Amazon Hot 'N Sweet Mango Sauce
I got this one as part of a 4 pack, itself something I ordered to basically hit free freight from peppers.com on my last order, figuring if I got one sauce that I liked it, it would be better than paying freight. As it stands, so far I'm thinking I should have just ordered another bottle of Pure Death (reviewed elsewhere in this blog).
This is a sauce listed as mild and I busted it out since I was having Chick Fil-A chicken nuggets. I very quickly abandoned it as it took a fairly good-tasting breading and made it atrocious. I next tried it a few days later on a different chicken dish and later on fish and the taste is simply not good. It's a sour vaguely-mango-ish slightly-vinegary sauce with an hint of what is almost like spoiled habaneros. This is a sauce that detracts from whatever it's put on and the heat is entirely absent. There is literally no reason to use this sauce for anything and so far, the Amazon 4-pack is batting .000. 1 down, 3 to go...
Bottom line: As the conclusion of me posting this review, I'm going to toss this mostly full 3.3 fl. oz. bottle into the trash, which pretty much says it all, I think. In case it doesn't, this is a complete bust.
Breakdown:
Heat level: 0
Flavor: 0
Flexibility: 0
Enjoyment to dollar factor: 0
Overall: 0
Friday, August 23, 2013
Saturday, August 17, 2013
Widow Maker Hot Sauce Review
Dan's Prime Widow Maker Hot Sauce
Saw this one while cruising the aisles of a grocery store I don't typically frequent and while I'm reluctant to throw down $3.50 for anything in a commercial grocery store (but will throw $7 at peppers.com for a same size bottle -- go figure), I decided to give this a whirl. For not typically having carrots in my sauce, I have run across it a lot lately. This is either the 4th or 5th in a row after a dry spell lasting literally years.
Widowmaker. The name confers something usually deadly or at least hazardous. While I would not expect that from any orange hab sauce, I thought maybe this one would be a nice surprise, ala the Habanero Hot Sauce From Hell I recently just finished (reviewed elsewhere in this blog). No such luck here. This is not a particularly bad-tasting sauce, but it frankly doesn't rise above marginal. The vinegar is a bit on the heavy side and while that doesn't usually put me off, the habaneros here are very slight and considerably blunted further by the carrots.
I think part of my irritation at this sauce is the disingenuous nature of it. Widowmaker has a large number of connotations, but none of them that I recall referred to a somewhat bland, pedestrian pepper sauce. The heat here is basically nonexistent. I suppose it is slightly hotter than nothing at all, but the astringency of the vinegar easily dominates any piquancy.
Bottom line: I don't see a future where I would ever buy this again. Even at $3.50/bottle, it is vastly overpriced for what it actually is. I suppose it is better than nothing at all, but only very slightly so.
Breakdown:
Heat level: 1
Flavor: 4
Flexibility: 4
Enjoyment to dollar factor: 0
Overall: 2
Saw this one while cruising the aisles of a grocery store I don't typically frequent and while I'm reluctant to throw down $3.50 for anything in a commercial grocery store (but will throw $7 at peppers.com for a same size bottle -- go figure), I decided to give this a whirl. For not typically having carrots in my sauce, I have run across it a lot lately. This is either the 4th or 5th in a row after a dry spell lasting literally years.
Widowmaker. The name confers something usually deadly or at least hazardous. While I would not expect that from any orange hab sauce, I thought maybe this one would be a nice surprise, ala the Habanero Hot Sauce From Hell I recently just finished (reviewed elsewhere in this blog). No such luck here. This is not a particularly bad-tasting sauce, but it frankly doesn't rise above marginal. The vinegar is a bit on the heavy side and while that doesn't usually put me off, the habaneros here are very slight and considerably blunted further by the carrots.
I think part of my irritation at this sauce is the disingenuous nature of it. Widowmaker has a large number of connotations, but none of them that I recall referred to a somewhat bland, pedestrian pepper sauce. The heat here is basically nonexistent. I suppose it is slightly hotter than nothing at all, but the astringency of the vinegar easily dominates any piquancy.
Bottom line: I don't see a future where I would ever buy this again. Even at $3.50/bottle, it is vastly overpriced for what it actually is. I suppose it is better than nothing at all, but only very slightly so.
