UPDATE: Video support now available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRCwpMQBFxc
One of the things I was very gratified to see this year was a holiday pricing community throwdown by the sauce manufacturers towards the sauce eaters: you and me and everyone else we can rope into our unique brand of madness. Because I can't trust any of my immediate local vendors (more on that in the archives), when CaJohn got in on this, I was all about it come Cyber Monday.
I got a good haul overall, adding further to my tally of the Bourbon-Infused sauce, which is my go-to grilling sauce. I also some some new ones I wanted to try, including last week's Sancto Scorpio and this week's Happy Beaver. Much like the Bourbon-Infused sauce, this was an instant love.
The bottle I got from the sale, in fact, struck me so hard that I instantly got online to try out Peppers.com. I'd been meaning to try an online sauce vendor and asked the ever-fantastic Scott Roberts for advice. That was one of the sites he commended and so I clicked the dials for 3 more bottles because this is something I must have on hand.
I'm a huge fan of sweet-hot, always have been. One of the things I disliked somewhat about the Bourbon-Infused was how runny it was. Imagine my delight when I had this nice thick, almost ketchupy substance. Gone was the bourbon overtones, but in its place was this fantastic consistency. The first bottle I got from Peppers, though, is much more liquidy...maybe not quite as watery as the Bourbon-Infused, but much less ketchupy. Taste is still there, though, so I chalk the inconsistency up to the eccentricities of buying from small batch hot sauce manufacturers.
The taste here is the Bhut Jolokia instead of Red Savina Habaneros and minus the bourbon. The vinegar is also much less prominent. We still have a similarity of sauces, to a degree, but in the case of Happy Beaver, we have slightly more heat, slightly less complexity and the somewhat flowery tones of the Bhut, which are blended spectacularly with the smoky chipotles. As thick as it is and as tasty as it is, this could easily (and has been) used as a dipping sauce, a task I must say the Bourbon-Infused is inadequate for. Heat is in the same range, somewhat less than the Sancto Scorpio. I'd figure high 30Ks, maybe low 40s. Like the Sancto Scorpio, it stays at a relatively and pleasant heat level, but unlike that sauce, it goes there nearly immediately.
Like the Bourbon-Infused, this will not go with everything. I had it on pizza, one of the foods I consider an easy test for nearly any sauce and found myself wishing I had pepper flakes instead. Yet, put this thing on burgers or an Arby's Triple Cheese Bacon sandwich (especially the Angus) or with chicken or seafood and watch this thing shine. I imagine it would work well on the grill also and given that I have enough bottles (hopefully) to last, I will probably give that a whack next year also.
I hate to mention this, since labels mean very little to me, but some of the copy on this one bothered me. To wit, I quote: "...it has been tamed for the less adventurous." It follows that by saying it is not for the novice but something an experienced chilehead would enjoy. No thanks for the backslap with the "less adventurous" crack and dial up some confusion for the contradiction. Look, I don't need to have my guts burning for hours and hours after I eat something. If I ever do (never will) desire that, I can just take a few drops of extract. I want a great-tasting sauce with some solid heat. Why the manufacturer wants to put in such frankly asinine text as "less adventuresome" (such a combination of adjectives will not help to sell sauce, I wouldn't say) and insult the buyer and consumer of this product is beyond me. I wouldn't normally mention this, but frankly that kind of shit irritates me. If I saw that on the bottle in a store and didn't know what it was, guarantee I would take the same umbrage I do now and buy something else...it's so goddamn unnecessary. As much as it irritates me, it will not, however, stop me from stocking this sauce on my own personal shelves and giving it to friends. For a lesser sauce, at $10/throw for a 5 oz. bottle, I wouldn't buy it again. Word to the wise.
Bottom line: I have made this a new staple, like the Bourbon-Infused. Also, like the Bourbon-Infused, I am giving some away as gifts for the holidays this year. If those two things aren't enough for a ringing endorsement, there is no such thing. Unlike the Bourbon-Infused, this is a lot more flexible, though there will be many instances where this will not be a preferred sauce, Mexican-food coming immediately to mind. Where it does work well, and there are many instances, it works fantastically.
Breakdown:
Heat level: 4
Flavor: 9
Flexibility: 9
Enjoyment to dollar factor: 10
Overall: 9
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