Awards for Best Caramels of 2022 Announced by the International Chocolate Salon

We are proud to present the results of the 2022 CARAMEL AWARDS Competition.

The International Chocolate Salon Awards for the 2022 CARAMEL AWARDS are based on the combined total number of votes received by each entrant from the Judging Panel.

The Judging Panel consists of National and Regional Magazines, Newspaper and Blog Editors, plus Topic Experts, Local Chefs and Food Gurus.

The award winners below have the honor of being able to display and use the Official Award Winner title and award logos, as well as use items (such as the Award Winner lapel pin), as well as use Custom Award Certificates, and logo award merchandise.

Panache Chocolatier Fall Spice Caramel
Delysia Chocolatier Deconstructed Sweets: Cheesecake, Toffee, Spiced Muffin, Spiced Dulce de Leche
Sonoma Chocolatiers London Fog Caramel/truffle
Sonoma Chocolatiers Hot Buttered Rum Caramel
Panache Chocolatier Lavender Bourbon Caramel
Sonoma Chocolatiers Tea Time Caramel/truffle
Dolce Lusso Confections Smoked Tea Caramel
Dolce Lusso Confections Pumpkin Spice Caramel
Kansas City Caramels Proper Caramel
Dolce Lusso Confections Honey & Cardamom Caramel
Stella's Confectionery Stella's Sea Salt Caramel
Virtuoso Confections Salted Espresso Caramel Bar
Virtuoso Confections Single Malt Scotch Caramel Bar
Virtuoso Confections Gingerbread Caramel Bar

JUDGES' FAVORITES

Although I rarely seek out licorice, I thought Carson's Danish Salty Licorice Caramel was excellent -- complex licorice flavoring perfectly enhanced by sweet saltiness. My most favorite was Stella's (dark and light) chocolate-enrobed Sea Salt Caramel.
Dolce Honey Cardamom
The Kansas City Cherry Almond Carmel
My Favorite: Sonoma Chocolatiers' London Fog was amazing. Took me to the Big Smoke! Totally unique flavor.But tied with:Panache's Lavender Bourbon..Actual pieces of lavender in the ganache..and with a strong bourbon flavor. Exceptional.Delysia's deconstructed sweets are amazing and should be savored. Layer upon layer of flavors.CocoTutti's chocolate blood orange truffle made wit their own blood orange jam was inspired. Clean, rich, & delicious.
Kokak's Tropical Caramel Chocolate Truffle collection carried me away to tropical beaches. Loved the banana!

Kansas City Cold Brew Caramels was a wake-up morning brew! Fabulous.
Tie:
Aldi dark chocolate sea salt
CocoTutti Chocolates Cappuchino Expresso Hazelnut
CocoTutti Espresso Caramel with Roasted Hazelnuts--very nice, especially as a holiday gift. The gift-giver will be surely loved!
Brigadeiro Passion Fruit 💙
This was a tough choice with so many excellent caramels, but Virtuoso Confections' Gingerbread Caramel Bar made the most lasting impression on me.
Kansas City Caramels Cherry Almond started with a good buttery caramel, then added cherry purée and crunchy roasted almonds to make a caramel that tasted like cherry pie
My personal favorite was Dolce Lusso's Honey & Cardamom Caramel — because I love both honey and cardamom and they are too seldom used in candy-making. Another personal favorite is Panache Fall Spice Caramel, for being a unique and improved take on the "fall spice" concept — with the fun additions of orange peel and amaretto.
Kokak.
Tie - Sonoma Chocolatiers London Fog Caramel/truffle, Kansas City Caramels Cherry Almond Caramel

