Impact
Darien Gap – the missing link in the PanAmerican Hwy, a tract of raw swampland & forest between Panama & South America. Only way around is by dugout canoes, hacking thru on foot, or drunk SUV drivers intoxicated on liquor &/or adventure.
The Gap is home to the Embera-Wounaan aka ‘The Chocós’ (all true). Very self-reliant & communal, they shun the brutal efficiency of hi-tech & mass shootings in the "the civilized world" which leaves them more time to spend in hammocks watching their naked children play. What a novel idea.
This bar connects Panama to the south as its shares a cacáo that probably originated in the Amazon rainforest before traveling north to be transplanted... where it has grown up with its Naked flavor profile intact.
The Gap is home to the Embera-Wounaan aka ‘The Chocós’ (all true). Very self-reliant & communal, they shun the brutal efficiency of hi-tech & mass shootings in the "the civilized world" which leaves them more time to spend in hammocks watching their naked children play. What a novel idea.
This bar connects Panama to the south as its shares a cacáo that probably originated in the Amazon rainforest before traveling north to be transplanted... where it has grown up with its Naked flavor profile intact.
Appearance 4 / 5
| Color: | deep crimson |
| Surface: | minor nicks & scuffs |
| Temper: | smudged mirror |
| Snap: | hi & dry; airhole on the insides |
Aroma 7.9 / 10
as with the aromatics of Morin's dry-wet bar from Cuba, another dichotomy here: a mudslide with charred driftwood in its wake + clumps of sod / moss / vegetal matter & cigar fumes
fruited flower submerged beneath it all
olive leaf after the break on the edge wall
fruited flower submerged beneath it all
olive leaf after the break on the edge wall
Mouthfeel 12.1 / 15
| Texture: | tough flesh 'n gum |
| Melt: | a bit tongue-tied |
Flavor 46.3 / 50
plain chocolate bang -> fudge brownie -> fig (classic Panama) on soft mahogany -> dried plantain / green banana -> more choc concourse -> very brief moraberry passes over to light white fruit (pear & pineapple) which hastens the progression & the bar sweetens considerably as the finish line approaches to a chocolate melon -> cocoa muffin aftermath
Quality 17.9 / 20
That mudslide in the Aroma turns into a mudpie. Stalwart, point-blank chocolate; profound in its simplicity / borderline indistinct.
Slightly out-of-bounds for Panama in its stark Nakedness, though still well within the ballpark.
Lots of core chocolate conviction. Neither ponderously heavy on the palette (absence of vanilla accounts for that) nor mildly meek (Morin's trademark roast generates ample Maillard reactions).
Texture, however, plods along despite lecithin... probably a genetic trait therefore related to Amazon-type cacao.
That aside, Morin produces easily the finest Dark bar from Panama to date.
INGREDIENTS: cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, lecithin
Reviewed February 1, 2013
Slightly out-of-bounds for Panama in its stark Nakedness, though still well within the ballpark.
Lots of core chocolate conviction. Neither ponderously heavy on the palette (absence of vanilla accounts for that) nor mildly meek (Morin's trademark roast generates ample Maillard reactions).
Texture, however, plods along despite lecithin... probably a genetic trait therefore related to Amazon-type cacao.
That aside, Morin produces easily the finest Dark bar from Panama to date.
INGREDIENTS: cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, lecithin
Reviewed February 1, 2013