Edinburgh Christmas market 2023: We tried the £10 cherry brandy hot chocolate and the price left a bitter aftertaste

More than 750,000 people have now made a trip to Edinburgh’s Christmas market where they can get into the festive spirit with friends and family as they enjoy food, drink and a range of funfair attractions.

Visitors are spoilt for choice when it comes to eating out at the Princes Street Gardens market, from German sausages and pizzas to crepes and chocolate fountains. There’s also a range of bars and hots drinks stalls to keep guests warm and topped up with mulled wine.

And tucked away in the corner of the market, just beneath the Scott Monument, is a wholesome stall selling ‘speciality’ hot chocolates. The one that caught our eye is the Schwarzwald Kick - a blend of hot chocolate and cherry brandy with whipped cream, chocolate sauce and a Maraschino cherry on top. But the Schwarzwald comes with a hefty price tag, selling at £10.

Working in George Street offices, I am well accustomed to the questionable prices of drinks in the city centre these days. But even when factoring this in and adding a little extra seeing as it’s a seasonal market, £10 for an alcoholic hot chocolate feels at odds with the festive spirit.

I’m no hot chocolate connoisseur, but for that price I would hope for something otherworldly and instead it felt like a rushed cash grab. For a £5 deposit you have your Schwarzwald served in a Christmas mug which maybe makes a world of difference but I suspect not.

The drink was made within 40 seconds and although reasonably presented with the cherry situated on top - the chocolate sauce was absent from mine, something I didn’t notice until afterwards. But the aesthetic appeal quite literally dissolved when the cream quickly melted and the decorative cherry dropped to the bottom of the paper cup, prompting me to turn focus to taste of the £10 drink.

The brandy seemed overpowering, to the point there was next to no taste of hot chocolate, unlike other ‘alcochocs’ (that’s not a phrase) where ingredients like Baileys or Havana complement the chocolate instead of replacing its flavour.

It’s possible I set my expectations too high, but overall the flavour and price of the Schwarzwald Kick left me feeling a bit like the mug you can buy for an additional £5. That being said the staff were friendly and there was a vast selection of other flavours on offer that may have left me feeling sweeter.

We all expect to pay a little bit more for drinks when we go the Christmas markets or other tourist locations but when the Big Wheel, that provides sensational views of the Capital, is priced at £8 provided you have an EH postcode, it’s tricky to find the justification for a £10 hot chocolate.