Talenti - Double Dark Chocolate

Double Dark Chocolate - Dark Chocolate Gelato with Chocolate Chips and a Hint of Vermouth

Today's flavor is from Talenti Gelato and it is one of the basic flavors from their standard menu:  Double Dark Chocolate.  It is one of their very first flavors.  They assigned it "recipe #3" which means it is only preceded by their vanilla flavor and a retired caramel flavor (now they have Sea Salt Caramel which includes chocolate truffle mix-ins).  This base has made an appearance in a couple of the "gelato layers" pints that I have reviewed from Talenti in the past couple of years.  Specifically, it forms one or more layers of Vanilla Fudge Cookie and Dark Chocolate Cherry.  I expected this to be just the base, but as I examine the ingredient list more closely, there are chocolate chips in here!  So that's an unexpected surprise.  Also, they say there is a hint of vermouth in the mix.  Vermouth is a fortified wine which is used in mixed drinks like martinis and manhattans.  I have had wine-infused chocolate before in Izzy's Umeshu Chocolate and it works quite well.  I suspect the "hint" means that this pint will be a lot more subtle than that, but I'll the "vermouth" tag to the flavor anyways just to be fun.

OK, on to the pint!  Unscrewing the lid, the gelato has a deep brown flavor expected of chocolate.  It's not super dark like some "dark chocolate" implementations.  I often wonder about the use of the work 'dark' in ice creams.  In a sorbet, you can have a very dark-colored chocolate which has no dairy, but ice creams contain milk and cream by definition.  I imagine that they are just trying to say that it will be chocolatey-er than the usual chocolate ice cream.  I see some tiny ice crystals on top, but that is only because talenti pints have a gap of air on the top.  Don't worry, these are small and only on the surface (none whatsoever underneath).  Digging in, the gelato has a good chocolate flavor.  It does have a slightly different flavor than most chocolates.  Most chocolate bases either taste like hot cocoa or a chocolate bar.  The finish (aftertaste) here is different.  I don't know the flavor of vermouth well enough to know if that is what it is but that could be it.  Then there are chocolate chips in the mix here as well.  It is not overly dense with chips as some of the "chip" flavors are, but there are usually one or two in every spoonful.

This is a solid chocolate chocolate chip pint from Talenti.  If you are a Talenti fan and just want chocolate, then this will satisfy you.  There are chocolate chips in here, so if you need a clean pint with no mix-ins -- my niece says plain chocolate is the best for making shakes -- then you need to look for a different implementation, but personally I like the presence of chips.