Ritter Sport – Peppermint
I’m pretty sure peppermint is what got me into Ritter Sport. Whenever I think of Ritter Sport a part of me remembers that teal wrapper and the refreshing taste of peppermint encased in a slightly bitter dark chocolate. It’s been a well over a decade since that faithful day, and I’ve grown a lot as a person. Or so I would delude myself into believing. I’ve also had a wide variety of Ritter Sport flavours since then. I’d even wager to bet that I’ve had at least 70% of all the flavours they offer, even if I haven’t done a formal review for them. To give you an idea of how crazy I was with Ritter Sport, I once bought out stock at a grocery store that for some silly reason had 12 different Ritter Sport bars, all of which were considered rare back then. It was possibly the most random, delightful surprise that even my coworker at the time said I looked more excited in that moment then when I passed my certification exam. It was a pretty awesome day.
Fast forward to day and I am now a grizzly veteran of chocolates. I’m more jaded, less trusting and overall skeptical of marketing hype and doublespeak. And yet, I find myself coming back to Ritter Sport. Some things are just so hard to grow out of. Unless you know, the brand is knowingly exploiting you for nostalgia like all these reboots and remasters would have you believe. Not really relevant for this review, since Ritter Sport, as long as I’ve known them, have ever tried to exploit the nostalgia angle. They may recycle seasonal flavours, but that’s pretty par for the course and kind of expected.
The thing that drew me in of this particular flavour is my general love for chocolate mint as a combination flavour. It wasn’t until I grew up and met people outside my social circles that I realized that the combo is actually polarizing, and was shocked to find people who didn’t like it. Can you imagine the horror? THE HORROR?! But I’ve made my peace with it. No one’s perfect after all. Anyways.
This strikes just the right ratio of peppermint filling and dark chocolate on the outside. I’d say the peppermint to chocolate ratio tips in favour of the peppermint, but it works out tasting quite balanced and refreshing. The peppermint is sweet, and I suspect the strong, refreshing nature of the peppermint helps to hide the fact that the fondant on it’s own would be sickeningly sweet. The very slight bitterness of the dark chocolate helps to cut some of that sweetness, which is why you tend to find dark chocolate paired with peppermint filling in most cases.
The peppermint filling is what you’d expect in a typical peppermint patty type of treat, it’s got a fondant like texture that is soft yet rich, and can have an almost gooey texture if left in the mouth to warm up a bit. The dark chocolate isn’t all that bitter, but is dark enough to help balance the sweetness from the peppermint. The mint is strong and refreshing, leaving a sweet minty aftertaste in the mouth. You’ll want to stay away from any sort of fruity drinks or juices after a block or two of these bad boys. The dark chocolate shell is very well tempered, and has a nice snap to it. It’s the kind of chocolate shell that holds up to being thrown around a bit. It’s the kind of brittle that would snap instead of squish if you were to drop it off a counter. Perhaps it’s just me but I prefer that to a softer milk chocolate that would melt. The almost gooey nature of the center contrasts with the hard shell and works better than if both the shell and filling were soft. I feel the need to also mention that they have quite the generous offering of peppermint fondant in the middle. Usually when you see product pictures of snacks having filling, they stage it so it looks bigger or juicier than it really is. I can say with confidence that this is the real deal, and they don’t hype it up or oversell it.
I don’t think it would be an exaggeration to say that this is my all time favourite flavour of Ritter Sport. I’d actually say this is one of my favourite executions of chocolate mint in general. I now realize that chocolate mint is a polarizing flavour, but for those who enjoy it, this is the way to go. I can’t think of a better value option for a good quality peppermint chocolate combo, assuming you like the filling style.
