Thursday, January 31, 2008

Colt’s Bolts

Colts BoltsI admit that they look more like hockey pucks than decadent candy. I’ve probably even seen them before, but walked right by them. But this year for the Fancy Food Show, because I had so little time on the floor, I prepared a hit list by clicking through to every website of any company that listed themselves in the confectionery category.

That’s when I found Colt’s Bolts. At first, by the name and photo of the product, I thought they were some sort of sports tie in. (Really, I had this whole story in my head that had formed about this southern Indiana hockey team - of course that makes no sense, Colts Bolts are made in Tennessee and have nothing to do with hockey or football.)

They’re gourmet peanut butter cups, with a little twist.

Colts Bolts - Chocolate, Peanut Butter & Almonds

Instead of sitting in a fluted cup, these are a layered confection. A chocolate base, a peanut butter middle with crunchy whole almonds and then a chocolate layer to top it off.

(Oops, now that I’ve looked over their site again, they show the Colts Bolts flipped over with the small side on the top. How embarrassing!)

Colts Bolts - Chocolate, Peanut Butter & AlmondsThe Milk Chocolate variety is pretty hefty. They weigh in at 2 full ounces.

Inside the outer foil wrap the puck is wrapped in some plastic wrap ... and extra layer of protection.

After fumbling with that (it’s cling wrap ... it clings!) the scent of the peanut butter is quite strong. It’s a dark roasted smell, but the appearance of the peanut butter is rather light and has a hydrogenated vegetable oil in it as well as some actual butter. Biting into it, the peanut butter is smooth but not sticky. And then there are the almonds. I don’t think I took a single bite of this without getting an almond. They’re not huge almonds, but they’re crunchy and plentiful.

The chocolate is mild and melts well, giving a creamy and sweet counterpart to the otherwise “it’s all about the nuts” center.

Colts Bolts - Classic Dark Chocolate, Peanut Butter & AlmondsI enjoy dark chocolate, but I’m never quite convinced that it’s the best choice for peanuts. The darker notes of chocolate seem to bring out the bitterness of peanuts and the more charcoal flavors.

In the Classic Dark Chocolate’s case it was true as well. This puck was much less sweet and more about the textures and powerful single notes. The flavor of the dark chocolate stood apart from the peanut butter. The textures though were amazing. The dark chocolate was quite buttery, actually slippery on the tongue which lubricated the stick-to-the-roof-of-your-mouth peanut butter, thus keeping it all swirling about.

This particular dark puck didn’t have quite as many almonds in it, but I’ll chalk that up to variations in a handmade product.

The peanut butter here is rather different from the crumbly & slightly crunchy version that Reese’s fans are accustomed to. This is truly a paste, very finely ground so it’s more about the flavor of the nuts than the texture.

They’re actually pretty well priced for an upscale treat at $29.00 for two pounds on their website (less than $1.00 per Bolt). I’ve never seen them in stores but if you do see them, they’re certainly worth $2 retail for a single.

Related Candies

  1. See’s Egg Quartet
  2. Trader Joe’s Mini Peanut Butter Cups
  3. Choxies in Boxies
  4. More Satisfying Snickers Almond?
  5. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Line
  6. Take 5 Peanut Butter
Name: Colts Bolts
    RATING:
  • 10 SUPERB
  • 9 YUMMY
  • 8 TASTY
  • 7 WORTH IT
  • 6 TEMPTING
  • 5 PLEASANT
  • 4 BENIGN
  • 3 UNAPPEALING
  • 2 APPALLING
  • 1 INEDIBLE
Brand: Colts Chocolates
Place Purchased: samples from All Candy Expo
Price: unknown
Size: 2 ounces
Calories per ounce: unknown
Categories: Chocolate, Peanuts, Nuts, United States

POSTED BY Cybele AT 8:25 am Tracker Pixel for Entry    

Comments
  1. So who’s the woman on the package?  For some reason that bothers me!

    Comment by Jane on 1/31/08 at 12:25 pm #
  2. I find the woman on the package a little odd too.  But the candy looks delicious!

    Comment by Alicia on 1/31/08 at 12:44 pm #
  3. **drools**

    They sound gorgeous….

    Comment by Andy on 1/31/08 at 8:50 pm #
  4. Yummy!

    Any way to get the list of the web sites so I can continue my research for my business plan?

    TIA
    Teresa

    Comment by Teresa Rodriguez on 2/01/08 at 2:46 am #
  5. I *think* I’ve seen these at our local Cracker Barrel.  I’ll report back when I can.  wink

    Comment by jennifer and the beans on 2/01/08 at 4:41 am #
  6. I have seen them at every Cracker Barrel I’ve ever visited, which is a lot!  They are good! smile

    Comment by April on 2/01/08 at 7:17 am #
  7. I have never heard of the Colt’s brand. This looks pretttyyy tasty!

    Comment by Hillary on 2/01/08 at 7:51 am #
  8. “They?re not huge almonds, but they?re crunchy and plentiful.”

    I read painful instead of plentiful.  I thought, “What?  Were the almonds hard?  Sharp?  What?” 
    The second reading cleared up that problem, but I’m still a little afraid of these.  smile

    Comment by Heidi Schulz on 2/01/08 at 11:12 am #
  9. Just discovered your site and wanted to let you know I think it rocks. Gorgeous and tasty. I will definitely be visiting it regularly.

    Comment by Leslee on 2/01/08 at 11:30 am #
  10. I made sure to pick up one of these at a Gelato shop in San Francisco - I had seen them featured on Food Network.  I loved the crunch from almonds with the smooth pb and chocolate.  I took a picture here.

    Comment by cindy on 2/03/08 at 10:16 am #
  11. The woman on the package is company founder, and former Hee Haw Honey, Mackenzie Colt.

    Comment by vbp on 6/04/08 at 8:38 am #
  12. you can get them at cracker barrel.

    Comment by 1234 on 1/12/09 at 3:43 pm #
  13. For those of you who are asking about the blonde lady on the COLTS foil wrapper .... she is the “founder” of these candies. This person was on either Oprah, or one of the morning shows a few years back. The subject: start-up businesses that became profitable. It was an interesting combo of people that began with very little $$$$. Anyway, I cannot eat nuts .... tummy is allergic to all nutmeats. Hope ya’all enjoy the COLTS candies though.

    Comment by Marcee on 6/06/09 at 8:29 am #
  14. Hi - just wanted to give you an update.  Colt’s Bolts have NOT been discontinued and are still being sold on their website at:  http://www.coltschocolates.com/

    Also, on the package is their owner Mackenzie Colt (former Hee Haw star if you remember the show).  She is very active in the day-to-day of the business, and generally a really nice lady.  They make lots of other delicious items - check them out!

    Comment by Jen Holloway on 3/14/12 at 5:07 pm #
  15. Cybele's avatar

    Jen - I’m not sure anyone said they were discontinued. And a few people have already answered the question about the image on the package (which was asked about 4 years ago). Are you associated with the company? Or just know Mackenzie Colt?

    Comment by Cybele on 3/14/12 at 5:20 pm #
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