Bon Bon Bars | Handmade Candy Bars from CA

Once in awhile Cocoazilla has to get out behind from the grocery stores, Target and the 7-11 for those chocolatey confections and today, this adventure has led to Bon Bon Bars. Handmade candy bars based in Los Angeles, CA, which promises the best in ingredients, organic and eco-friendly.

At Bon Bon, corn syrup and artificial are dirty words and they boast a most unique selection with some mouth watering photos. The pumpkin pie bar, the scotch bar, salted chocolate nut, vanilla marshmallows and orange bars to name a few.

Nina Wanat is the owner and creator of all confections on the site and helped me out a little on my samples. I wanted to review scotch bars, but they only come in packs of 3. She let me build a custom package of 1 scotch bar and 1 orange bar. I did pay full price though, which at $5 per bar was quite an investment for a site that deals primarily in the over the counter goods.  So was it worth the $5, the wait and the 6 emails I received since placing my order? (I got a receipt email and a “your item has shipped” email, but then 3 emails thanking me for ordering and counting down to when the item would ship. 4-7 days, 2-3 days and 24hrs. A little overkill, yes.)

Packaging.  There was a lot. Check it out: Come along with me as I search for the bars!

Success!

First up the Scotch Candy Bar.

Made with real scotch, Talisker Single Malt.  Good stuff. Really good stuff. At minimum a bottle of Talisker single malt 10 year can run you about $50-60. The stuff Bon Bon uses is currently 16 years old.

It’s a beautiful dark chocolate with delicate flakes of Maldon sea salt on top, a thick dark caramel holds it together with a wonderful, rich chocolate smell.

Taste: Decadent, yet light. As someone who’s not a big scotch or whiskey drinker, this is a great way to get started as a literal Chocoholic (if you ever wanted to that is). I have had Talisker alone without the candy and the hardest part if you’re not used to it, is getting past the part where the alcohol burns to the smoky, peaty taste of the scotch itself. This scotch chocolate ganache gives you that taste with the sweetness of caramel and the dark chocolate which compliments it perfectly.

As someone who loves salted caramels, I’m not sure how I like the sea salt with this confection. It bursts in your mouth and that’s all you taste for a split second. I agree that the bar needs something on top for adornment, but with the smooth richness of the ganache and scotch flavor, I’d rather just have that.

Now for the Orange Bar.

The orange bar comes in two pieces, the size of fun size candy bars, adorned with a piece of candied orange on top. Created with orange blossom honey, pecans and nougat, all ingredients are organic, several from local farmer’s markets.

It’s also a very pretty dark chocolate with a rich chocolate smell. There’s a hint of orange in the scent, but just barely. The interior’s bright white nougat looks great with the thick caramel layer.

Taste: The nougat is wonderfully light and fluffy. I’m pretty sure it’s floating in my mouth. The orange flavor is subtle, not overpowering, which allows the bits of pecan to be enjoyed. The caramel is sweet, but is clearly the vehicle for the orange flavor and in combination with the candied orange piece on top makes for a great citrus flavor without making me think I’ve inhaled an orange Skittles. (Long story.) The dark chocolate when compared to the nougat and orange caramel is good, but remains in the background where it belongs, framing the main flavors well.

All in all? I don’t think I would spend $10 again on myself, despite the deliciousness of both offerings but I would mostly definitely as a gift. Particularly the scotch bar since it is an unusual concoction that would make for a great gift for a scotch or whiskey drinking chocolate loving man. I know they’re out there!