Silk City Dragon Hot Sauce Review

Silk City Dragon

Note: Support video available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJCPdS6hYoY

Note: This sauce appears to be have been re-launched as "Dragon Slayer."

I remember when this sauce initially came out, with different labels and the word "Dragon" scrawled on the side in what looked like Sharpie (I believe this exact picture is on the Silk City webpage. As you can see, the label has changed, but now, like then, there is still not a back ingredient label...or a listing online. I emailed Jeff at Silk City, who told me there were no banned ingredients (mainly onions and/or onion derivatives) for me, so I threw down on a bottle. It was me not being able to confirm or deny that existence that initially stopped me from first picking it up when I saw it on Roger's shelves and I think it's kind of a bad practice to send bottles out in that way. 

Anyway, despite this being called "Dragon," there is precious little heat. From what I can taste and understand, there is a 7-pepper blend (at least one of those peppers is almost certainly Habanero, maybe a few different types), maple syrup, and vinegar, but there also seem to be some other elements, maybe a bit of salt and some other things. It's not an easy thing to pick out, precisely, particularly with that many related elements occupying a lot of the same or similar taste space. It is unquestionably a very unique sauce.

Maple syrup in hot sauce is, for me, a bit of a mixed bag. I find the taste to be very distinctive and not necessarily one that is flexible enough to carry a wide array of foods. Here, I found this to work reasonably well on pork and pork items, such as breakfast sausage, and particularly as a grill sauce, but didn't find it especially enjoyable on things like pizza or chicken. Obviously, there is some of my own personal preference at play here, I suppose, and those who like maple flavoring more than I do may wind up liking this better than I did in those settings. 

There are a lot of good pepper bits in the sauce, which itself looks a lot like you'd expect from fire-roasting, with a brownish hue to it, no doubt accented by the maple syrup as well. It is mostly smooth, but there are bits and pieces that one hits here and there. I personally don't mind those, depending on the sauce. Heat-wise, as mentioned, this is very, very moderate.

Bottom line: This is a very intriguing sauce, but like some others of that categorization, I found the flexibility to be a bit narrow. Flavor is solid by itself, but doesn't always interact well. Maple-lovers may like this more.

Breakdown:

            Heat level: 1
            Flavor: 4
            Flexibility: 3
            Enjoyment to dollar factor: 4

Overall: 3

Z's Lemon Ghost Hot Sauce Review

Z's Zesty Lemon Ghost Pepper

Note: Support video available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ub6yOfbOU3M

I've written about it before, numerous times, but the spirit of experimentalism and adventure in food is of high value to me. This is why this sauce company is one that I will generally check out if I happen to be somewhere and see their stuff on a shelf...that and any sauce company that wins a SOTY (they did for Shield Maiden, still one of the all-time great sauces - review elsewhere here or check the SOTY TOC to the right) is well worthy of future attention.I give them major points for originality, both with this sauce, and with most of the lineup as their sauces are generally unlike anything else I've come across.

So, with this sauce, being someone who makes lemon pepper chicken fairly regularly, particularly in summer, I was thinking it might be that with the Ghost pepper taking the place of a black pepper (though for some reason I thought black pepper was an ingredient) or maybe something like a Lemonhead or lemon drop slant to the sauce, where you have that good lemon flavor but also have it tending towards more of a fruit-based sweet hot. This sauce, alas, is neither of things and is instead a sauce I cannot seem to prevent myself from defining by its absence, namely of that aforementioned black pepper. 

The flavor is very, very lemon forward and is overall quite astringent, so much so that it defies melding with things so much as contrasting them, much like when you squeeze that lemon over some seafood. In that setting, and honestly, as far as I'm concerned, only in that setting, does the sauce start to work better. I did try it, given that it's summer as I write this, on the grill and it makes a very ok grill sauce on shrimp. I still miss the black pepper, but it's better with some of that little bit of good carmelization and it starts to pick up more of the yellow bell notes, bell peppers reacting to fire in a very spectacular way, as we all know.

