Stud-54
by Marañón Canyon
Impact
Less improbable than it sounds though no less unprecedented: the foie gras of cacáo, with its own inherent sweetener(!), a timeless taste served in homage to NY’s Studio 54, re-opened here in an imaginarium replete with its disco queens & coke fiends.
Ain’t quite free-roaming (nothing in the city ever truly is, even when Wile E. Coyote tries to enroll at Columbia University) yet no force-feeding / no gavage either as they say in the foie gras trade... just natural expansion of the abdomen.
Forget nasty ‘soykey’, try humane chocoliver instead.
Ad libitum ('eat freely')
Ain’t quite free-roaming (nothing in the city ever truly is, even when Wile E. Coyote tries to enroll at Columbia University) yet no force-feeding / no gavage either as they say in the foie gras trade... just natural expansion of the abdomen.
Forget nasty ‘soykey’, try humane chocoliver instead.
Ad libitum ('eat freely')
Appearance 4.8 / 5
| Color: | beautiful rosewood-bark colored husk covers 54 shades of brown |
| Surface: | semi-large flats |
| Temper: | mild mannered |
| Snap: | easiest of Marañón’s beans to peel... & still laborious |
Aroma 8.1 / 10
coolly distilled white vinegar then heavy soursop / camu-camu / granadilla of sharp acidity -> underneath a latent cocoa backed in chicle & laurel
Mouthfeel 14 / 15
| Texture: | light break on crushing the Bean into Nib |
| Melt: | soft cinch; easy as mousse on the tooth; outstanding well-fattened mash |
Flavor 48.3 / 50
sparkling fruit-flys that Hi-5 some well integrated chocolate, then rollicking nuts & mushroom paté immediately pull it onto the ground... into the fig roots & corn-fed foie gras of cocoa -> goosed by a Sauterne (the liver lightly awash then enlarged) -> migrates onto a laurel barking back up with very tempered bitterness & hickory nut -> coca leaf -> wipes away small plantain & drifts off on a tiny floral petal
Quality 19.5 / 20
‘54’ refers to the approximate ratio of purple seeds to white seeds in the pods coming from a particular stand of trees. Basically, a natural blend of Marañón’s Dark Nac’l with its White Nac’l.
However picked & selected, these are excellent. Very easy tongue; even the bitterness is welcome, nicely complimenting the unexpected foie, all buffered in the nuts, grapes, & floral finale. In the right hands, this should make for a sensational high-percentage bar thanks to its generously soft fat content.
ING: cocoa bean
Reviewed Autumn 2010
However picked & selected, these are excellent. Very easy tongue; even the bitterness is welcome, nicely complimenting the unexpected foie, all buffered in the nuts, grapes, & floral finale. In the right hands, this should make for a sensational high-percentage bar thanks to its generously soft fat content.
ING: cocoa bean
Reviewed Autumn 2010