Breakdown:
Heat level: 1
Flavor: 4
Flexibility: 4
Enjoyment to dollar factor: 0
Overall: 2
Zaaschila Habanero Hot Sauce Review
Zaaschila Habanero Hot Sauce
If you're like me, if you happen to be shopping at a place that has food, inevitably you'll hit the clearance rack or perhaps make it a point, which would be more like me. Case in point, this little gem, which I found at Wal-Mart for a buck. A buck for a new and untried hot sauce adventure is nearly always a gamble I'll take and though this one was not any great shakes, I've also had a lot worse.
This is another, like the Panola I reviewed here earlier, that I'm leaning towards calling Louisiana-by-way-of-Mexico style sauces in that they rely heavily on vinegar, but instead of using peppers like Cayenne or Tabasco, they're using orange habanero. Orange habanero, as well we know, has a very distinctive taste and they mostly just let it go here. There's a good amount of water, to thin things out beyond the vinegar and some carrots, to smooth out the harshness of those orange habs, but there's no mistaking what you're eating.
Despite this being the hottest in Zaaschila's line, there is nothing to give any chilehead worry or even the slightest of pause. This is relatively tame, around the level of El Yucateco Green (also reviewed elsewhere in this blog) but nowhere near that great flavor. It seems to work acceptably, again, not great and not bad, on a variety of foods, but it's not a sauce that will take a day-in, day-out pounding, like one would need in a go-to sauce. This is more like a "ok pick up at the clearance rack" type sauce. Nice to have on hand, but nothing world shattering if not and if you have something better in your refrigerator door, odds are you'll be reaching for it.
Bottom line: Yet another in an increasingly long line of "will do in a pinch" sauces. If it had slightly more heat, it would be basically an across the board average to slightly above average sauce. As it is, it's not anything I will be looking to replace when I run out. I'll enjoy it moderately while it's here and when it's gone, it's gone.
Breakdown:
Heat level: 2
Flavor: 5
Flexibility: 7
Enjoyment to dollar factor: 7
Overall: 5
If you're like me, if you happen to be shopping at a place that has food, inevitably you'll hit the clearance rack or perhaps make it a point, which would be more like me. Case in point, this little gem, which I found at Wal-Mart for a buck. A buck for a new and untried hot sauce adventure is nearly always a gamble I'll take and though this one was not any great shakes, I've also had a lot worse.This is another, like the Panola I reviewed here earlier, that I'm leaning towards calling Louisiana-by-way-of-Mexico style sauces in that they rely heavily on vinegar, but instead of using peppers like Cayenne or Tabasco, they're using orange habanero. Orange habanero, as well we know, has a very distinctive taste and they mostly just let it go here. There's a good amount of water, to thin things out beyond the vinegar and some carrots, to smooth out the harshness of those orange habs, but there's no mistaking what you're eating.
Despite this being the hottest in Zaaschila's line, there is nothing to give any chilehead worry or even the slightest of pause. This is relatively tame, around the level of El Yucateco Green (also reviewed elsewhere in this blog) but nowhere near that great flavor. It seems to work acceptably, again, not great and not bad, on a variety of foods, but it's not a sauce that will take a day-in, day-out pounding, like one would need in a go-to sauce. This is more like a "ok pick up at the clearance rack" type sauce. Nice to have on hand, but nothing world shattering if not and if you have something better in your refrigerator door, odds are you'll be reaching for it.
Bottom line: Yet another in an increasingly long line of "will do in a pinch" sauces. If it had slightly more heat, it would be basically an across the board average to slightly above average sauce. As it is, it's not anything I will be looking to replace when I run out. I'll enjoy it moderately while it's here and when it's gone, it's gone.
Breakdown:
Heat level: 2
Flavor: 5
Flexibility: 7
Enjoyment to dollar factor: 7
Overall: 5
Saturday, August 10, 2013
Bad Brains Fire Burn Babylon Hot Sauce Review
Heartbreaking Dawn's Bad Brains Fire Burn Babylon Hot Sauce
This is a sauce of firsts for me, first sauce I've had with the Scotch Bonnet pepper (I think the only major one yet I haven't hit is the 7-Pot) and first from Heartbreaking Dawn. This is another of the so-called "celebrity" sauces, this one from punk legends Bad Brains and it's designed to be a sort of Jamaican-type sauce.
