We know, we know, we’re halfway through December, but here is our look back at November’s bars (finally!).

Side note, if you’re interested in buying any gift subscriptions, now’s the time! Check out our Holiday Sale — click or tap on the bar at the top of this page for details. If you want a gift card, Monday, December 18th is the LAST day to get one with guaranteed delivery by Christmas.

Alright, let’s dive in.

Bar A

Like we said in the letter, this bar could potentially be identified by a simple whiff (well, if you share something in common with the K-9 squad). That, and this is one of those “visible inclusion” bars so you can actually see it.

However, for those of us who still weren’t able to deduce the flavor by sight and smell alone, we had to sink our teeth into this bar. (Well, we’re guessing the people with great deductive powers still ended up actually eating this bar, of course.) But anyway, this bar had a very interesting dark chocolate…not bitter, but not one of those almost overly sweet dark chocolate bars either. The chocolate, combined with the single inclusion, made for a very satisfying firm and crunchy experience. And said inclusion piping in at the end with its flavor, leaving on a note of slight spiciness.

But what was it?

72% Dark Chocolate with Candied Ginger by Nirvana

This bar comes from a new line, the Enchanted Series by Nirvana, one of our favorite Belgian chocolatiers. They have lots of good stuff, so stay tuned for more!

Moving on…

Bar B

This bar actually shared a very similar texture and tact when biting into it with Bar A. However, the inclusion was entirely different. And, to our delight, not as easily visible! 🙂

This is a bar that could have been done a couple different ways at the chocolate maker’s discretion (see below for more). However, for now, let’s just see what it was!

70% Dark Chocolate with Raspberry by Valor Chocolate

We like the direction that Valor went with this bar. With a dark chocolate bar and a fruit inclusion, there are two general paths that you can follow:

1. “Soften” the bar up, making it sweeter and eliminating all of the bitterness. The extra sweetness combines with the fruit inclusion to give you a powerful flavor – but without the “punch” and purity of the original dark chocolate. Usually these are the bars with dried fruit inclusions and lower cacao percentages.
2. Retain the dark chocolate’s original flavor and simply add some fruit to give it a different flavor. There is a distinct natural order to the flavors in these bars: dark chocolate first, fruit second. The fruit must stay out of the chocolate’s way.

Obviously (well, if you’ve had this bar, of course) Valor went the second route here when crafting this bar. And it works quite well!

Bar C

Oh boy. How do we introduce this bar?

Well, let’s start by saying that this one instantly became one of the highest rated bars we’ve ever included. Some of the rave reviews described it as a “Snickers bar that doesn’t taste like it was designed in a lab”.

This included milk chocolate and three inclusions that combine together in pure bliss to create this bar. We’re sure there were many a friendly brawl over the remainder of this bar after tasting & guessing — if any!

Enough suspense…let’s just look at it:

Milk Chocolate with Peanut and Pretzel by Vivra Chocolate

Peanut, pretzel, and milk chocolate. What’s not to love? That sure sounds like a recipe for success, and Vivra nailed it with this one.  Instant classic.

(If you loved it, better get more before our supply is all gone!)