Saturday, March 29, 2014
Happy Sippin' Companion is live
Just a short note for anyone out there that may be following and cares about this, but due to the demise of the site for which I was doing my wine blog, the Happy Sippin' Companion, I've elected to take it a temporary home here: d-dubhsc.blogspot.com. I'd invite you to go and check it out if you're at all interested in a building a wine list with entries that are available, for the most part, at under $20 a bottle.
Maui Pepper Smokin' Mango Hot Sauce Review
Maui Pepper Co. Smokin' Mango Hot Sauce
This is ostensibly supposed to be a smoked version of the Mango Meltdown (review elsewhere in this blog) from this same company and this is accomplished by adding Chipotle peppers. Now, the problem with doing such a thing is you start with a fairly mild tasting fruit, in this case those aforementioned mangoes and then add in a much stronger tasting substance, that being the Chipotle peppers and you pretty much drown out a lot of the subtleties and nuances of the prior sauce, which is what happens here.
That being said, this is not a bad sauce. Enough remains of both the nice bit of sweetness, a touch of the fruitiness and the lovely back heat of the Habaneros, along with the smokiness and front heat of the Chipotles to create something more than a full-on smoked pepper blast. The Chipotle is unquestionably the dominant flavor, however. Heat level is around the same as the Mango Meltdown and uses are about the same.
Bottom line: Given that I really enjoyed the subtleties and complexities of the earlier sauce, it was kind of a shame to see the Chipotle wrecking ball come in to the extent it does here. With Chipotle, a little goes a long way. This is perhaps over a little...
Breakdown:
Heat level: 3
Flavor: 6
Flexibility: 7
Enjoyment to dollar factor: 6
Overall: 6
This is ostensibly supposed to be a smoked version of the Mango Meltdown (review elsewhere in this blog) from this same company and this is accomplished by adding Chipotle peppers. Now, the problem with doing such a thing is you start with a fairly mild tasting fruit, in this case those aforementioned mangoes and then add in a much stronger tasting substance, that being the Chipotle peppers and you pretty much drown out a lot of the subtleties and nuances of the prior sauce, which is what happens here.That being said, this is not a bad sauce. Enough remains of both the nice bit of sweetness, a touch of the fruitiness and the lovely back heat of the Habaneros, along with the smokiness and front heat of the Chipotles to create something more than a full-on smoked pepper blast. The Chipotle is unquestionably the dominant flavor, however. Heat level is around the same as the Mango Meltdown and uses are about the same.
Bottom line: Given that I really enjoyed the subtleties and complexities of the earlier sauce, it was kind of a shame to see the Chipotle wrecking ball come in to the extent it does here. With Chipotle, a little goes a long way. This is perhaps over a little...
Breakdown:
Heat level: 3
Flavor: 6
Flexibility: 7
Enjoyment to dollar factor: 6
Overall: 6
Sunday, March 9, 2014
Bell River Caribbean Hot Sauce Review
Bell River Brand Caribbean Hot Sauce
Bell River appears to be a division of Heartbreaking Dawn. That particular company is probably on the radar of most discriminating chileheads and has been on mine for a while, not least because of its intriguing naming system of using years for the sauce, as well as the descriptive nature of adding descriptors in the form of nicknames, i.e. "Cauterizer", for the different variations. They've made a great name for themselves and they're on my radar, but due to either an unfortunate lust of theirs for using onions in everything or an unfortunate reaction with my own chemistry that reacts negatively and forcefully to onions, I have not seen a product of theirs I've been able to pull the trigger on. With them creating the product line for this entry from Bell River, that has now been rectified.
Using the word "Caribbean" with things lends the mind to a certain direction, which is perhaps best culminated and most renowned in the Jamaican "jerk" seasoning profile, though when I picked this up, I didn't really expect that. It looked in the bottle more like a Louisiana-style sauce to me, just with a lot of other additions. In several respects, that is true. There are at least over 20 listed ingredients to this, including orange and red Habaneros and Datil peppers, though there are probably 10 ingredients that come before the peppers. One might think this would be a not particularly piquant sauce, but one would only be half-right there.
This is certainly no full-throttled SHU rager or anything, but there is plenty there to add a decent amount of punch to things. I also rarely say this, but given the thinness of this sauce, I would have preferred a dropper cap here, as this stuff is definitely right along the lines of Louisiana-style sauce in flavor as well. There are no Cayennes or Tabascos to be found and it doesn't have that nice bit of zing, that tangy harshness that most Louisiana-styles sauces have. Instead, it is a fuller, rounder, smoother, much more complex and slightly sweeter version, which goes a long way towards fulfilling the promise of using the word "Caribbean" as a descriptor. Usage, however, is primarily the same as a Louisiana-style sauce and this works best as a substitute for an existing sauce type, not necessarily a new style all its own.
