I’ve been jonesing for a good chocolate/almonds bar and when Pete told me that he came across a Lake Champlain Dark Chocolate with Almond bar, I had him pick it up for me.
As you can see, it’s a very pretty bar! Well tempered so that it is glossy and snaps beautifully. It’s a little bit thicker than I like (the Theo Bars were the perfect thickness), but I suppose that’s a minor complaint.
The chocolate is only 54% cocoa content, so it was quite sweet. Anything darker probably would have completely overpowered the almonds, so I guess it was a decent choice. And speaking of almonds — they were chopped into little bits. Too little if you ask me — and I didn’t find them all that flavorful. I think that if they were roasted a bit more and some salt was added this would have improved the taste. As it was, I felt the bar was more sweet and chocolaty than anything.
As a chocolate bar, it was good — smooth Belgian chocolate without any discernable flavors. The mouthfeel was a bit buttery — very thick and almost a bit greasy or waxy (not in a bad way though!)
All in all I would say that it was a 7 — really good, but not what I’m looking for in a chocolate/almond combo. You can purchase the Lake Champlain bars at Whole Foods and other locations (mine was purchased at Hannah’s Bretzel in Chicago) as well as online through their website.