September 9th: Hotel Chocolat The Sleekster Serious Dark Fix Selection - Part 2

If your a little confused as to what is going on today I suggest you quickly check out yesterdays post which was Part 1 of my review of Hotel Chocolat's Sleekster Serious Dark Fix Selection.

Today I conclude my review of this chocolate collection, so lets get right to the point and take a look at the last few remaining pieces in the box:

Espresso Ganache - I commented in Part 1 yesterday that Hotel Chocolat's coffee chocolates are generally not strong enough, though this one was a little more to my liking. I wouldn't quite describe it as espresso strength but it was stronger flavoured than the Coffee Caramel. Maybe I just like my coffee strong but I still feel that Hotel Chocolat could have upped the strength of the coffee element here. Regardless this was still a very nice tasting chocolate and I would definitely have another if offered. Very Good.

Macadamia Bite - This one was my personal favourite out of the entire lot and the rest of my family agreed. It wasn't quite as complex as some of the other chocolates though it was one of the most flavoursome and combined a delightful creamy macadamia ganache with a whole nut macadamia, covered in dark chocolate. It was simply a beautifully crafted chocolate and I loved the thick, rich dark chocolate melted away in the mouth to reveal the creamy nut paste and macadamia piece. The macadamia nut itself had a delightful freshness and yielded wonderfully when bitten into. The chocolate left a longing note of cocoa and buttery nuttiness in mouth, it was utterly divine. Superb.

Blackcurrant & Champagne - First off I must comment on the appearance of this piece. It certainly had a standout wow factor in the box and I was further impressed when I bit into the chocolate and saw the dual coloured filling. As good as it looked I wasn't all that taken in by the taste. I felt the addition of the tart blackcurrant to the already acidic champagne made for a sharp taste that I would have preferred to be a little gentler. My champagne loving family member loved them, but could see my point about the slightly vicious taste. Good.

Calvados Truffle - As good as the Champagne truffle looked above this one looked similarly good with its whipped like surface appearance and sublimely smooth inner creme. Just as with the rest of the chocolates the outer chocolate substantiated a rich set of cocoa flavours in the taste though these were quickly overpowered by quite a strong creamy, alcoholic taste. The rawness of the alcohol wasn't too much to my liking though the more mature taste buds of another family member thought it was exquisite. Good.

Gin Truffle - I can't stand gin so I left this one to the experts in my family :) On reflection this seems to have been a good decision and I was told that the gin came through very powerfully in the filling and brought a pleasant warming sensation to the mouth. As powerful as the gin was the chocolate still had a great say in the initial taste and substantiated a real richness to both pieces. If you like your liqueur chocolates then this is certainly a chocolate you will want to get acquainted with. Very Good.

Fruit & Nut - This piece came described as 'hazelnut praline with chunks of juicy raisins, topped with a whole hazelnut and covered in dark chocolate'. I couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed with this one as I didn't get any raisins in the chocolate I had. Since the inner praline was hazelnut flavoured I think it probably would have been a better option to top the chocolate with a few raisins instead. Regardless one and allagreed that the dark chocolate was still delicious and the creamy inner hazelnut praline was nothing less than tremendous. Very Good.

Overall given such the high standard set by the White and Light Selection last week I thought Hotel Chocolat were going to have their work cut out delivering something equally as good but they not only managed to do that, but also surpass it. This dark chocolate selection was nothing short of sublime and I genuinely enjoyed every single piece. Both myself and the rest of my family agreed that the Hotel Chocolat dark chocolate was just slightly to our preference to the white chocolate, though the selection on offer with both collections was equally as outstanding. I think one thing to note here is the high amount of chocolates that contain either nuts or alcohol. If your not a fan of either of them you may be better off going for plainer alternative. If you like your chocolate selections varied though this is one you should seriously consider - there is no better way to say it than 'Superb'.

9.3 out 0f 10