Royce Nama Chocolate "Port Charlotte" Edition
I love the culinary possibilities of scotch: sauces, stews, marinades, and of course, dessert. What better way to cap off an evening than with a rich morsel of scotch infused chocolate?
The Chocolate
The Port Charlotte edition Royce Chocolates are dense, rich, and fudge-like little morsels lightly dusted with chocolate powder. Though the Port Charlotte is nearly overpowered by the intense cacao, the heady smoke of the Scottish Barley manages to shine just barely through. The peated scotch gives the chocolate greater depth with sweet smoke and elusive savory malt notes. Each little piece is rich enough that it only takes a few to satisfy a mere mortal, though I am sure a true chocoholic could easily finish the box . The heavy flavors and dense chocolate make for a wonderful companion to a dram of the Port Charlotte Scottish Barley or a cup of coffee.
The chocolate is packaged in a set of 16 pieces with a little toothpick-like tool to break them up. If you attack them with your hands be sure you have a napkin ready (or be in a place where finger licking is socially acceptable) as the chocolate dusting will melt all over your hands. My wife and I used toothpicks to stab and grab each piece. The pieces of chocolate are small enough to be eaten in one bite, but the chocolate is so dense and rich that eating an entire piece at once is a bit overwhelming.
Royce Chocolate
I first came across the Royce Nama line and its alcohol infused chocolate varieties on our local Whisky Group. Members snapped up the opportunity to grab these specialty treats while vacationing in Japan, offering up their extras of Hibiki, Yamazaki, and Port Charlotte infused chocolates.
The Japanese Whisky variants have been the most popular and by far the most elusive; the Whisky Group skews heavily towards Japanese Whisky and Bourbon and so naturally enjoys cachet and chase for decadent chocolate infused with hard to come by whisky.
The Port Charlotte edition was the one that caught my eye. One of my favorite desserts of all time was a smoked chocolate and orange cake and the thought of mixing together a great heavily peated scotch with chocolate was tempting. When my wife and I had the good fortune to come across the Royce Nama Port Charlotte we leapt into action and bought a half dozen to share with friends and family back at home.
We purchased our cargo at the confectionary shops situated at either end of the main Osaka International Terminal adjacent to the Duty Free Stores (which also sell Royce Name Chocolate, but did not have the Port Charlotte edition). There were numerous variations of the Royce Chocolate; from alcohol infused Champagne to a plethora of non alcohol flavor combinations like Matcha Green Tea. I have seen the Port Charlotte edition for sale online in the US, though the price is a premium over what we paid, it is cheaper than a trip to Japan.
