Impact
Market fodder. An inch wide, an inch deep – this thing’s got no balls - just a line-extension / stretching-the-batch of the label's Noir Series. Perhaps historically closer though to the original kitchen wreckage scraped off the floor in
1671
instead of the nosher-sized pieces served in most shops around the world today.
Appearance 2.1 / 5
bar shock
bar shock
| Color: | opaque (ramped up the butter) |
| Surface: | |
| Temper: | poor (see Surface above & Snap below) |
| Snap: | sickly; terrible bloom on the inside |
Aroma 7.3 / 10
hazelnut butter spread atop recessed chocolate (light tobacco-leather) w/ vanilla-almond underside
Mouthfeel 12.2 / 15
| Texture: | cohesive; thickened butter |
| Melt: | slow; turgid |
Flavor 39.8 / 50
cocoa, upholstered in brown-sugar, hooks up instantly w/ soft hazelnut -> almond more evasive until slight bitter creates background noise... squelched handily by increasing sugar levels... stretches & stalls -> cherryola -> chocolate syrup
Quality 16.4 / 20
A bit hollow; basically a little French bonbon in a big bar that never rises to the level of true praliné let alone gianduja. Nuts too evasive (especially for a bar form) & sugar too expressed. Still, this rendering substantially upgrades the base employed here - the blank & bland Noir de Cacao 60 which on its own achieves reverse-flavor: sucks flavor out of your mouth.