Castronovo Chocolate

Castronovo is a luxury, small batch, chocolatier based in Florida.  The product range includes a few other chocolate based items, such as caramel pralines, or chocolate honey, but for the most part, they keep it simple: bars only, no mix-ins, single origin.  They make a number of award winning chocolates.  

I tried a bar when a friend brought it to our office.  It wasn't the variety I'd select on my own (100%) but it was fun to try, and I can see the quality behind it.  I'd gladly try another of their dark (but 100%!) chocolates, or even their white chocolate, as they seem to take that seriously too.

Honduras Lost City 100%.

I couldn't find out much about this bar, as it is not listed anywhere on their website, clearly a small batch item (although the Honduras 72% is available).

So I just dug in.

I was shocked by how smooth it was, particularly for a dark chocolate.  No grit to it, just incredibly, incredibly smooth.  The mouthfeel was lovely.

And the flavor?  Well, intense.  It is a 100% bar after all.  Bitter, bold, deep flavor.  I detected notes that almost reminded me of something a bit burnt, but not entirely unpleasant.

I enjoy trying 100% bars, and this one was certainly one of the most smooth I've ever tried, but 100% is not my goto chocolate ...