Who doesn't love rum and raisin? It's one of life's great combos, and when combined with chocolate, it should be a recipe for success, right?
That's what I thought when I spotted a bar of Danny's Chocolates Rumazin' 60% Dark Chocolate on Treat Me Good's website. The fun packaging and one of my favourite flavour double-acts sold it to me.
So, is it worth buying and does it hit the spot? Read on to find out.
Packaging
Who's Danny, you ask? Well, Danny's Chocolates is a Montrose Chocolate brand, which has links to Stoke-on-Trent's family chocolatiers, Daniel’s Delights. Established in 2007 by Ken and Jen Harrison, the business was named after their first-born son, Daniel. You may recognise Montrose Chocolate as the brand behind Cox & Co., Benefit Chocolate, and Happi Free From.
The Danny's Chocolates logo dominates the bulk of the front of the box, with the key words of "family made" also quite prominent. The strap line, "making mischief since 2007", sits on a band that overlays a clear plastic window onto the chocolate bar. The "Rumazin'!" name sits at the bottom, with reference to Danny's father.
On the rear, there's a little introduction to the Danny's Chocolate brand. It mentions the use of single-origin Macondo couverture from Colombia's Luker Chocolate to create its bars. I'm a big fan of Luker - especially its characterful and fragrant dark chocolate - and buy 2.5kg sacks of its flavourful couverture for use in chocolate recipes and hot chocolates.
Beneath, there's a tale of Ken's nautical adventures involving a rum-fuelled mishap, which was the inspiration behind the bar. At the bottom of the packaging sits the ingredients and nutritional information.
Danny's Chocolates Rumazin' 60% Dark Chocolate ingredients:
Macondo Columbian dark chocolate (84%) (cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, emulsifier (soya lecithin), natural vanilla flavour), raisins (15%) (raisins, vegetable oil), rum flavour (<1%). Cocoa solids: 60% minimum.
The packaging states the recipe is free from artificial flavours, colours, and preservatives. The bar is made in a factory that handles nuts and wheat.
This bar contains 42% sugars. The packaging states there are 2.5 portions in this bar, making a serving size of 40g. There's around 207kcal per 40g helping of chocolate.
At the bottom of the box sits that statement "handcrafted in Stoke by Danny and his family," followed by Montrose Chocolate's address and the brand's social media channel handles.
Danny's Chocolates Rumazin' 60% Dark Chocolate Review
Peel open the clear plastic film wrapper and you're immediately greeted with a powerful rum aroma. It sits as a top note, but look beyond that and you'll detect interesting qualities, with hints of banana and hay jostling with a delicately smokey aspect.
The bar uses a traditional 24-segment mould, imprinting snap grooves across the bar. The face of the bar is noticeably scuffed, while the rear of the bar features a scattering of raisins. The bar has a nice sheen to it and a clear, crisp snap that follows the moulded divisions.
Allowing the chocolate to melt organically, it reveals a rich cocoa flavour. There's a red fruit component that comes through, along with hints of lemon and honey. The powerful fruity cocoa notes linger long into the aftertaste too. Meanwhile, the juicy raisins add to the flavour mix but the rum flavour is noticeably lacklustre. It's forceful in the aroma, but sadly, this doesn't translate into the taste.
However, I don't think this is the type of bar you'd suck. Instead, I think you'd chomp your way through this bar, mashing the flavours together. Doing so brings delivers a rich cocoa flavour together with sweetness from the raisins. The rum flavour fritters away in the background in a slightly more noticeable manner, but it's still not as punchy as I had expected, given the aroma.
Overall, it's a tasty dark chocolate bar but the rum flavour is lost in the mix. I like the chewy raisins and the rich, fruity flavour of the cocoa, but wished there was a stronger delivery of rum flavour in here. The aroma suggests a powerful rum taste but the reality is that it is dwarfed by the delicious red fruity flavours of the Columbian chocolate.
Danny's Chocolates Rumazin' 60% Dark Chocolate Review
RRP: £2.75 | Danny's Chocolates | Shop now
The chocolate is enjoyable but the rum flavour isn't quite right. It would benefit from a more flavourful extract. It has the right aroma but a very mild flavour that's dwarfed by the characteristics of the Columbian cocoa. As a dark chocolate bar, it's very tasty, but as a rum and raisin bar, it's missing some oomph.
Where to Buy Online
I bought my bar from Treat Me Good here (£2.75). It's also available at Mr Simms (£3.50), as a four-pack direct from Danny's Chocolates (£9.99), or as a three-pack on Amazon here°.
Do you have a favourite rum and raisin chocolate bar that you buy time and time again? Let me know in a comment below.