Bottom line: This is a very tasty sauce and at $5 a bottle, dollar for dollar, one of the best values out there. I don't know that I would use it to replace any of my existing Louisiana-style sauces, particularly if I happen to want a punch in the mouth with my food, but I would definitely not shy away from it, either, inconvenience of no dropper cap aside. I could see myself getting another bottle of this, depending on what else was available.
Breakdown:
Heat level: 4
Flavor: 9
Flexibility: 7
Enjoyment to dollar factor: 9
Overall: 7
Bell River appears to be a division of Heartbreaking Dawn. That particular company is probably on the radar of most discriminating chileheads and has been on mine for a while, not least because of its intriguing naming system of using years for the sauce, as well as the descriptive nature of adding descriptors in the form of nicknames, i.e. "Cauterizer", for the different variations. They've made a great name for themselves and they're on my radar, but due to either an unfortunate lust of theirs for using onions in everything or an unfortunate reaction with my own chemistry that reacts negatively and forcefully to onions, I have not seen a product of theirs I've been able to pull the trigger on. With them creating the product line for this entry from Bell River, that has now been rectified.
Using the word "Caribbean" with things lends the mind to a certain direction, which is perhaps best culminated and most renowned in the Jamaican "jerk" seasoning profile, though when I picked this up, I didn't really expect that. It looked in the bottle more like a Louisiana-style sauce to me, just with a lot of other additions. In several respects, that is true. There are at least over 20 listed ingredients to this, including orange and red Habaneros and Datil peppers, though there are probably 10 ingredients that come before the peppers. One might think this would be a not particularly piquant sauce, but one would only be half-right there.
This is certainly no full-throttled SHU rager or anything, but there is plenty there to add a decent amount of punch to things. I also rarely say this, but given the thinness of this sauce, I would have preferred a dropper cap here, as this stuff is definitely right along the lines of Louisiana-style sauce in flavor as well. There are no Cayennes or Tabascos to be found and it doesn't have that nice bit of zing, that tangy harshness that most Louisiana-styles sauces have. Instead, it is a fuller, rounder, smoother, much more complex and slightly sweeter version, which goes a long way towards fulfilling the promise of using the word "Caribbean" as a descriptor. Usage, however, is primarily the same as a Louisiana-style sauce and this works best as a substitute for an existing sauce type, not necessarily a new style all its own.
Bottom line: This is a very tasty sauce and at $5 a bottle, dollar for dollar, one of the best values out there. I don't know that I would use it to replace any of my existing Louisiana-style sauces, particularly if I happen to want a punch in the mouth with my food, but I would definitely not shy away from it, either, inconvenience of no dropper cap aside. I could see myself getting another bottle of this, depending on what else was available.
Breakdown:
Heat level: 4
Flavor: 9
Flexibility: 7
Enjoyment to dollar factor: 9
Overall: 7
Saturday, March 1, 2014
Maui Pepper Mango Meltdown Hot Sauce Review
Maui Pepper Co. Mango Meltdown Hot Sauce
Note: Support video available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGbDvmRyqlQ
After a prolonged layoff from the fruit-based sauces, I finally came around back to them on the last shopping trip, picking up a 3 pack from the Maui Pepper Company, all of which largely featured Habanero peppers. Habanero and Mango has sounded conceptually like a very winning combination, but the reality repeatedly has been a letdown, to the point where I just gave up. I wasn't really looking at getting back to any of the fruit sauces and considered all of them a wash...until now.
In this, we finally have someone who has figured out what degree of ripeness in which to use the mangos, so we have a solid base that is neither too sweet nor too sour, but right in the hot zone, where it is a perfect combination of them both, maybe even erring a bit on the sweeter side so that when the vinegar is added, it will cut it down nicely to that perfect level. Now, I may be embellishing a bit, as there are additional sweeteners, but whatever the formula, the effect is excellent. This is one of the more well-made sauces out there.
All of that would be nice, but you'd still have a sort of runny jelly were it not for the heat. Now, this isn't packing a ton of heat, by any means, but there is enough back end head to let you know it's there, maybe even a little past that. It is truly a delight, in many ways and though it won't go with everything, it does go with quite a lot. You could almost arguably use this interchangeably with a Louisiana-style sauce, especially on fried foods, for a very nice change of pace.
Bottom line: This is a very well-crafted sauce and probably the first fruit-based sauce I have really liked and enjoyed enough to want to buy again. Definitely if you're a fan of mangoes and Habaneros, this sauce is right up your alley, but for a first foray into fruit-based hot sauces, this is a fantastic starting point as well.
Breakdown:
Heat level: 2
Flavor: 7
Flexibility: 6
Enjoyment to dollar factor: 8
Overall: 6
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)