Combining several elements as diverse as papaya (which is not one of my most-liked fruits) and dry mustard, the flavor concoction here is short of mind-blowing. I may as well just come right out and say it -- this is far and away the best fruit-based sauce I've ever had. The balance of the vinegar and Scotch Bonnets and mustard is done so amazingly skillfully that it's never sweet or cloying and all of the flavors are there, somehow, front and center and distinguishable. I'd say that is a major, major accomplishment.
Much like the Pure Death (reviewed elsewhere in this blog), this is such a good tasting sauce that it can be put on nearly anything (I'd say skip the milk and cereal) and it will positively enhance the flavor. It is also subtle and unlike the Pure Death, does not override the flavors as much as mesh with them. Also unlike Pure Death, this has very little heat, which is the only real downside here. The score of 2 I'm giving it is very generous...
Bottom line: Easily the best fruit-based sauce I've had, it has redeemed the papaya and fruit-based sauces in general for me. This is a sauce that is borderline drinkable and were it to have some decent modicum of heat, would be a strong contender to knock the current runaway favorite for sauce of the year in 2013, Pure Death, off its perch.
Breakdown:
Heat level: 2
Flavor: 9
Flexibility: 10
Enjoyment to dollar factor: 9
Overall: 8
This is a sauce of firsts for me, first sauce I've had with the Scotch Bonnet pepper (I think the only major one yet I haven't hit is the 7-Pot) and first from Heartbreaking Dawn. This is another of the so-called "celebrity" sauces, this one from punk legends Bad Brains and it's designed to be a sort of Jamaican-type sauce.
Combining several elements as diverse as papaya (which is not one of my most-liked fruits) and dry mustard, the flavor concoction here is short of mind-blowing. I may as well just come right out and say it -- this is far and away the best fruit-based sauce I've ever had. The balance of the vinegar and Scotch Bonnets and mustard is done so amazingly skillfully that it's never sweet or cloying and all of the flavors are there, somehow, front and center and distinguishable. I'd say that is a major, major accomplishment.
Much like the Pure Death (reviewed elsewhere in this blog), this is such a good tasting sauce that it can be put on nearly anything (I'd say skip the milk and cereal) and it will positively enhance the flavor. It is also subtle and unlike the Pure Death, does not override the flavors as much as mesh with them. Also unlike Pure Death, this has very little heat, which is the only real downside here. The score of 2 I'm giving it is very generous...
Bottom line: Easily the best fruit-based sauce I've had, it has redeemed the papaya and fruit-based sauces in general for me. This is a sauce that is borderline drinkable and were it to have some decent modicum of heat, would be a strong contender to knock the current runaway favorite for sauce of the year in 2013, Pure Death, off its perch.
Breakdown:
Heat level: 2
Flavor: 9
Flexibility: 10
Enjoyment to dollar factor: 9
Overall: 8
Friday, August 2, 2013
Sudden Death Hot Sauce Review
Blair's Sudden Death Hot Sauce
I had a list of all of the Blair's sauces I wanted to try because I think he's a very gifted sauce chef. I may not be in love with the majority of what he has done and for bringing extract to the fore as much as he has done, but I recognize and admire his skill and when he nails it, such as on the Pure Death (reviewed elsewhere here), he is nearly untouchable.
Not so much with Sudden Death. In fact, Sudden Death is what I call a "damn shame" sauce. I like the packaging and the coffin bit and so on, but when I opened the bottle, the contents had very clearly separated. I find that annoying, but not too big of a problem (most of the Wicked Cactus products need to be agitated basically before every pour), but it was off to a bad start. I tried the taste solo, a bit more than the suggested "microdrop" and found the flavor to be very intriguing. I liked where he was going for the 1.5 seconds before the extract hammer hit. I pressed on, though, undaunted, trying to get a handle on the flavor and here is the biggest fault of this sauce. There is a very good-tasting and flavorful sauce buried in there...somewhere, which is difficult to get in the smaller amounts, but increasing the dose just means you will be subject to a gigantic extract hit.
