Dat'l Do It Devil Drops Hot Sauce Review

Dat'l Do It Devil Drops Hot Sauce

Note: Support video available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9xeHGQenCw

I've been excited to try something with the Datil peppers for a while, but these jokers (Dat'l Do It) have a propensity for sticking onions in everything, including the Captain Sorenson sauce they do for the Firehouse sandwich chain, which makes them pretty much an immediate no-go.

I found this one not too long ago and picked it up, as it was one of the few sauces from them that didn't have that nasty element to things. As it seems somewhat unquantifiable, it took me a while to get to it and I still can't quite decide exactly where to place it. It's a very thin sauce, with a restrictor cap, most reminiscent of a Louisiana-style sauce, but is definitely not a good example that kind of sauce at all. Habanero, Worcestershire, carrot and tamarind, among others, also all show up, which nicely adds to the confusion. I suspect that this is the company doing a "take" on a popular style of sauce, perhaps to try to get Florida-style to resonate in the same way that Louisiana-style did, but it's hard to say that the effort, if that is what it is, will be successful here. I think I would place it a bit closer to a Cajun style, which tends to have more additional elements, than a Louisiana-style.

Flavor of this sauce is really its own thing and it's overall pretty pleasant, though rather mild. It works fairly well in settings where you would normally choose a Louisiana-style sauce, though on fried foods, a Cayenne-based sauce does much better. as the taste here gets lost. Conversely, on a creamier-sauce, sort of a mid-range to a Carbonara, this one did better in a direct comparison. With a heavier fat/richness element, such as a very good macaroni & cheese, the Cayenne-based sauce would be a bit necessary to cut through and make its presence know, but in places where the flavor isn't quite as encompassing, this would be a reasonable choice.

It is not one that you would reach for if you wanted heat, however. The mildness in flavor is rather readily matched a mildness in piquancy.

Bottom line: I did enjoy the flavor here quite a bit, when I could get to it, as it's one of the very few sort of unique sauces I've run across. It isn't especially useful, overall, though and certainly does not carry much of a heat load. While enjoyable, it's hard to see a reason to keep this on hand.

Breakdown:

            Heat level: 2
            Flavor: 8
            Flexibility: 8
            Enjoyment to dollar factor: 5

Overall: 6