100%

It's Friday. First, the eye candy:

Now, the candy review.

A short poll on Twitter prompted me to crack open the Pralus Le 100% bar bought last weekend. Now, my previous experience with a high percentage chocolate was not pleasant. Last year I purchased the 99% Michel Cuizel Noir Infini, tasting to much disappointment. It's rare that I don't finish a bar, and that one definitely didn't make it past the first snap. If you've ever seen the show Roseanne, there's an episode where Roseanne is baking, and her son asks for a bite of the chocolate she's using. She explains that it's baking chocolate, but he doesn't care, so she gives him a piece. Of course there's no sugar in it, so you can imagine his reaction on biting into it. The Noir Infini was pretty much that.

Last year at Biagio I was telling somebody of my experience with that bar, and the clerk suggested I sample a different, 100% bar. That was the Pralus, and it wasn't bad. I didn't buy it then, but on seeing it this trip I figured, why not?

A word of warning: if you aren't into dark chocolate, or haven't had much experience with high percentage bars, you might want to work your way toward something like this. 100% means just that - it's all cacao, baby. Not much room for anything else. Naturally, it's not going to have the sweetened tinge of 70% bars, but this isn't like your average baking chocolate, either.

There's a nice snap and bold nose, almost nutty. If dark had an aroma, this would be it. The taste is smooth, yet not wholly bitter. There is an aftertaste that lingers, however, something to consider if you plan on trying quite a bit. I wouldn't, though. Maybe pair this with a dessert wine to complement the lack of sugar in the bar.

All in all, this was a better experience than the Noir. It will take a while to finish the bar, but I think the time invested will be well worth it.