JUDGES' COMMENTS

Some caramels can be too sticky and gluey, perhaps from the addition of corn syrup or invert sugar syrup, while others have gummy texture from thickeners like carrageenan. To my taste, the best caramels taste of quality basic ingredients: butter, cane sugar, and cream.
Coco Tuti Chocolate Blood Orange The Orange was exquisite and was with a standout and a great combination.
Delysia is almost always makes me want more. The gold chocolate cookie dough melted in my mouth. This truffle like caramel is a favorite of mine.
Carson's peppermint was a delightful change of pace.
The Kansas City Almond Cherry successfully brought together three important flavors, chocolate, cherry and almond and made me want more.
Kokak - The tropical flavors were outstanding.Difficult to say which was best.
Kwoka the orange flavor had such a delicious and powerful punch.
The Panache lavender bourbon was a pleasure to look at and evermore of a pleasure to east.
Sonoma Chocolatiers the London Fog conjured up a clarity of flavors that were not lost in the fog.
The artistic design of the Team Tine was quite imaginative and clever.
Panache Lavender Bourbon was unique..Actual pieces of lavender in the ganache..and with a strong bourbon flavor. Exceptional.
Sonoma Chocolatiers London Fog was amazing. Took me to the Big Smoke!
Delysia's deconstructed sweets are amazing and should be savored. Layer upon layer of flavors.
CocoTutti's chocolate blood orange truffle made wit their own blood orange jams was inspired. Clean, rich, & delicious.
Kokak's Tropical Caramel Chocolate Truffle collection carried me away to tropical beaches. Loved the banana!
Kansas City Cold Brew Caramels was a wake-up morning brew! Fabulous."
Basically caramels infused with coffee/expresso and alcohol fared better than those infused with fruit in my humble opinion
Delysia makes a huge leap forward with Flavor Evolution collection. Great selection of spicy chocolates, soft, flavorful, and sweet, which only makes the spice shine brighter!
Chocolate = Happiness 💙
Love all the citrus + fruit flavor profile combinations… yummy! "
Because caramels are such a familiar confection, really good ingredients and carefully balanced flavors are essential to make something exceptional/noteworthy.
Panache, Delysia, Kokak and Kwoka: Opaque packaging means that the customer cannot view the product inside. This might negatively impact sales, as people like to see what they're buying.
ALDI Inc. Choceur Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramels, soft bite, coarse salt garnish gives a but hit of salt first, caramel is balanced and tender, a winner;
Amazing Caramel Company Espresso, far too soft, sticks to paper, balanced buttery, good intensity;
Carson’s Caramels Danish Salty Licorice, firm bite, odd purple color, nuanced licorice flavors, could be less sweet, fights a bit with the salt. Packaging is sustainable, less plastic, paper;
Carson’s Caramels Peppermint, firm bite, overt peppermint, more like salt water taffy;
CocoTutti Chocolates Cappuccino Hazelnut Caramel, Med bite, excellent combo of espresso and dark chocolate, quite intense;
Delysia Chocolatier Deconstructed Sweets: Cheesecake, Toffee, Spiced Muffin, Spiced Dulce de Leche, tender bite, complex, intense, beautiful but rather similar tasting across the board;
Dolce Lusso Confections Honey & Cardamom Caramel,very soft bite, sticky, delicate, balanced flavors, nice combination of honey and cardamom, reminds me of Indian sweets;
Dolce Lusso Confections Smoked Tea Caramel, tender bite, lapsang souchong tea is delicious, smoky, resinous and peppery, bests the peaty scotch caramel for complexity and nuance;
Kansas City Caramels Cherry Almond Caramel, tender bite, fabulous combination of flavors and textures, good intensity and balance, like a classic dessert;
Kansas City Caramels Cold Brew Coffee Caramel, firm bite, more subdued in flavor, buttery, medium sweet finish;
Kansas City Caramels Proper Caramel, firm bite, classic, buttery balanced, hits the mark;
Panache Chocolatier Lavender Bourbon Caramel, soft bite, lavendar aromas, you can really taste the bourbon here, could be even better w darker chocolate;
Sonoma Chocolatiers Tea Time Caramel/truffle, Charming combination, cookie base works well, ideal as a tea time bite looks a but like an acorn;
Stella's Confectionery Stella's Sea Salt Caramel, soft bite, really buttery, the most buttery of the lot, caramelized, doesn't stick, balanced;
Toute Douceur Candy Lavender Caramels dipped in Ruby Chocolate, soft bite, soapy tasting, coating cracks, odd color, nothing tropical about this, has a linalool aftertaste;
Virtuoso Confections Salted Espresso Caramel Bar, firm bite, good balance of espresso to sweet, spot on;