There are a variety of foods suggested for this, including pasta salad, which I find to be highly dubious (and no, I did not whip up a batch of pasta salad to try it, nor will I - I'm kind of particular about pasta salad), but not as dubious as I am about the idea of putting this on pizza. Would you squeeze fresh lemon on a pizza? Not unless you wanted to utterly ruined it, I would submit. Heat-wise, it does have a nice little punch from the Ghosts, though heat is clearly not the foremost consideration here. It does also lend a bit of backend bitterness, along with the garlic, as counterpoint, but I still wound up wishing this was both a lot sweeter and also had cracked black pepper.

Bottom line: The more you like overly sour foods, or lemon, the more you're apt to enjoy this sauce. For me, I can't get past the lack of black pepper and ultimately wish I was eating the sauce in my head rather than what's in the bottle here.

Breakdown:

            Heat level: 2
            Flavor: 4
            Flexibility: 2
            Enjoyment to dollar factor: 3

Overall: 3

Hoff Haus Hot Sauce

Hoff & Pepper Haus

Note: This sauce appears on Season 16 of The Hot Ones.

Note: Support video available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CK-0kHoBnTI

I really have to hand it to Aaron & Michelle Hoffman, masterminds behind the Hoff & Pepper company. They devised this beautiful base sauce (Hoff's Original, reviewed elsewhere here) and created a platform from which to spin off variations (this, Smoken Ghost, also reviewed elsewhere here), which not only stand alone as excellent sauces in their own right, but really show off the flexibility of the base sauce. This is an exceedingly smart approach.

For this variation, it is cited as taking a stab at a Germanic slant, but this seems to be strictly limited to the usage of black mustard, as that, dill, and honey, along with the unlisted "spices," are the only variations of this to the Original. As having a heritage similar to my own, I'm hard pressed to say that honey or dill (no comment on the blanket "spices," as I have no idea what they actually are) plays any notable role in that style of cuisine moreso than any other. That leaves the black mustard. Mustard, of course, is of much heavier prominence in that style, and to make the call it does to that sort of specific regional cuisine, then not back it up in the flavor profile is a bit odd to me. I also note here that the honey is not showing up to any particular degree. This is not a notably sweet sauce and I suspect it is more there to just cut down on the savory side a bit and perhaps temper the dill.

I'll be honest here, as always. As I come across dill in hot sauces, I am find it much more of a double-edged sword than an ingredient I like in sauces. A little of that goes a really long way and here, while it is not the dominant flavor, it is forward enough that it masks a lot of both the black mustard and the honey. It adds a lot of effervescence to the smokey notes of the Original sauce, but I'm not altogether sure I wouldn't rather it be not present here at all. I find it more detracting than adding to the sauce as a whole here and keep wishing I could have this be both sweeter (more honey) and much more mustardy. 

Part of this, I will note, has to do with agitation, as in the earlier parts of the bottle, when there was not enough room to shake it up in the flask, I found myself thinking that it was not only delicious, but perhaps the best spin on the Original sauce, but I've come to back off from that sentiment quite a bit. I do think it's very solid, and certainly the equal of the Smoken Ghost, but also both of them still take a back seat to the Original. Heat-wise, as this does not add at all to the Original, it is fairly minimal. What heat is there is coming from the Habaneros, which are also blended with Jalapenos and Chipotles.

Bottom line: Another very solid entry from the show line-up and an interesting variation of what is proving to be one of the stronger base sauces in the industry. Better for those who like dill, but readily accessible overall.

Breakdown:

            Heat level: 1
            Flavor: 7
            Flexibility: 7
            Enjoyment to dollar factor: 8

Overall: 6

Mexico Lindo XXXtra Hot Habanero Hot Sauce Review

Mexico Lindo XXXtra Hot Habanero

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

This is sort of fascinating as with this unassuming sauce, I somehow unexpectedly fell into a pretty deep rabbit hole. Mexico Lindo, in addition to being the namesake of several Mexican restaurants, is one of two hot sauce brands (the other is Amor) produced by CordialSA, who is a massive conglomerate of various food companies and dispensaries, including Dollar General. Think on a level like Kraft and you get an idea of the scale. I knew none of this prior to picking up the sauce, as the prior two sauces, both Habanero, which are reviewed elsewhere here, I didn't think a whole lot of, and both of which I had picked up while wandering around in Wal-Mart one day. To me, I figured it was just another hot sauce company from Mexico in competition mostly with El Yucateco and their approach to sauces...but it is way, way more than that, clearly. 

