk to the senses, this one speaks in tongues... in volumes... but in unison -- praliné -- similar to e pluribus unum ('from many, one').
How exclusive is that? To have your very own barsmith make a special chocolate just for the occasion? Beats out a mug-Skype from POTUS, a Kim tweet, or even a personal DJ for the festivities.
Ranks right up there with Iggy Pop showing for the party & singing "Happy Birthday" before blowing out the candles with his track of the same title (Lust for Life).
This bar could just as well celebrate that Josef Zotter has reached Master Level 5.0 as a flavorist too.
For those who believe chocolate can talk to the senses, this one speaks in tongues... in volumes... but in unison -- praliné -- similar to e pluribus unum ('from many, one').
Appearance 5 / 5
| Color: | dark caramel |
| Surface: | wavy & no worse for the wear |
| Temper: | Zotter's signature shimmer |
| Snap: | mudslide |
Aroma 8.1 / 10
luscious praliné, baby
Mouthfeel 11.9 / 15
| Texture: | riotous -- chunks of crunch in & around espuma (Spanish for 'foam' comprised mainly of air, so put Drake on backup for his knock-off of Phil Collins 'In the Air Tonight' also called 'Lust for Life') |
| Melt: | discombobulated |
Flavor 44.7 / 50
nougat / praliné met by golden raisin rising out of a pistachio patch -> cocoa dust drifts in to catalyze a warm, rich cream toffee -> Rice Crispies® to a Kit-Kat® wafer
Quality 16.1 / 20
Steady, rather simple taste, without a shred or, to use a term on the Banned Word List, a "hint" of the buzz-bomb of components within. Rose? Passion fruit? Where are they other than in the list of ingredients?
This confection does with about 20 elements what can be attained with 3 or 4 in a classic twist on 'doing less with more'. Still, it's hard to argue with the results.
When one reaches a certain age, like 50 or so, to hell with any rules... you can do whatever you damn well please & be a kid all over again. This is that bar.
So many moving parts (as evidenced in the Texture) yet they all align pretty squarely as far as flavor goes. Though with a difference: the almost imperceptibly subtle accents (golden raisin being the most noticeable). To Zotter's credit & craft, however, he knows how to harmonize the basket into a whole, even if it becomes a reduction of such. Nothing exuberant; quite reserved / confident.
And that li'l sip of grappa thrown into the mix (see those ingredients again listed above)... gives this a hint of lush for life.
Reviewed June 25, 2012
INGREDIENTS: raw cane sugar, cocoa mass, pistachios, almonds, cocoa butter, honey, golden raisins, white wine, egg whites, full cream milk powder, ginger, passion fruit, grappa, whey, rose oil, salt, lecithin, vanilla
This confection does with about 20 elements what can be attained with 3 or 4 in a classic twist on 'doing less with more'. Still, it's hard to argue with the results.
When one reaches a certain age, like 50 or so, to hell with any rules... you can do whatever you damn well please & be a kid all over again. This is that bar.
So many moving parts (as evidenced in the Texture) yet they all align pretty squarely as far as flavor goes. Though with a difference: the almost imperceptibly subtle accents (golden raisin being the most noticeable). To Zotter's credit & craft, however, he knows how to harmonize the basket into a whole, even if it becomes a reduction of such. Nothing exuberant; quite reserved / confident.
And that li'l sip of grappa thrown into the mix (see those ingredients again listed above)... gives this a hint of lush for life.
Reviewed June 25, 2012