Impact
Among the young turks of American craft chocolate (Devries, Patric, Rogue, Taza), Askinoise is one of the bolder but also rougher of the bunch. This bar fo' shizzle a schizo but, what da fizzuck, tastes a li'l mo' bitter-tang than on what the scoop dogg sux.
Appearance 4.7 / 5
| Color: | atomic brown |
| Surface: | fronside beauty; on the back, cuticle nibs applied stucco al fresco (ala Mischer or Veritas) rather than embedded |
| Temper: | soft neon |
| Snap: | perfect pitch: crisp, clean, almost lyrical |
Aroma 8 / 10
flat & dull butter, wax, + vinyl the undercard out of the wrapper -> aerates to the main event: a radial of dried flowers (cassia & orange blossoms + violets) veering off tangent until remoisturized & beautified by cacáo butter
Mouthfeel 12.2 / 15
| Texture: | chitinous |
| Melt: | frazzle rock candy |
Flavor 39.1 / 50
chocolate nuts right off -> quick rasp darkens to black berries -> steadies toward alcohol (rum) while maintaining chocolate backbone -> follows progression of Askinosie's Nacional w/out nibs: a souring fermented fruit-contra-wood (satsuma then rosella, basically grapefruit/lime) –> things continue to get wilder on that w/ flavored tequila (tad too hot) -> underlying bitterness to the end
Quality 15.7 / 20
Bi-polar schizophrenic: nibs bring the nuts (well-roasted) while bar supplies fruit tones (thoroughly fermented). Each seems customized in opposition to the other for a full spectrum OCD effect in which some unwelcome flavors pull at one another, creating integration issues (in large measure because oversizing the nibs prevents them from being easily contoured in the profile). Ultimately works in a coercive way, ala a Frank Gehry kludged assembly, a piling up & blaring force-on-force capturing a feral streak just at the edge of fearsome that draws exhilarating anxiety. (CBS ~3:3:1)