Candy Review: Liquor Chocolates

When I was a little kid I have a vague memory of find a box of these chocolates shaped like liquor bottle in my grandparent’s house. I remember tasting one, and then immediately spitting it out. Ewww, those weren’t tasty chocolates at all!

Well that might have had to do with the fact that my younger self had no taste for alcohol, which, heh, clearly now I do.

So when I prowling a candy shop in Tyson’s Corner and saw boxes upon boxes of these curious candies, I wondered if my adult palate was ready for them again.

The candies were made by different liquor companies (and were pricey!) but eventually I settled on buy five for $.75 each. I selected Sambuca, Frangelico, Stolichnaya Orange, Southern Comfort, and Drambuie.

The chocolates are hallow, filled with a liquid which isn’t quite liquor. The texture was like that of maple syrup but for the most part just tasted like a sugar syrup.

Unfortunately the chocolate part for all of them was entirely disappointing. Part of the reason seems to be that these chocolates probably sit around for a while before someone eats one. But the chocolate was waxy and completely flavorless.

Sambuca: The licorice flavor was fairly strong.

Stolichnaya: Even though I have a fondness for vodka I was a little worried about the combo. This was also the one I cut in half and poured the liquid portion into (appropriately enough) a shot glass. The amount of liquid is, of course, miniscule. But it was pretty flavorfully and not like vodka at all. A good orange-y flavor which, had the chocolate been better, might have been a good combo.

Frangelico: This was entirely disappointing! Of all of the chocolates I thought the hazelnut liquor would match best with the chocolate. I’m not sure what I was tasting, but it seemed like a simple sugar syrup.

Drambuie: Admittedly this one left me at a disadvantage because I don’t know what actual Drambuie tastes like. Again, mostly just sugar syrupy tasting.

Southern Comfort: By the time I got to this one I was ready to chuck the whole experiment. These were still terrible chocolates! I also found at least three of them, Frangelico, Drambuie and Southern Comfort to be indistinguishable. I now believe they are merely the same chocolates just wrapped in different foils.

They are cute but terrible.