Review: Fazer Kismet Lakritsi (licorice)

I've been trying to find this new variaton of the Kismet chocolate bar since Fazer launched it a while back, but it was only now that it had arrived in the grocery stores here.

To be honest, Kismet was never one of my favourite chocolate bars. It's not that I dislike it – I do enjoy a bit now and then – it's simply that there's too much wafer and not enough chocolate for my taste. However, Kismet was present during a very special moment in my life... over seven years ago now, I took a pregnancy test, it was positive – not exactly a huge surprise, but my DH and I were overjoyed. And terrified. And happy. And bewildered. It called for immeditate celebration. We just happened to have some Kismet bars, and it seemed fitting... you know. Kismet. Fate. Destiny.

Anyway. Kismet has been around for what seems like a long time. Several years passed without me buying any, but then Fazer came up with the brilliant idea of introducing new flavour variations. That, of course, caught my attention! Well, I like trying new things. I'm adventurous! (Okay, at least when it comes to chocolate and books.)

My favourite was raspberry cheesecake which, unfortunately, is no longer available... but hey, licorice and chocolate combination sounded interesting! After all, I do like licorice (not nearly as much as chocolate, though), but it must be the “proper” kind: soft, sticky, intensely licori-cy... like this:

And finally on to the chocolate! The wrapping is a modified version of the traditional Kismet wrapping. Different colours, same font – easily recognisable. The scent is tempting: mild milk chocolate and intense, darker licorice. Very promising! The wafer pieces are covered in milk chocolate. When you bite into one, you find wafer layers alternating with licorice filling. The wafer is cripsy, the chocolate is tasty, and the licorice gives the whole thing an interesting twist. It's slightly salty and adds a bit of character to the combination of mellow milk chocolate and fairly flavourless wafer. I expected a stronger presence from the licorice, but it remains a little weak. Then again, it is an intense flavour and might easily dominate the more delicate chocolate.

This is a very interesting addition to the Kismet family. So far, I've preferred the mint version called “Marianne”, but licorice might well become my new favourite.