Lotte – Muscat Grape Liqueur Chocolate

I’m not a drinker. At all. I am not immune to peer pressure, so in some situations I will drink, but on balance alcohol doesn’t seep into my personal life a whole lot. My tolerance of alcohol is beaten only by my tolerance to spice in that spicy foods hit me way harder than alcohol. I’m also not what people would consider a fun drunk – I just get really sleepy and tired and that’s just not that fun to be around.

That being said, I’ve always been fascinated by chocolate that supposedly has alcohol in it. This particular release from Lotte is not a new thing, and I’m not even sure whether it’s seasonal or not because I’ve seen it before in some way, shape or form. The only thing I am sure of is it’s also called Bacchus in some parts of the world for reasons beyond me.

This fancy looking package has 10 pieces wrapped in a sealed foil bag, with a somewhat resealable carton. Reusable, at the very least. Each of the pieces is similar in size to Lotte’s typical chocolate pieces, but these have a more rounded shape on top and I imagine that’s to keep all the filling inside. Also of note is that each piece contains alcohol that comes in at about 2.9%. Not unnoticeable but not enough to get you drunk, even if you have all ten pieces. At least I don’t think…

The first thing I notice when just smelling these is the presence of alcohol is very obvious. Reminds me of those Christmas parties where there’s a pot luck and spread of snacks and candies and there’s someone in the corner loading up on those brandy beans.

These taste very boozy – you can tell it’s alcohol on the inside. It’s not strong enough that it burns, but you do get that distinct sensation when you have a wine or strong spirit when it almost feels like it’s coating your tongue somehow. The flavour is definitely a noticeable liqueur and it’s still got some alcohol flavour to it, rather than a lot of the ones where the alcohol is completely cooked or evaporated out and you’re just left with the aroma or flavour of it and the sweetness. The muscat flavour is present, but for someone who is very sensitive to alcohol taste, it’s somewhat masked by it.

You know when people say things like, oh this is dangerous, you can’t taste the alcohol? I almost always taste the alcohol. Not sure why but I guess I’m just uber sensitive to it. That being said it’s not overpowering here, and doesn’t take away from the enjoyment.

The texture is pretty standard Lotte chocolate – it’s pretty generic stuff that houses the real star of the show, which is the liqueur within. It’s got a very soft, creamy texture that reminds me of a mix between a thick gel or syrup and fondant. It’s not flowy, but it’s also not firm at all, and just sort of melts in your mouth like a crème egg. Except it’s also not as sweet.

Overall you would be getting this for the flavour of the liqueur, not the texture. I enjoyed this for what it is, but my mileage may be different since I taste alcohol more, so maybe the standard flavour without muscat would be roughly the same for me.