I found out all of the above because I, as I usually do prior to writing up one of these, tried to spin over to the sauce company website to check out what information they might have there and couldn't find one. I had to go deep into the Amazon Q & A section for the sauce (I purchased this particular one on Amazon when I needed to get a few more bucks in for free shipping) to find the parent company of the sauce responding to the queries. This oddness is also leading me to see different outlets posting alternate SHU numbers, either 82K or 83200K, which is up there for any Mexican-style sauce.

Anyway, that bit of extraneous detail aside, this sauce sort of reminded me of the ghastly El Yucateco Black Label Reserve, also reviewed elsewhere here, except here the approach is radically different. In effect, this sauce goes a long way towards showing what a sauce of that type could be. Dispensing with the sour ashes direction that El Yucateco chose (don't get me wrong; I love El Yucateco as a company and think their prominence in the chilehead world is richly deserved), instead here we have a lowering of the citrus and using more smoked Habaneros instead of fire-roasted ones. Fire-roasting can be a mixed bag; if done right, it is magnificent, but if done wrong, you're eating ash. Here, we have two different types of peppers and additional spices to round out the flavor a bit more and it's near magical.

While this is not as tasty as my own custom blend of Mexican-style sauces (see FOH video for more on that, which is also why I rarely look to these sauces any longer), it is probably the best Mexican-style sauce outside of that concoction I've had in recent years. The heat level is quite nice, comparatively, giving a pretty robust charge to what is usually a pretty tame category. Flavor-wise, this is definitely Habanero forward, but tempered by both the citric acid and vinegar components, although those sometimes can be a bit overpowering. It flows smoothly and is also quite visually appealing. There are perhaps a bit more preservatives than I usually favor, but I understand what the company and sauce is trying to do and I'll give it a pass. Usage-wise, given the more astringent components, it is far better on lighter colored meats, eggs, and beans than it is on something with red meat, such as beef tacos, but it is flexible enough to work there. The spices move it away from what I would usually want in a dipping sauce, but the flavor is solid enough that I think you could work it there in a pinch, same also with stuff like spicing up ramen.

Bottom line: One of the better entries, commercial or otherwise, in the Mexican-style sauce category. The heat is probably pushing hard at the comfort zone of most "normies," but shouldn't challenge chileheads, who will be richly rewarded with very solid flavor by picking up a bottle of this.

Breakdown:

            Heat level: 2
            Flavor: 7
            Flexibility: 6
            Enjoyment to dollar factor: 10

Overall: 6

Fiji Fire Native Bongo Hot Sauce Review

Fiji Fire Native Bongo

Note: This sauce appears on Season 11 of The Hot Ones.

Note: Support video available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXsGTAxbNQ8

One of my favorite things, perhaps my most favorite thing and sometimes only favorite thing, about The Hot Ones show is the introduction into peppers I've previously been unaware. Case in point is this, the Fiji Native Bongo, which I'd not encountered before. Apparently the majority of the items in this sauce are sourced directly from Fiji, including the turmeric, which is a very nice touch. The pepper itself is interesting in that it seems to have a lot of flavor attributes of a superhot, without the requisite heat. Here, it is paired with the sweetness of carrots and some turmeric, which all come together to make a rather interesting sauce.

Looking into this pepper further, it appears to be a sort of Habanero derivative that is native to and grown only on the Fiji islands, which explains much of the flavor profile. Habanero-carrot was kind of an in thing in the sauce world for a while, but this is not really reminiscent of those style sauces, instead coming across very much as its own distinctive thing. Those sauces usually worked better with lighter colored meats and definitely that same thing applies here. 

It is a sauce that is quite pleasant, in terms of flavor, but is odd and eccentric enough that I find it a lot more useful as a pleasant change of pace rather than something I want to have repeatedly. The design here definitely seems pretty pointed at meats and I wouldn't consider using this is anything like a mac and cheese or even ramen. There is just enough sweetness here to need food that accompany that aspect better, but I think this would also go very nicely on pizza. Definitely it does lend itself somewhat well to trying different things and general experimentalism, which I can always get behind. Also one of the better sauces from The Hot Ones show, which I'm always happy to come across.

Bottom line: This is a unique sauce, pretty specific to itself, and for food adventurers or chileheads looking for a new taste sensation, this would probably fit the bill quite nicely.

