Hmm, which to have first?

Twice the Vice, a chocolate company that just started last year in Santa Monica, has got my number. Belgian chocolates with a rich chocolate ganache infused with high-end liquor. Yes and oh yes! They’ve been touted by UrbanDaddy and Food Republic as the box of chocolates for men of taste but I say they work just fine for cocktail geeks of the female persuasion as well.

Dude chocolates.

For serious, browse the selection online: single-malt, Kentucky bourbon, fine tequila or go for an assorted box of top-shelf spirits or classic cocktails.

There’s even a special collection for Big Lebowski fans: the Helluva Caucasian collection with White Russian Chocolates and artwork from BL Fest artist Bill Green.

But before you get all giddy and place your order, keep in mind that due to the extreme booziness of the chocolates, it’s currently illegal in 42 states! So only the following states can (legally) get ‘em: Arizona, California (yay!), Colorado, Hawaii, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri and Washington. But owner Craig Boreth says, “They have about as much alcohol by volume as a strong beer.  So, you’d probably suffer cocoa-butter induced seizures before getting a buzz.”

After scoring boxes of the Top-Shelf and Helluva Caucasian collections to sample, I’d say they’re almost worth getting in trouble for, especially that White Russian which makes me crave the real thing. But don’t take my word for it, I shared the chocolates with my co-workers, Mattatouille and my bf to get varying opinions on them as well.

Here are some soundbites of our taste test with Mark (a bon vivant), Bryn (a foodie mom), Mike (a junior bon vivant), Mattatouile (respected food blogger) and my boyfriend (a man of exceptional taste):

15-Year Glenlivet Scotch

• Mark — “I was expecting some smokiness but it’s not and I like it. It’s like Johnny Walker, the blended Scotch instead of a single malt. Doesn’t have fire.”
• Mattatouille — “Very strong scotch flavor. Not really smokey, more honey but caramelly. If you don’t like scotch I don’t think you’ll like this. If you can’t take alcohol neat. I’d like to have this with the scotch or with coffee.”

White Russian

• Bryn — “The White Russian is good. I like eating the Dude’s face, too. And it’s not super boozy. It’s not bursting me in the face.”
• Mattatouille — “The chocolate’s nice, not too dark. I like it.”
• Bf — “This is good. You get just a little hint of the alcohol burn but just barely. Very tasty. Very accessible.”

El Diamante Reposado Tequila

• Mark — “ACKKK! BLECH! It’s too harsh. It’s got that harshness like orange juice and toothpaste in the morning kind of smack in the face and I like tequila. It doesn’t taste like a smooth tequila. It almost tastes Cuervo-y.”
• Bryn — “It’s got that chemical thing happening to it. It tastes chemicalness.”
• Mike — “Oh yeah. It’s not good at all. It tastes like college. It doesn’t even have an alcohol burn coming down, it has a chemical burn coming down. It burns all the way down.”
• Mattatouille — “Very tequila-y. You can definitely taste that it’s tequila. I would rather have this with tequila than the other ones with scotch and bourbon because I really don’t want to sully them.  “
• Bf — “Tequila isn’t as good as a match to the chocolate.”

10-Year Eagle Rare Bourbon

• Mike — “The bourbon tastes like what you read on the card, it tastes like a 10-year-old bourbon. And the scotch one just seems too smooth to be a 15. It’s so smooth it doesn’t have any of that peatiness or smokiness or bite. It doesn’t have character.”
• Bf — “The bourbon flavor comes out more compared to how the scotch flavor does [in its chocolate]. Has more of the boozy flavor and less of the alcohol burn.”

Conclusion: All the taste testers agreed that they’d gladly pay $28 for a nine-piece box of these chocolates, especially favorites the Big Lebowski-inspired collection and the Eagle Rare bourbon, which actually isn’t available in a box. They do, however, have a Kentucky Bourbon one available which features Elijah Craig 18, Knob Creek 9 and Woodford Reserve Mint Julep. Yum!

All also said they can see enjoying the bourbon and scotch chocolates while sipping the liquid counterparts. As for the chocolate vehicle for the boozy ganache, all agreed it a smooth, rich and high-quality conveyance.