Ritter Sport – Rum Raisins & Hazelnuts
Before I started nursing my Tirol obsession, most of that time and attention went into hunting down Ritter Sport. I feel it important to qualify this statement by making two things clear – 1) I still love Ritter Sport, and 2) part of the obsession was hunting them down. I came across Ritter Sport over a decade ago. Something you have to understand is that back then, Ritter Sport didn’t have the North American presence it has today, and even less so in the Frigid North. In more recent years it’s easy to find a wide selection of them everywhere. Mind you, some of the rarer and more unique flavours are still very hard to find, and carried by more exclusive or specialty stores, but overall it’s not quite as much of a hunt as it used to be. Call me a hipster, but part of the fun was searching high and low for the strange, interesting flavours. I guess that’s why I’ve kind of diverted a lot of that time and energy into hunting down Tirol.
Today’s flavour is not what I would consider one of the specialty flavours, but it’s certainly a staple in my eyes. While this isn’t one of the common flavours you can find everywhere, this one is one that I have run into before, albeit not in a long time. This one boasts 3% alcohol content. Might not want to eat too many of these at work, lest you get judgy eyes on you.
Similar to other rum raisin chocolates I’ve had, this one reeks of rum the moment you open the pack. There’s no mistaking that distinct, alcoholic smell of rum. I doubt anyone else who may be around you would have second thoughts about what it is either. The smell almost borders on Play-Doh. The pieces are the standard Ritter Sport size, nice and tall to accommodate a wide variety of fillings, and a block has 16 pieces you can break apart, each adorned with the Ritter Sport logo on top. Part of what I love about Ritter Sport is how uniform all the pieces are, and how easy it is to break them into equal parts.
The milk chocolate for Ritter Sport is fairly standard, kind of sweet, a bit plain, but of course the milk chocolate on it’s own is very rarely the main attraction for me. Ritter Sport is all about the filling, or whatever they have going on in the mix to spice things up. In this case, it’s all about the rum raisins and hazelnut. The flavour of the raisins is nostalgic of the ice cream, it has the sweetness of a raisin to help compliment that strong, distinct rum flavour. The hazelnut doesn’t add much in the way of flavour, though it usually doesn’t. It’s more there for the texture.
Texture-wise, most of the bar is carried by the hazelnuts, which are chopped, but still provide a nice, relatively neutral crunch. If there’s one thing Ritter Sport excels at, it’s getting the textures right. That and knowing how to use nuts in just the right way. The raisins have texture as well, but their nothing too special, on account of they’re exactly what you’d expect from a raisin – a shriveled grape, soaked in rum. I personally like it, but it may not be for everyone. It can be a bit strange for some people, going from the crunch of a hazelnut to a somewhat soggy, strange raisin. I feel most people will see past that, on account of the strong aroma of rum it gives off.
It all comes together to make what I consider a classic combo that fully deserves its place in the standard lineup for the brand. I imagine the reason it isn’t as readily available here is because it has alcohol, and alcohol flavoured things aren’t as commonplace quite yet. But if the trends are anything to go by, it won’t be long before you see this bar everywhere. And what a great time to be alive that will be. What I’m getting at is, this bar is a winner, and you will be too once you try this. Go get it. Now, please.
