I’ve got to admit, until recently I hadn’t eaten Thorntons chocolate for years. While it was always the chocolate that I used to receive as gifts when I was at school, family members now seem to have switched to other brands.
So when Thorntons asked me to review products from their ‘Gifts For Him’ range, I thought it was a great opportunity to see how much the range has changed – and to offer a cheeky competition prize too…
The ‘Gifts For Him’ page on the Thorntons website states, “Looking for a present for Dad or your other half? Or a chocolate gift for a whisky-loving grandad? If he has a sweet tooth he’ll love our scrumptious chocolate gifts. From tasty toffees to melt-in-the-mouth milk chocolates, we’ve got everything you’ll need to treat the man in your life.” There’s certainly a wide range available. From full on hampers (including those featuring a bottle of red wine, whisky or chocolate liqueur!) to boxed and bagged chocolates and a few novelty products too, there’s something for all tastes and every budget.
I was sent three products from the range (and it’s these three that you’ll have a chance to win later on too…)
The Whisky Truffles Bag (£3 – although on 2 for £5 at the time of writing) was definitely a ‘Gift For Him’ – I’m by no means a whisky lover but chose these for the boyfriend, who is. Needless to say, they didn’t last long. The truffle centre was smooth and creamy and with a smokey whisky flavour that wasn’t too overpowering, and the chocolate on the outside of a good quality.
The Dark Chocolate Block Bundle (£9) appealed due to the variety: the block consists of five square bars of 70% dark chocolate, each infused with a different flavour and all tied up with a black ribbon. The plain chocolate bar wasn’t too intense and had a lovely naturally fruity flavour, while the Mint Crunch had an incredibly intense smell and was peppered with refreshing mint sugar pieces. The Espresso was beautifully smooth and incredibly rich, containing the textural and flavour of real ground coffee, while the Chilli wasn’t overly strong – it provided a bit of heat at the end, but barely any chilli flavour. It was the Ginger that was my favourite, with its fiery scent and liberal scattering of candied ginger pieces.
The final item in our bundle was the 362g Decadently Dark Chocolate Collection (£18), which again featured the same 70% dark chocolate, encasing a wide variety of different fillings. It was great to see some flavours that are a little different from the norm (lime and chilli, sour cherry, passionfruit caramel…) – and while we haven’t yet had a chance to work our way through the whole lot (not through a lack of trying!), we’re impressed so far. Every flavour we’ve tried has tasted natural and complemented the 70% dark chocolate on the outside – my only gripe is that the chocolate is far too thick on the bottom of most of the chocolates!
After all of that talking about chocolate, it would be rude not to offer you the chance to win some for yourself! One lucky Bristol Bites reader will win themselves exactly the same products as detailed above: a 362g Decadently Dark Chocolate Collection, a Dark Chocolate Block Bundle and a bag of Whisky Truffles (a £30 prize value in total). Entries are via the Rafflecopter widget below – you can enter using as many of the listed methods as you like, but leaving a comment is mandatory. The competition will close on October 2nd, after which point a winner will be picked at random, and their details passed over to the agency working with Thorntons to arrange delivery of the prize. Good luck!