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Schocolat Fine Handmade Chocolates: Each bite is a delight. All photography by Corey Lugg | THE NIBBLE. |
| WHAT IT IS: Artisan chocolates. |
| WHY IT’S DIFFERENT: Lovely Belgian-style shell-molded chocolates with brilliantly-flavored centers, remarkable for their clarity of flavor, including some flavors with notable infusions of spirits. |
WHY WE LOVE IT: Fabulous flavors; inspired improvements on the traditional. |
| WHERE TO BUY IT: Schocolat.com. |
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Schocolat: Gold In The Hills
Page 2: The Chocolates
This is Page 2 of a two-page article. Click on the links below to visit Page 1.
INDEX OF REVIEW
MORE TO DISCOVER
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Schocolat’s Chocolate
There are so many delicious pieces in this collection. We’ll start with with one that almost everyone can relate to:
- Dried Tart Cherry Bonbon
No dyed red maraschino cherry in a sugar syrup, this is the sophisticated adult’s chocolate cherry: rich creamy chocolate ganache mixed with tart dried Montmorency dried cherries and brandy in a dark chocolate shell. The chocolate shell is the classic round shape from with the swirled top, but the flavor is 180 degrees from any other “chocolate cherry” you’ve had.
- Mocha Java Bonbon
Coffee lovers with no restraint (like us) could polish off several pieces of this bonbon, made from fresh-roasted Mocha Java beans infused in cream and blended into a milk chocolate ganache, then housed in a dark chocolate shell that’s shaped like a coffee bean. We’d order a box of these to serve with after-dinner coffee.
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Pieces from top left, clockwise: Caramel (with “S”), Golden Cinnamon (gold leaf), Mocha Java (coffee bean), Rum Raisin (white), Raspberry Crown, Gianduja (hazelnut), Mocha Java, Brandied Pear Caramel (round milk chocolate), Gold Coast Ginger (fan), Bittersweet (fleur-de-lis). |
- Brandied Pear Caramel Bonbon
Schocolat does an excellent job with liqueurs and soft caramel. Here, local dried pears are combined with brandy and a sweet buttery caramel in a fluted milk chocolate shell.
- Gold Coast Ginger Bonbon
Crystallized ginger and dark chocolate are a splendid combination. Here, crystallized ginger from Australia is is surrounded by dark chocolate ganache and finished in a dark chocolate fan shape.
- Golden Cinnamon Bonbon
 In addition to great taste, this piece wins the beauty contest. A long, tall chocolate that evokes the lovely mountains surrounding Leavenworth, it has a shimmering gold leaf “snowcap” (see it at the top center of the photo above). Inside the dark chocolate-coated piece, a milk chocolate ganache is generously flavored with Goldschläger cinnamon schnapps, a premium liqueur that itself contains floating flakes of 24-karat gold leaf (and makes a stunning drink served in clear liqueur or shot glasses with chocolate cake).
Goldschläger cinnamon schnapps: Perhaps the most magical-looking liqueur you can serve. Cinnamon goes well with anything chocolate; apple, coffee or custard desserts; chocolate, coffee or vanilla ice cream...and, of course, pumpkin pie. Photo courtesy Diageo.
Cinnamon schnapps is the only remote bow to Bavaria* that we could find in this sophisticated, exquisite-tasting collection of chocolates, that one might expect to find anywhere foodies gather. Leavenworth, Washington is not yet known for fine food festivals, but Schocolat has opened the door.
*While the liqueur sounds German in name and actually has Swiss origins, Goldschläger is manufactured in Italy; the brand is now owned by the huge multinational spirits firm Diageo. The word Goldschläger means “gold beater,” or maker of gold leaf, in German—a demanding job in which bars of gold are beaten into the micrometer-thin sheets of gold leaf.
We could describe the rest of the collection, piece by piece, but the proof of the chocolate is in the eating. Even in these fiscally pensive times, don’t be conservative in your selection. A great box of chocolate is always an affordable luxury. To fully experience the flavors, enjoy them within 7 days of arrival. As tempted as you’ll be to prolong the experience, fine chocolates, freshly made without preservatives, aren’t meant to be hoarded.
— Karen Hochman
SCHOCOLAT
Fine Handmade Chocolates
- 12 Piece Assortment
$17.00
- 24 Piece Assortment
$28.00
- 30 Piece Assortment
$34.00
Purchase online* at Schocolat.com
Retail Store: Schocolat Fine Chocolates is located at 843 Front Street in Leavenworth, Washington, partnering with Ganz Klasse, a home furnishing boutique. It is across the street from the famous Gazebo and sledding hill in the historic Edelweiss Hotel.
Go To The Article Index Above
*Prices and product availability are verified at publication but are subject to change. Shipping is additional. These items are offered by a third party and THE NIBBLE has no relationship with them. Purchase information is provided as a reader convenience. |
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