Breakdown:

            Heat level: 2
            Flavor: 7
            Flexibility: 6
            Enjoyment to dollar factor: 8

Overall: 6

Luck O' The Irish Hot Sauce Review

Peppers.com Luck O' The Irish

Note: Support video available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2q-_6rYIVyc

I didn't realize, until after I'd gotten this home, that it was a Peppers.com branded hot sauce. Peppers.com I was familiar with from several online orders, after I'd both picked through the shelves of Grove Market and before I discovered there was something so wonderful as the shelves of Burn Your Tongue or the "hidden" area towards the back of Pirate O's. I have no idea which online retailer is the "it" thing now as nearly all of my hot sauce purchasing dollars go to Burn Your Tongue, but for a while Peppers.com was a reliable outlet. 

That aside, I still am at a loss as to why I picked up this sauce. There is a green hat on the front of it, presumably meant to be that of a leprechaun, which has a 3-leafted clover in the belt around the hat and the entire thing is fairly non-descript. I imagine it's because the idea of a hot sauce referencing a region that is not particularly known for spicy foods, let alone bold flavors, I found amusing. Or maybe the price point, which was definitely at an attractive level, considering how expensive hot sauces have become these days. 

Whatever the reason, I'm glad I did. Here we have a veritable hodge podge of ingredients, including Habaneros, Cayenne and Scotch Bonnets, on the pepper front. There is a motley crew of other ingredients, including sweet potatoes (this may have also been of interest to me), key lime juice, and the two more dominant flavors, that of shoyu and molasses. More than anything, this tastes like a slightly astringent molasses-soy sauce combination, with occasional hints of citrus and a very low key bit of smoldering heat, though it is by no means a hot sauce. In fact, as a hot sauce, I rather dislike it, as it is far too salty for my taste. As a grill sauce, however, it is dynamite, one of the better ones I've had, particularly if you're a big fan of teriyaki. This definitely is not a teriyaki sauce per se, but it is somewhat reminiscent of that general idea.

It is fairly thick, with the consistency closer to the molasses and it sticks exceedingly well to food. This does present a bit of a problem for me specifically, in that as a hot sauce, it is kind of non-functional, but as a grill sauce, it's pretty great, particularly since there is ample sugar content to really carmelize well. It does extremely well with both pork and chicken and would do well as a marinade also. I'm rating it here as a hot sauce, with the context that it functions much better in an alternate usage. 

Bottom line: Essentially a molasses-soy flavor profile, with hints of citrus, and a very moderate degree of heat. I find it overly salty for an actual hot sauce, but fantastic as a grill sauce. 

Breakdown:

            Heat level: 1
            Flavor: 6
            Flexibility: 4
            Enjoyment to dollar factor: 8

Overall: 5

Humble House Guajillo & Red Jalapeno Hot Sauce Review

Humble House Guajillo & Red Jalapeno 

Note: This sauce appears on Season 7 of The Hot Ones.

Note: Support video available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pI9OfIuD-pU

When I first cracked open the seal on this, I knew immediately what I was in store for. The aroma was instantly familiar, as it will be for any and everyone else who has a lot of experience with sriracha. The combination of garlic and jalapenos wafts up immediately, a hallmark of that kind of sauce and yet...and yet, we see no reference at all to that name on this bottle. It's almost as if they're trying to pretend this something different on the label. Indeed, we have reference to Latin inspired, which one would be pretty hard-pressed to detect.

The Guajillos are a fairly mild pepper, both in terms of flavor and in heat, and there is indeed precious little heat to be had here. Instead, what we have is more or less a slightly runnier than normal sriracha, with very very subtle notes of the Guajillo here and there. Mostly it is the jalapenos and garlic, which are both higher in the ingredient list and far more dominant in this kind of sauce, whether they choose to call it sriracha or not. 

As far as srirachas go, this one is fine. It is not the more solid paste that normal srirachas tend to be, and is perhaps a bit smoother in texture than those usually are, but the flavor is right in line with what you'd anticipate from a solid sriracha, which this sauce is.

Bottom line: A mostly well-done sriracha, though a bit looser than that style of sauce normally is. 

Breakdown:

            Heat level: 0
            Flavor: 8
            Flexibility: 6
            Enjoyment to dollar factor: 3

Overall: 4