Rinse, wash, repeat.
When I saw extract (as pepper resin) in the ingredients (not sure how I missed it when I ordered), I figured I would probably be giving this one away, since the Stronger Than Death Berzerker sauce turned me completely off extract. I tried it anyway, just out of curiosity and will probably give it another shot or two, but the sauce, while good until the extract kicks in (not very long) is absolutely nasty once it does. After 3 or 4 bites, my thought was that I don't need to do this and I stopped shortly after that.
The heat, as might be expected, is up there quite a bit. I think this is Blair's 3 hottest Death sauce. I saw somewhere it was rated at 105K SHU and I don't doubt it. This is the hottest sauce I can remember purchasing (this puts me over the 100K mark) and the heat is pretty much immediate. It wasn't hot enough to make me hiccup -- not found anything that does that yet...should be an interesting effect if I ever do, but the heat is not really the issue here. It is the disgusting taste of extract.
Bottom line: I would keep this site around for drunken challenges at parties (parties that I no longer throw and haven't for years) and that's about it. I wouldn't purposely consume it, aside from curiosity (satisfied now) and to continue testing it until I get the chance to pass it on to someone else who may enjoy it more. It's too bad the extract is so forceful. The small part I was able to taste before that hit was pretty enjoyable, just not enough to endure the extract. I'm hopeful this will be the last sauce using extract I ever buy.
Breakdown:
Heat level: 8
Flavor: 1
Flexibility: 0
Enjoyment to dollar factor: 0
Overall: 2
I had a list of all of the Blair's sauces I wanted to try because I think he's a very gifted sauce chef. I may not be in love with the majority of what he has done and for bringing extract to the fore as much as he has done, but I recognize and admire his skill and when he nails it, such as on the Pure Death (reviewed elsewhere here), he is nearly untouchable.
Not so much with Sudden Death. In fact, Sudden Death is what I call a "damn shame" sauce. I like the packaging and the coffin bit and so on, but when I opened the bottle, the contents had very clearly separated. I find that annoying, but not too big of a problem (most of the Wicked Cactus products need to be agitated basically before every pour), but it was off to a bad start. I tried the taste solo, a bit more than the suggested "microdrop" and found the flavor to be very intriguing. I liked where he was going for the 1.5 seconds before the extract hammer hit. I pressed on, though, undaunted, trying to get a handle on the flavor and here is the biggest fault of this sauce. There is a very good-tasting and flavorful sauce buried in there...somewhere, which is difficult to get in the smaller amounts, but increasing the dose just means you will be subject to a gigantic extract hit.
Rinse, wash, repeat.
When I saw extract (as pepper resin) in the ingredients (not sure how I missed it when I ordered), I figured I would probably be giving this one away, since the Stronger Than Death Berzerker sauce turned me completely off extract. I tried it anyway, just out of curiosity and will probably give it another shot or two, but the sauce, while good until the extract kicks in (not very long) is absolutely nasty once it does. After 3 or 4 bites, my thought was that I don't need to do this and I stopped shortly after that.
The heat, as might be expected, is up there quite a bit. I think this is Blair's 3 hottest Death sauce. I saw somewhere it was rated at 105K SHU and I don't doubt it. This is the hottest sauce I can remember purchasing (this puts me over the 100K mark) and the heat is pretty much immediate. It wasn't hot enough to make me hiccup -- not found anything that does that yet...should be an interesting effect if I ever do, but the heat is not really the issue here. It is the disgusting taste of extract.
Bottom line: I would keep this site around for drunken challenges at parties (parties that I no longer throw and haven't for years) and that's about it. I wouldn't purposely consume it, aside from curiosity (satisfied now) and to continue testing it until I get the chance to pass it on to someone else who may enjoy it more. It's too bad the extract is so forceful. The small part I was able to taste before that hit was pretty enjoyable, just not enough to endure the extract. I'm hopeful this will be the last sauce using extract I ever buy.
Breakdown:
Heat level: 8
Flavor: 1
Flexibility: 0
Enjoyment to dollar factor: 0
Overall: 2
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