Thursday, February 19, 2009
CholiveOne of the new items that’s getting a bit of buzz this year is the Cholive which is called the chic drink accessory. It’s simply an olive shaped chocolate truffle, packaged with a cocktail pick so that it can be served in a drink. I think I’d probably be floored if I ordered a cocktail and ended up with a fancy 55% dark chocolate truffle with a real Vermont cream ganache. (Of course there are some restaurants where I order coffee just because it comes with a little dish of chocolate chips, so I’m easily enchanted.) I acquired my sample packages (that contain two Cholives with picks - the regular package is a little tin or jar) at Food Fete, which is a media event for food, beverage and lifestyle writers. It was held on one evening during the Fancy Food Show, and provided an opportunity to really connect with the food makers (and they weren’t concerned with missing a sale because they were talking to a reporter or blogger). They olive styling is so complete, there’s even a little dimple where a pitted olive would have a hole. This is the recommended spot for inserting the cocktail skewer (and don’t go all the way through to the other side, a half an inch will do). The truffle has a pleasant fruity & woodsy chocolate aroma. The bite of shell is crisp (I didn’t dip mine in alcohol). The ganache center is light and buttery, like a supercream frosting - a little bit sweeter than the shell, but still quite rich. As a decadent little accompaniment for a drink, they’re nice. A great size and a fun method for serving. I appreciate that they’re good quality as well. Their info says that each one is about 35 calories (which I didn’t think was bad for a real chocolate treat). At first I thought these were just skinny Lindt Lindor truffles, but they were much better than that. Though it made me wonder if folks skewer those & serve them with drinks, too. (The Lindt Lindor Truffle Eggs would probably be perfect for that! So consider squirreling some of those away after Easter this year for that purpose.) I can’t see using these for ordinary drinks. They’re suited for more cream-based cocktails or at least sweet ones. At 50 cents to a dollar per Cholive, they sound a bit steep. But if you’ve got a mind to economize but still want to indulge, perhaps inviting a few friends over for some upscale cocktails instead of dinner & dessert, you can splurge on a tin of these. (The really clever thing is that they sell in bulk, so you can buy a tin or jar, and if you love them you can buy a bulk bag & keep refilling it so it looks nice on your bar - and of course feel free to pop one every once in a while.) Their website also features some tantalizing drink recipes to get you started. Don’t be surprised either if these start turning up at bars and events like weddings. Here are some other reviews: Denise from On Motivation & Chocolate, Drinkhacker and Rachel of Chocolate Snob. Note that they do not hold up in hot drinks ... not that they’re bad that way, but it’s just a different experience to fish a melted truffle out of the bottom of cup of hot coffee. Related Candies
POSTED BY Cybele AT 12:58 pm |
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Meticulously photographed and documented reviews of candy from around the world. And the occasional other sweet adventures. Open your mouth, expand your mind.
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Even though I don’t drink cocktails, I find these adorable!
i love getting coffee at gladstone’s too. love that little dish of chocolate chips and whipped cream
Weird, yet intriguing. They need to make a deluxe version with an embossed pattern of real gold leaf to be really fancy!
These sound pretty good, but part of the fun of having an olive or a cherry or whatever in your drink is that gets all infused with the alcohol to create a new flavor, and I’m guessing these would be more like, “oh hey, there’s a candy in my drink.”
Even so, I imagine these would be awesome with a drink involving orange liquer…yum.
Just letting you know—the bolded name of the chocolate at the beginning of the post says “Chocolive” and not “Cholive.”
These are a bit pricey, but I saw your most recent post—I’m happy with dark chocolate Reese’s!
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