Seattle Chocolates Holiday Bars

Holiday Cheer Eggnog

Place purchased: Cost Plus World Market

Number of reviewers: 4

Appearance - 8.0

E: Cute, festive wrapper and interesting design on bar itself.
S: I really like the packaging, especially when we get to see the whole line. Large pieces. 

Flavor and Taste - 6.6

The filling tastes like eggnog. However, there are salt granules in the filling. Eggnog should not be salty... 

C: Not a big eggnog fan, flavor of egg with chocolate seems off. 
E: A bit overly sweet, but eggnog flavor and chocolate are well balanced. 
S: Very rich. Too sweet. Eggnog flavor was decent. 

Texture - 7.3

There is a good distribution between the chocolate and filling. Though, it would have been better if the chocolate thickness on the top and bottom of the bar was more even. 

C: The texture of the filling was a little too creamy/soft. 
E: Nice crunch of chocolate and creamy center. 
S: I am typically not a fan of cream filled candy bars.

Aftertaste - 6.1

The aftertaste is very salty. 

E: Pleasant aftertaste. Eggnog really comes out. 
S: Too sweet. 

Overall - 7.0

The eggnog flavor of this chocolate bar is good, but it would have been much better if there was no salt. 

E: A fun candy bar with holiday spirit. 

Candy Cane Crunch

Place purchased: Cost Plus World Market

Number of reviewers: 4

Appearance - 8.0

There are small candy cane pieces throughout the chocolate bar. 

E: Cute, sassy wrapper and interesting pattern on chocolate.

S: Yay! It has candy cane pieces in it! Cute packaging. 

Flavor and Taste - 8.4

The minty flavor is noticeable, but does not overpower the dark chocolate.

E: Mmmm... Nothing like mint and chocolate. The chocolate is rich but smooth, and the peppermint gives a nice punch.

S: Tastes like an Andes mint! 

Texture - 8.3

There is a nice crunch from the candy cane bits. 

C: Chocolate has a good, creamy texture. Candy cane pieces remind me of eating real candy canes. 

E: Very smooth, melt in your mouth chocolate with a fun crunch from the peppermint. 

S: I want more crunchy candy cane pieces in it. 

Aftertaste - 8.1

There is a slightly minty aftertaste. 

C: Nice, light minty aftertaste. 

E: Pretty fresh thanks to the mint.

S: A little chalky but has a nice peppermint aftertaste.

Overall - 8.4

This was my favorite bar out of the five Seattle Chocolates holiday bars. The mint flavor balanced well with the dark chocolate, and the candy cane pieces offered a pleasant crunchy texture. 


E: A really classy, tasty candy bar for any mint chocolate enthusiast. 

Hot Buttered Rum

Place purchased: Cost Plus World Market

Number of reviewers: 4

Appearance - 8.3

The chocolate bar has a soft chocolate center with toffee pieces scattered throughout. 

Flavor and Taste - 7.3

The filling has a butter and caramel flavor. 

C: Buttery and creamy. Just a little bit of rum, but not until the end, more of an aftertaste. 

L: Very buttery, not very rummy. 

S: Toffee flavor, slightly burnt, with a slightly alcohol flavor. 

Texture - 7.6

The filling is soft with crunchy toffee bits. 

C: I like the pieces. 

L: Crunchies are a fun surprise. 
S: I liked the toffee pieces in it. 

Aftertaste - 7.8

The rum flavor comes out in the aftertaste. 

L: Clean.

S: A little bit burnt.

Overall - 7.8

This chocolate bar was good, though I would have liked the rum flavor to be more pronounced. 

Christmas Cookie

Place purchased: Cost Plus World Market

Number of reviewers: 3

Appearance - 7.8

Flavor and Taste - 6.5

The filling does not have much flavor, it is just sweet. 

C: Buttery and creamy, like butter and sugar creamed. Balances nicely with the chocolate. 

J: Cinnamon is strange, like Big Red. Why in a cookie? Salt taste late, why? 

Texture - 6.5

The filling is grainy and crunchy from the undissolved sugar crystals. 

C: The texture reminds me of sugar cookie dough with the sugar crystals and gritty texture. 

