Patriotic Chocolate for The Fourth of July

The Chocolate Cult has made a new contact with the very patriot entitled Uncle Sam's Chocolate Factory.  They kindly sent us three of their chocolate creations and today we're going to look at a 72% bar they make.  As you can see it has a red, white, and blue design that could make for a good decorative addition to any 4th of July party you might have.  Aside from the wrapper let's explore with all our senses this bar and see if it could offer you a yummy addition to your celebrations this coming week.

The Special Dark Chocolate bar that you see in the center of the above photo is a bittersweet chocolate according to the label.  Bittersweet is a type of dark chocolate but the exact definition varies.  In my experience these bars are support to be both bitter and sweet in taste and the label says it will be a "mellow and balanced" bar so let's see if that's true.  I tested this with the help of one of our Acolytes so this will be a consolidated view of our experiences with the bar that comes in at 1.5oz.

The paper wrapper slips free leaving the red foil wrapper that unfolds without a tear.  The bar inside reminds me a big brand name.  The 12 sections break apart easily without a jagged edge that makes sharing a breeze.  Oddly the bar does not have much of a scent to it but it feels cool in my fingers starting to melt at my body temperature.  It makes a very soft snap when I take a bite and chew.  The first flavor is just a hint of bitter but over all the description of "mellow" is very correct though it is not as sweet as I expected either, a good thing since you know I love darker chocolate, Sisters and Brothers.  Our Acolyte says this is surprisingly smooth, clearly not a milk chocolate bar but in no way unpleasant even though he prefers lower cacao content himself.  The second piece I let melt in my mouth wondering if the bitterness will be heighten as is often the case with darker chocolate.  No, not at all. The second pieces melts very uniformly and stay as smooth as the first piece without a waxy taste and texture that so many big brand chocolate bars have.

Other than vanilla, a very common addition to most chocolate in the USA and soy lecithin as an emulsifier, this is simply aged chocolate liquor, sugar, and cocoa butter.  Simple ingredients allowing the crafted to focus on creation and we to enjoy that skill.  This earns as Sacrament status for a wonderfully smooth dark chocolate that could be enjoyed by non-dark lovers.  Uncle Sam's Chocolate Factory has a website that gives a look into their shop at 2571 Albany St. in Schenectady, NY 12304, a lot of videos of their candy making in action, as well as lush photos of their products.  We'll have two more feature reviews of their creations in the future so keep watching this site. If you've been to the brick and mortar store leave us a comment and tell us about it!