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Wednesday, December 20, 2017

Trader Joe's Irish Whiskey Caramels

In Connecticut, in order to be fit for sale, a pickle must be able to bounce.

In Maryland, it is illegal to curse while driving.

In several states and locales there are strict laws about not walking backwards past a movie theater with an ice cream cone in your back pocket on Sundays.

Sure, there are many dumb state laws, but the one that brings me the most grief: the strict laws about where one can buy alcohol in Pennsylvania.

Can't buy it most places other states take for granted. And definitely not in a grocery store, unless there's a cafe attached to the store that can be thus considered a restaurant/establishment. And even then, it's just beer and wine, and not the good hard stuff. That's reserved for the state-owned-and-operated liquor stores. I kid you not.

So no...we did not purchase Trader Joe's Irish Whiskey Caramels at a Trader Joe's in good ol' PA. How'd we get our hands on them? We're not gonna snitch ourselves out, but if the authorities really wanted to know, they probably would already. You know, Elf on the Shelf and all that. He's the snitch.

But yes, we got these TJ whiskey chocolates just in time for the holidays. Major thanks to one of Sandy's friends are in order. If you have local access to these, thank your stars, because these boozy bonbons are the bomb. The dark chocolate shell is, as usual, right on point - dark and decadent with fantastic cocoa flavor. I'd say by taste it's probably around 65-70% dark, though I could be wrong. It's certainly not too terribly bitter, and instead lends a rich decadence to the product.

So, of course, the Irish whiskey gets infused into the oozy boozy caramel core. It's single malt, so fairly light and mild, without much bite that other whiskeys have. It's most noticeable right after the initial sugary touch of the caramel, and again with the slightest of boozy burn at the end, but in the middle it's pretty rich, almost too sweet caramel. Key word: almost. The sweetness gets held just enough in check to make it a smooth, almost velvetty experience.

Needless to say, these are really good. Just one or two are enough, and that's a good thing...no, you'd probably need to eat a palletful to get a buzz from the whiskey, and you'd be more likely to go into diabetic shock from the experience. Each eight pack runs $3.99, making it a nice sized little gift if you need such a thing, even if just for yourself. Really wish these could be legal in my state, but if they were, who knows what other kind of heathenry could be let loose? Maybe...selling cars on Sundays (also currently illegal here)! Double fours from the wife and me.

Bottom line: Trader Joe's Irish Whiskey Caramels: 8 outof 10 Golden Spoons

7 comments:

  1. Those liquor laws are wild. I'm born and raised in Las Vegas NV and can't imagine a gas station/grocery store without alcohol!

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  2. I see in your photo there is a clue to the cocoa percentage on the back of the box...

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  3. Maybe it's because of my fondness for Irish whiskey that I am shocked, shocked, these didn't get a 10 Golden Spoon rating. ��

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    1. Oops, the little smiley face at the end of my comment turned into 2 question marks. Sorry about that.

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  4. Wow, I didn't know about those state laws. That's crazy!

    Nicole @ www.bentomomentos.wordpress.com

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  5. Here in Texas, cities/towns/wide spots in the road all get to choose whether they are wet or dry. You can always tell where a wet and a dry meet, because the city limits are marked by a handful of liquor stores. :-) The restaurants in most dry towns offer a $5 “membership” to a “private club” in order to sell alcohol. (That’s a scam I wish I had invented!) I’ve been here 20 years and still can’t get used to the patchwork of laws.

    Also, by law car dealers have to be closed one day of the weekend, they all pretty much chose Sunday. I mentioned it’s Texas, right?

    I thought these candies weren’t boozy enough, too sweet. My husband was happy to consume my share, so it worked out just fine.

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  6. back of box pic cut it off, but I found it interesting that the amount of alcohol in these is high enough that you need to be of legal drinking age. But even a whole box wouldn't get you too buzzed. Also, makes them taxable in CA which normally exempts food products. I like them and agree that 1 is powerful enough to fill the need for a sweet.

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