J: Crunch is nice. 

Aftertaste - 5.5

The aftertaste is bitter and salty, with a cinnamon off-flavor. 

C: Some sugar grit still stuck in my teeth. 

J: Cinnamon after is weird. 

Overall - 5.7

The Christmas Cookie bar was unappetizing. The granular sugar in the bar was off-putting, and the cinnamon oil and salt have a very negative impact on the bar. Also, since when are cookies salty? 

Mom's Hot Cocoa

Place purchased: Cost Plus World Market

Number of reviewers: 3

Appearance - 7.5

I was disappointed when I turned the bar over. The bar is divided into four large pieces, and there was only one marshmallow in each piece. 

J: Marshmallow at the bottom is weird. 

Flavor and Taste - 7.2

The chocolate bar just tastes like milk chocolate. The marshmallow has no flavor.

C: Very milk chocolate, almost too sweet. 

J: Good chocolate flavor. Marshmallow is not very present. 

Texture - 6.5

The milk chocolate has a hard bite. The marshmallow is very chewy. 

C: The marshmallow is chewy. Not enough marshmallow to chocolate. It's hard to tell it's even there. The chocolate is kind of crumbly when I bit into it. 

J: I don't like the marshmallow. It's too chewy. 

Aftertaste - 6.7

The aftertaste is solely milk chocolate. 

J: All chocolate. 

Overall - 6.5

The Mom's Hot Cocoa bar was disappointing. With one large marshmallow in each piece, you either get a bite of chewy marshmallow or solid milk chocolate. The bar would have been much better if there were more and smaller marshmallows. 

Ritter Sport Winter Edition 2013

There are three Ritter Sport Winter Edition bars: Caramel Orange, Coconut Macaroon, and Caramelised Almonds. I did not review the Caramelised Almonds bar because I tried that one last year, and I almost never buy the same candy twice.  

Ritter Sport Caramel Orange

Place purchased: Cost Plus World Market

Number of reviewers: 4

Appearance - 7.3

J: The inside should be more orange. 

Flavor and Taste - 6.5

The flavor starts out tasting like caramel flavored cream. Then it tastes like orange. It's not bad, but the flavor combination is very strange and does not work well together. 

C: Orange is the first thing I taste, but it's not too overpowering. 

J: Caramel and orange is a weird combo.

S: I didn't really taste the caramel, but the orange was subtle but apparent. 

Texture - 7.5

The filling is very soft, and the chocolate provides some bite. I wish Ritter Sport would have used caramel as the filling instead of caramel flavored cream. 

C: Creamy, mouth coating. 

J: Creamy, smooth.

S: Rich and creamy. Similar to the texture of caramel. 

Aftertaste - 6.5

Orange is predominant in the aftertaste. Once the the orange flavor subsides, there is a weak caramel flavor.

C: Lingering, coats entire mouth. 

J: Orange aftertaste is good.

Overall - 6.9

This chocolate bar is not bad, but the pairing of orange and caramel is too odd for me to eat more of it. 

Ritter Sport Coconut Macaroon

Place purchased: Cost Plus World Market

Number of reviewers: 4

Appearance - 7.6

J: Cute packaging and nice colors. 

Flavor and Taste - 8.1

The filling tastes like toasted coconut and vanilla, which works well with the milk chocolate. The chocolate and filling are both very sweet. 

C: Toasted coconut comes in at the end. Mostly creamy/chocolate on the front end. 
J: Chocolate tastes great! 
S: Like toasted coconut. 

Texture - 8.3

The cream filling contains coconut flakes and crispy rice pieces, which impart a soft crunch. 

C: Crunchy, but not too much. Creamy.  
J: Very creamy. 
S: Creamy with delicate, crunchy pieces. 

Aftertaste - 8.0

The aftertaste is mainly coconut. 

C: Pleasant, mostly toasted coconut flavor.  
J: Great taste that lasts and changes more to coconut. 
S: Maintains flavor, but does not last too long.

Overall - 8.3

This kind of chocolate bar exemplifies why I love Ritter Sport. The filling is smooth and crunchy, and the flavor of the coconut filling combined with the milk chocolate is outstanding.