For those of you who enjoy fine wine but are tired of munching on large amounts of cheese and crackers, Brix Chocolates were made just for you. That's the exact reason why founder Dr. Nick Proia, a pulmonologist (medical specialty dealing with diseases involving the respiratory tract) created the company. He wanted to be able to enjoy his favorite red wines and benefit from the health effects of it, without eating unhealthy amounts of cheese. This is where dark chocolates come in. Through extensive tasting and research, the dark chocolates that he found were either too sweet like a candy bar, or just too bitter to where you couldn't properly enjoy it with a glass of wine. Not too long later, through tedious amounts of trial and error, we're finally able to taste the masterpiece Dr. Proia created.
Let's get started:
☆Brix Variety Gift Set & Extra Dark Chocolate Box
☆24 individually wrapped extra dark chocolates
☆A closer glimpse of these heavenly dark bites
☆Each piece has the Brix logo inscribed into it
☆Brix Tasting Set-absolutely gorgeous packaging
☆4 types of chocolate were included in this variety set
Milk Chocolate: Port, Sherry, Rose, Burgundy
Smooth Dark: Champagne, Riesling, Pinot Noir, Vintage Port
Med Dark: Merlot, Shiraz, Zinfandel, Chianti, Rhone
Extra Dark: Cabernet Sauvignon, Bordeaux, Barolo, Malbec
Smooth Dark: Champagne, Riesling, Pinot Noir, Vintage Port
Med Dark: Merlot, Shiraz, Zinfandel, Chianti, Rhone
Extra Dark: Cabernet Sauvignon, Bordeaux, Barolo, Malbec
☆This wax seal itself deserved a picture itself-absolutely gorgeous. So much attention and care put into their packaging.
☆What you see upon opening-on the left, it tells you which wines to pair with the chocolate Brix, in addition to a catalogue
☆Individually wrapped beauties
☆Here's another picture of these out of the box
☆PACKAGING: I absolutely LOVE Brix's packaging. All their chocolates are beautifully packaged and are very sophisticated looking. Let's start with the Variety Gift Set. Physically, it takes the shape of small hardcover book (you may actually mistake it for on if it were on the shelf). Once you hold it in your hands, you'd think that it would've cost a fortune, but it's actually very affordable for the amount and delicateness of the product. On the front cover, there's a picture of the Brix, a knife and a glass of wine, followed by a description of what's inside and also some info that it's a 7 time award-winning product. In addition, the wax seal adorns the side of the gift box and is such a unique touch by itself. Once you open it, there's a helpful little chart giving you some insight into which chocolates you should pair with your wine to achieve optimal pairing perfection. Once you see the chocolate itself, each Brix is individually inscribed with their beautiful logo onto the bar. Onto the box that contained 24 wrapped pieces. These are great for munching on and keeping in your handbag for a little pick-me-up any time of the day. They're conveniently wrapped for you to take on-the-go, but are also nicely packaged as well. Both sets and any of the products that Brix Chocolates offers would make an exceptional and elegant gift to give to family, friends, wine connoisseurs and chocolate enthusiast alike. While these chocolates were created as an ideal pairing for a myriad of various fine wines, these are just as delectable alone.
☆TASTE: Let me start off by saying-I've NEVER been a fan of dark chocolate (milk chocolate is my favorite), ever since I was little. The bitterness and bland taste would make my stomach turn. I admit that I used to be that little girl who was fine eating Hershey's and grocery store candy bars growing up (nothing wrong with that), up until I was old enough to appreciate what gourmet/artisan products had to offer and then my world change. I went into these Brix Chocolates with a biased mindset, but came out extremely delighted and enlightened. That just goes to say-never judge a book by its cover. I started off with the 70% extra dark chocolate square and paired it with a sip of Cabarnet (as it recommended) and it was incredible. The chocolate, while a tad bit sweet but still a little bitter, was not overbearing in any way, especially the wine. It worked well with the wine-in that there were fruity undertones infused into each bite, with deep hints of cacao. Chocolate-wise, the darker (percentage-wise) you go, the more bitter/drier your chocolate is. Of the variety gift set, when I saw milk chocolate, I had to try it first, no questions asked! I am and always will be a milk chocolate kind of gal, so this one was perfect for me. Luckily, my mom had just brought home a bottle of Pinot Noir, so I was able to pair these two together. The milk chocolate by itself was incredibly smooth, melt-in-your-mouth like flavor. Perfect amount of creaminess in each bite I took. After a bite of these, you'll never wanna go back to the $0.50 bars in the checkout aisles. When I paired this with the wine, the chocolate maintained its rich consistency, while adding some fruity notes to it, as well. Definitely my favorite out of the bunch. I didn't have the wines on-hand recommended for the Smooth Dark and Medium Dark Brix, but both flavors were similar to that of the Extra Dark, except that the smooth dark actually did go down relatively smooth and not too bitter, and the medium dark tasted a tad bit sweeter and lighter than the extra dark. I'll have to try them again with their paired wines next time to get the optimal pairing-but I can absolutely say that their Milk Chocolate and Smooth Dark are out of this world. These two alone tastes delicious. I would've never imagined saying dark chocolate was a favorite of mine, but these were so good, I couldn't help myself from finishing it without the wine pairing. Can you imagine what tastebuds you could accomplish with the right selection of wine and the perfect combination of chocolate? G-E-N-I-O-U-S-N-E-S-S.
☆RANDOM: These were the perfect compliments to our wine selections during a Girl's Night Out gathering I held for my close girlfriends and I. We each had a blast trying out the chocolates and their recommended pairings, and then talking about the flavors afterwards. Shhh..don't tell anyone, but we even chopped up some of the Brix bars and melted it to dip some fruits into afterwards. So darn delicious-the dark chocolates paired oh-so-well with the sweetness of the freshly-cut strawberries and pineapples, it's NO wonder why fruits, chocolates and wines were favorite foods among gods and goddesses ;). As a parting gift, I found Brix Chocolate at my local Cost Plus World Market and made goodie bags for my girlfriends to take home and enjoy on their own.
You don't have to be a Roman/Greek god or goddess to get your hands on these enticing sweets, but you do need to run and get some of these as soon as you can and enjoy them for after dinner or whenever you'd like. I'm off to get myself another glass of wine so I can polish off these divine treats.
Wanna find out how you can get some Brix for yourself?
Check them out here: Brix Chocolate
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Have a serendipitous day,
-Sandy
FTC: This product was generously sent to me for the purpose of conducting a review, but all reviews and opinions expressed are my own.
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