Sweet of the Week: Mast Brothers Chocolate Collaboration at Shake Shack

I'll always have a soft spot for a good candy bar. Ever since I was a young kid, enrapt with all things Willy Wonka, chocolate bars have been the perfect snack. And they endure for years, because my love for chocolate bars has not abated. In fact, as someone who generally isn't that crazy for chocolate, candy bars are really the primary chocolate iteration that I actually crave and lust over on a regular basis. I've been known to scarf Snickers every so often, so I'm clearly not opposed to dirt-cheap convenience store fodder, but I certainly appreciate when a company comes along to elevate the snack template. Case in point: the new chocolate bar collaboration between Mast Brothers and Shake Shack. 

 

The new Mast Brothers Buttermilk Chocolate Bar, courtesy of the namesake world-renowned New York chocolatiers, is a brand new collaboration with Shake Shack. The burger and fry juggernaut is always looking to up the ante on its comfort food menu, and its dessert selections are an apt way to do just that on a routine basis. The new chocolate bar was designed to enhance Shake Shack's frozen custards, chopped up and woven throughout to lend some crunch, or they can be eaten as is right from the wrapper. The latter is my preferred method of consumption, given how it enables the flavors to really shine. Now available at Shake Shack locations in Chicago, the chocolate bar is heady and decadent, each bite permeated with notes of vanilla, malt, and stone fruit. I even detect darker, savory aromas of coffee and red wine. It's certainly not the chocolate bars of my convenience store youth; rather, it's a handy upgrade of a childhood passion that has steadily evolved with age and time. 

- Matt Kirouac