Jak Jeckel Gourmet Hot Sauce Review

Jak Jeckel Gourmet Hot Sauce

This has nothing to do with the actual sauce, of course, but Jak Jeckel just might have the coolest website of any sauce manufacturer I've seen. Here, we have a healthy section devoted to the "Flavor Travel" of each respective sauce, as well as a much lengthier "Flavor Profile", which I think is supposed to be basically tasting notes and a kinda sorta ingredient list. Oddly, though, one of the major components of the flavor of this sauce, the Chipotle pepper, is entirely absent from that back panel ingredient list on the bottle itself.

That flavor is dominant in a good way, much like the Chipotle Tabasco and much like that other sauce, this one more resembles a BBQ sauce. It is not, however, an actual BBQ sauce anymore than that other, but the similarities are remarkable. This is clearly a very skillfully crafted sauce, though, relying not at all on vinegar or even so much as using it, in an effort to allow the peppers to be fully experienced. This is, after all, a company that takes pains to pointedly observe that they are "flavor first", above all...as am I, of course and so goes the TSAAF, naturally. So...more of a foodie approach for this relatively new company.

None of that matters if this sauce isn't any good, of course. It is, I'm pleased to say, quite good. So good, in fact, that the makers do something I normally consider a heinous sin and state emphatically that is not a hot sauce on the website...I'm leery now and it gets worse when I look at the label where they bury what could very well be a vast cornucopia of ingredients in a couple nondescript blends of both "Jerk Seasoning" and "Jak Jeckel Seasoning Blend". There is definitely cracked pepper in it, the second most dominant flavor behind the Chipotle in the sauce. Since I love cracked pepper, this is by no means a bad thing.

However, I'd almost say that this, in addition to the Habanero Salt also listed, is far too many dry ingredients, but the results are fairly stunning and definitely tasty, so it gets a pass. This seemingly "kitchen sink" approach does result in both one of the most accessible as well as most flexible sauces I've run across, so what they're doing is clearly working.

Bottom line: Jak Jeckel is going to be one to watch and this is a fantastically flavorful sauce. There is precious little heat there and like the Tabasco Chipotle, this probably won't wind up in regular rotation, especially given the higher price point. Very enjoyable while it lasts, though.

Breakdown:

            Heat level: 3
            Flavor: 9
            Flexibility: 8
            Enjoyment to dollar factor: 6

Overall: 7