I think my dad often has trouble deciding what to get me for Christmas. But he knows me well enough to know that he can’t go wrong with chocolate. So this year, my gift included a box of Griotte Sour Cherry and Liqueur-Filled Chocolates from my favorite Italian market. A box as big as my torso. Ho ho ho… Merry Christmas!
Griotte are made by the Kras company from Zagreb, Croatia. According to their website, Kras has been churning out quality chocolates since 1911. Under the name of Union, it was the first chocolatier to operate out of Eastern Europe, where it supplied confections to the Royal Court of Austria-Hungary. The company was later renamed after Josip Kras, “an antifascist fighter and a distinguished leader of the worker’s movement.†The company was socially owned until 1992, and now they’re known for a variety of popular candies and a chain of “CHOCO BAR†chocolate shops.
That’s all interesting enough, but unlike other European countries like Germany and Switzerland, I’ve never heard that Croatia has any particular reputation for producing great chocolate. Like they say, the proof of the pudding (or in this case, the chocolate) is in the eating.
When I first open the box, I’m immediately hit with the strong smell of the cherry liqueur. The big box contains 28 domed, foil-wrapped chocolates, each topped with a Griotte logo. It’s a nice-looking box, and I’m tempted to hang onto it for storing papers and the like – it’ll easily hold a hefty stack of 8 ½ by 11s.
Bite into one and you’re overwhelmed with an intense, sweet liqueur flavor as the largely liquid filling floods your mouth. They like their liqueur-filled chocolates strong in Croatia, if these are anything to go by. Whooo, are they boozy. This box probably contains the alcoholic equivalent of a small bottle of Grand Marnier. Of course, I like my liqueur-filled chocolates strong too, so this isn’t a bad thing. I get a nice warm feeling in the pit of my stomach after eating two or three.
Each chocolate also contains a small sour cherry (possibly the happiest cherries in the candy industry). The quality of the dark chocolate exterior is hard to judge because of the strong flavor of the filling, but it seems more than adequate as a base flavor for the stronger-flavored interior.
You can bite into them for a sudden burst of liqueur flavor, or suck on them slowly until the chocolate melts enough for the filling to start leaking out. But my favorite way to eat them is to bite off the flat bottom and down the liquid interior like a shot, then chew up the dark chocolate “shot glass.â€
Overall, if you’re a fan of the sweeter, more maraschino-flavored American cherry cordials, then these may not be your thing. But if you’re looking for a dark, rich sweet with a kick, then by all means, give these a try. Croatia may not be a chocolate-producing powerhouse, but if these are anything to go by, it’s off to a great start.
Buy Kras Griotte Online:
- at Amazon.com
Hmm… I tend to like my cordials all gooey rather than liquid, but I do prefer sour cherries to the maraschino variety… I wonder if those cancel each other out. Maybe if I chilled them they would thicken a bit more to my liking. I’ll have to try I suppose!
January 12th, 2009 at 8:22 pm