If I'm feeling like a splurge, I often turn to chocolate. In this case, my splurge resulted in this Vosges mini bar sampler pack. I bought it on special the day after Thanksgiving last year, and it wasn't a bad deal! The pack came in a bundle of cookie mixes and other chocolates that I doled out as Christmas gifts, but I greedily kept the sampler for me.
Vosges is known for some pretty wild flavors (carrot or Absinthe, anyone?), but the flavors I'll cover in this review are fairly tame. The Woolloomooloo is a slight variation on the winning combination of nuts + chocolate, and the Peppermint Candy Cane bar is perfect for Christmas (or maybe Christmas in July by the time I post this review).
The Woolloomoloo bar smelled like butter and macadamia nuts. It was quite salty from start to finish. The chocolate was soft and just a tad sticky, but it was velvety and had a lovely cocoa flavor. The hemp seeds added a soft crunch, and while I couldn't taste the coconut, it did add to the texture. With the exception of the salt, the flavors were all quite subtle, and the combination of tastes and textures made for an interesting bar.B+
Peppermint and dark chocolate are normally great together, but this bar was too minty for me. The mint was so intense I thought there might have been peppermint oil infused into the chocolate, and it felt chilly on my tongue. The dark chocolate had a nice, crisp snap and the candy cane bits added a good candy crunch without being too sharp. I can't bring myself to give this bar a C because the ingredients were great, but it was hard to get past that chill. Mint lovers only for this one! B-
