South Dakota Chocolate #1

On our spring trip, we found some chocolate shops in Iowa but also in South Dakato where the Milk Chocolate Acolyte's parents, brother and grandma live.  A friend of the Acolyte's owns a shop in his hometown and while they didn't have a chocolate shop of any type that we could find, he knew of one a bit north in Watertown aptly named Watertown Confectionery.  So one morning we drove up and checked them out.  They were a bit difficult to find since they are housed in a private residence, their business entrance off to one side which isn't the street on their address.  To the right you'll see that door.

Once we found them, we discovered a very nice woman, Vickie, running the place.  She told us that they had been in business for five years and were in the process of getting a space downtown which we'll reveal to you in the Saturday Sacrament we'll do in the future of the chocolates she offered to The Chocolate Cult.

You'll note a spring or Easter coloration for many of these treats but since I bought them in March you shouldn't be surprised.  I think they change the basic decorations on these types of treats to fit with the season.  Staying within my budget, I was able to get 6 samples, including two white chocolates, three milk chocolates, and a dark chocolate to give you a good view of their variety.  I'll look at each briefly in pairs.

The white chocolate samples, and I confirmed these meet our criteria of white chocolate, Sisters and Brothers, can be found in several forms but I picked a white chocolate covered cookie and a "Bird's Nest" creation.  I can tell the cookie is hand dipped because of the variations in coverage on the bottom, top and sides, but over all it is generously covered and smells very white chocolate.  The cookie inside is crunchy and exactly as I expect for such a treat minus the waxy flavor you'd get if you bought something in a grocery store.  The "Bird's Nest" is over 3 inches diameter of crispy rice with white chocolate and gourmet jelly beans and it looks much like the name suggests it should.  Again this is a superior version of something your mom might have made for a kid friendly treat and very much worth the price.

Different types of patties or what I'd call flat no bake cookies and candies could be found throughout the store.  I bought a "Dessert Pizza" and a "English Toffee Crunch Patty".   These are basically the same size as the "Bird's Nest" but in milk chocolate.  the "Dessert Pizza" has crispy rice, milk chocolate, colorful jimmies and M&Ms.  It crunches and tastes very chocolaty with every bite.  The other treat is very buttery and chewy pieces of toffee covered in what tastes like a lower cocoa content milk chocolate which lets the toffee's tanginess become the final and most powerful taste.

Finally I purchased two more novelty items.  One is the milk chocolate bunny to give us an idea of how they do molded chocolates, and the other is a "Love Potion" or dark chocolate sample in a molded heart shape.  The bunny is hefty  and cutely detailed which I hope you can see in my photo.  It measures 2.5 inches long, just over 1.5 inches at it's widest and rises about an inch and a half again.  I bite the little bunny's tail off to cause him the least amount of pain and it melts in my mouth.  It has a strong hint of vanilla and a good creamy milk chocolate taste that puts this into the higher category of molded chocolates.  The "Love Potion" heart is 1.25 inches at it's widest and about 0.5 inches tall.  The hook with the heart is that on the back of the packages are directions to eat it an hour before sensual activity so a nice gift to someone you love on your special day I think.  The heart has a very strong dark cocoa scent and it melts on my fingertips.  It has a crunchy texture and a very strong chocolate buzz so indeed eat it and wait for the sparks to wear off before you do anything else, please.

Watertown Confectionery will be moving in mid May to their new downtown location. For now you can order on the website or visit their residential shop which I've shown you a few photos of during this review.  We'll do our Sacrament on their official opening currently scheduled for May 15, 2010, to the general public so check back then.

Sisters and Brothers, may you, too, take the time to slowly appreciate what the Divine and human ingenuity have offered you in chocolate.