Impact
Appearance 4.3 / 5
| Color: | used to be easy to spot Ocumare a mile away – so red; here now in dim-crimson against medium-dark leather-brown |
| Surface: | scruffy; usual backside whirlpool |
| Temper: | thinly polished veneer in-between the scratch marks |
| Snap: | confident pluck; firm edge |
Aroma 8.1 / 10
mix of dread & hope: classic leather, coconut cream puff & chestnut -> freshly-torched hay in white pepper straight from the llanos -> raisin-licorice
Mouthfeel 12.4 / 15
| Texture: | starts tough & dry; swells big & unctuous |
| Melt: | long lifeline; wears well & warm |
Flavor 45.6 / 50
nearly identical entrance as the Aroma: cocoa-nut (cacáo + coconut) backed in leather -> turns over serene blackstrap raisin & licorice -> butter all over... -> ... more interminable butter... then, patience rewarded, it gets interesting -> an anisette moment (pinus patula) -> multiplied by spices (cedar / nutmeg / cardamom) for pitanga -> late hay -> biscuit 'n cream thing -> biriba -> ends as peacefully as it began but on chocolate-raspberry raisinet (gorgeous black-raspberry); some ash after-math
Quality 17.9 / 20
Lays down the mass yet has the feel of great fat too; CBS (Cocoa Mass / Butter / Sugar ratio) 5:3:2. Either way, just kills it – in the good sense. High CQ (Chocolate Quotient), with mounds of core chocolate flavor & fairly archetypal Ocumare (though most of the high notes have been roasted off, leaving behind plain ‘n simple / long ‘n strong).
In the past this bar suffered similarly to its Guaranda labelmate; C‘vic giving it a good burning (generally contraindicated for Ocumare) before soothing it over with butter lotion in a case of finesse over character. This counters with both. ‘vic’s tendency - conflicted by natural urge for scorched roast vs. desire to achieve more flavor than ash alone – is nicely balanced here, showing some restraint that keeps those flavor flags in the pocket for a resurrected ending that signals a maturation point which, for a company established in 1872, means the learning curve can be long in coming. Then again, good things are worth their wait in time.
ING: cocoa mass, sugar, cacáo butter, soy lecithin
In the past this bar suffered similarly to its Guaranda labelmate; C‘vic giving it a good burning (generally contraindicated for Ocumare) before soothing it over with butter lotion in a case of finesse over character. This counters with both. ‘vic’s tendency - conflicted by natural urge for scorched roast vs. desire to achieve more flavor than ash alone – is nicely balanced here, showing some restraint that keeps those flavor flags in the pocket for a resurrected ending that signals a maturation point which, for a company established in 1872, means the learning curve can be long in coming. Then again, good things are worth their wait in time.
ING: cocoa mass, sugar, cacáo butter, soy lecithin