Monday, January 30, 2012

Fazer Vodka Filled Chocolates

Fazer Liqueur Fills VodkaOn my trip to Europe last month I was eager to see what sort of interesting candies were at the airport shops. I departed from Stuttgart, Germany late enough in the morning that the stores were open. (My layover in Paris was a bust, as I had barely enough time to get from one terminal to the other, go back through security and only glance at the Maison du Chocolat kiosk and buy two macaron at the Lauderee cart.)

Even though I was in Germany, there were quite a few varieties of Fazer confections. Fazer is a huge Finnish brand that’s also available in the United States. The sets there were rather reasonably priced boxes for 5.95 Euro (a little less than $8.00) that held about 11 ounces. They had a mix called Geisha, which was themed with lots of Japanese elements but had little milk chocolates with various hazelnut and almond fillings. The other mix was of the classic Fazermints and the third was the one I chose to buy for review: Fazer Liqueur Fills Vodka. I figured Finland is known for Vodka, so this should be something they do well.

It’s a long box that was nicely textured and looked like a good size and shape for gifting but easy enough to tuck into my carry on luggage (I left lots of room in case I saw things at the airport.)

Fazer Liqueur Fills Vodka

The box has a lid to it that lifts to reveal a perforated opening sealed with plastic, so they’re well protected from evaporation. It’s kind of like poking out that little piece of cardboard on a tissue box. The pieces are individually wrapped in color coded mylar.

The Vodka Liqueur Fills Chocolates come in three flavors: Original, Cranberry and Lemon-Lime.

Inside the mild dark chocolate shell is an inner grainy sugar shell and then a full liquid vodka syrup filling.

Fazer Vodka

Each piece is long and nicely formed. They’re not quite shiny but still well tempered and all were in good condition. However, I noticed the longer I went after opening the package the more likely it was that the underside would be a little dented as the alcohol filling had evaporated.

Fazer Vodka

It’s like a little geode. The chocolate shell cracked well, usually uniformly where I bit it. I liked to bite off a little bit of the end, keep it tipped up so that I could sip out the vodka instead of eating it all at once. The inside of the chocolate was lined with large sugar crystals.

The vodka filling is not very strong, though certainly the real thing. The sugar lining keeps the vodka from leaking out.

Cranberry is sweet and fragrant without any hint of tartness of actual berries. The sugar inner shell is grainy and extremely sweet. The vodka is a little syrupy but also doesn’t have the throat burning bite of full proof alcohol. I liked this one least of all.

Lemon-Lime is mild. It doesn’t have a lot of zest or any bitterness, it’s just lightly citrusy and vaguely generic.

Original is slightly medicinal, like there’s a touch of gin in there. It’s okay, sweet but at least in this version the chocolate flavors come through. I liked this one best, though it seemed I had the fewest of these in the assortment.

For the most part, I found the sugar shell to be far too prominent. It was grainy and sweet and distracted from the other textures and flavors. I’ve had plenty of other alcohol filled chocolates, and I don’t think any had this much sugar by proportion. I’ll finish the box, but I don’t see myself buying these again. It might that I prefer an liqueur that’s more distinctive than vodka, as I do enjoy brandy beans and other flavored liqueurs. I also wanted better quality chocolate. As you’ll see in the other reviews this week, what alcohol does well is help reveal the flavors in good dark chocolate. It does nothing for mediocre chocolate.

Fazer Fazermint

As a little bonus review, I picked up a handful of Fazer’s classic Fazermint while at the Fancy Food Show in San Francisco, since I’ve never reviewed them before. They’re a simple candy. It’s a dark chocolate shell with a flowing fondant with a light touch of peppermint. I had six of them and tried photographing all of them by biting into it and taking a photo. In all instances I only ended up cracking the thing into sticky pieces. So take my word for it, there’s a flowing white filling, like a Junior Mint. The chocolate is better than a Junior Mint though not fantastic either. The mint is fresh and it’s not all too sweet. It’s really only a one bite item, so it’s a good little treat after a meal or with coffee or tea.

Related Candies

  1. Eat with your Eyes: Scotch Balls
  2. La Higuera Rabitos Royale (Chocolate Truffle Filled Figs)
  3. Trader Joe’s Irish Cream Chocolates
  4. Rum Cordials
  5. Anthon Berg Filled Chocolates
  6. The Birth of Candy Blog


Name: Vodka Liqueur Fills Chocolates
    RATING:
  • SUPERB
  • YUMMY
  • TASTY
  • WORTH IT
  • TEMPTING
  • PLEASANT
  • BENIGN
  • UNAPPEALING
  • APPALLING
  • INEDIBLE
Brand: Fazer
Place Purchased: Stuttgart Airport (Germany)
Price: $7.85 (5.95 Euro)
Size: 11.2 ounces
Calories per ounce: 111
Categories: Candy, Chocolate, 6-Tempting, Finland

POSTED BY Cybele AT 9:08 am Tracker Pixel for Entry     CandyReviewFazerAlcoholChocolate6-TemptingFinland

Comments
  1. I’ve bought that style of booze chocolate once - dropped a bunch of quid on expensive liquered up Lindts in England, and they were dried up little shells by the time I opened them. I still wonder if they were dried up on the shelf before I even bought them. It seems like your extra plastic layer went a long way.

    Comment by Rosa on 1/31/12 at 7:38 pm #
  2. Try to find Fazer “Blue” milk chocolate. It’s made with fresh milk and is not too sweet. Just divine.

    Comment by NEo on 3/28/12 at 2:10 am #
  3. Do u know it the Frazer vodka filled chocolates are sold in the United States, if so can u tell me were in the United States? Do u sell any of the candy offered on the candyon the candyblog websIte? Thank you

    Comment by tony on 9/10/12 at 4:50 pm #
  4. You can find them in Chicago, the Unkranian Villiage. there’s a deli/grocery store off Western called Rich’s. they have the original flavor and a bunch of other booze candies.

    Comment by katya k on 3/25/13 at 5:49 pm #
  5. Did you ever try Fazer Tykrisk Peber? It’s a salt licorice with a blck paper core. Not for everyone but I love it!

    Comment by Marietta Ledonne on 12/30/13 at 1:56 pm #
  6. Love your chocolates

    Comment by Deb arthurs on 12/25/14 at 3:28 pm #
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