Chocolatier: Chocolove
Flavor: Cherry Cordial
What I Paid: $3.29
In my experience, Valentine's Day themed chocolates are usually not worth reviewing. 98% of the time they are exactly the same as the normal chocolate products you can find year-round - only they've been dressed up with pink and red hearts. There are exceptions to this rule however! Boulder-based chocolatier Chocolove makes three unique flavors that they exclusively sell during the Valentine's season. And I'm gonna try one of those flavors today: Cherry Cordial!
This bar is a 55% cocoa chocolate that contains a gooey cherry filling. The chocolate in this bar is the same that Chocolove uses for their Raspberry bar. It's rich, sweet, and just a bit buttery, yet it still manages to have a nice kick of clean, bitter cocoa flavor. The cherry filling is bright, flavorful, and just a little bit sour. Unfortunately, while the flavor of the filling is excellent, the texture of the filling is really weird. It's not quite a syrup, but it is also not quite a fondant? The texture kinda reminds me of liquid hand soap - it's kind of weirdly slick yet also somehow a little sticky.
Despite the textural issues, I still really like this bar! The bold cherry flavor really pops against the sweetness of the chocolate and balance of sweet, sour, and bitter is extremely tasty. I'm definitely gonna pick up one more of these before they disappear for the season!