Poirier's Louisiana Style (All Flavors) Hot Sauce(s) Review

Poirier’s Original Louisiana Style
Poirier’s Louisiana Style Creole Maple
Poirier’s Louisiana Style K.O. Edition

This trio hits a lot of soft spots with me, which should be apparent as this review goes on. In this case, it is a vanity sauce line, though from a person with whom I’m not familiar, but who is apparently a UFC dude. Also, one or more of these sauces, possibly the entire line, is the UFC official hot sauce or sauces, and at least one or more of the sauces is a direct crossover with Heartbeat, who has not appeared in these pages heretofore as they tend to like to use onions. All of the sauces are made by Heartbeat and may or may not be exclusive to Heatonist and all of them are labeled as Louisiana Style.

The lack of clarity comes because there is a lot of discontinuity in the labels. From what I can tell, the order goes something like this: Original >> K. O. Edition >> Creole Maple, in terms of the ingredients and how the sauces are constructed, with an original base, then a variation on that, then a variation on the variation. The Original has the UFC tag, but the UFC bottle neck hanger thing came on the K. O. Edition, which kind of makes more sense. Two of these are listing as 10 calories per serving and one is listed as zero, which makes no sense, as the ingredients are not that far removed from one another to constitute any kind of difference. 

That oddness aside, the Original is more of what I would refer to as a Cajun than a Lousiana-Style, meaning it is Cayenne, but then also garlic and Habanero and celery, of all things. Those last two modify the flavor profile considerably and while I don’t dislike the celery, I do find it somewhat jarring, mostly because I keep forgetting it’s there and don’t expect it in this kind of sauce. The K.O. takes the original and adds in Ghost Pepper powder. It specifies it as coming from Smokin’ Ed Currie, which, fine, but this addition radically changes the flavor profile and heat. The consistency is thicker than the Original, which is much looser, and also seems to add a lot darker hues and tones to the color. 

The K.O. does a couple things very well. First, it demonstrates amply what I call “superhot bitter,” and this is, by far, the predominant flavor. Secondly, it also demonstrates the trade of flavor in favor of heat. While the Original, even with the Habanero, I’d put as pretty tame, the K. O. Edition, is going to push a lot of non-chileheads and in combination with the flavor, may be too much of an overall package. I gave it a 3 for heat, but it’s more like a 2.5+ and not a 3 outright. It does persist long enough that I gave it the push.

Then we have my favorite of the bunch, the Maple Creole. It has all the ingredients of the K.O., but adds in maple syrup and Chipotle (in adobo) and it makes all the difference in the world. There’s also sage, rosemary, and thyme, but even with the callback to a 70s psychedelic hit jam, those are no competition for any of the other notes. This one reminds me of a somewhat vinegar forward BBQ sauce or a combination of a Louisiana-style and a BBQ sauce, along with some of those sweet, sweet maple notes that show up, but are never overpowering. This sauce exemplifies a stunning display of flavor balance, so long as it’s agitated - all of them need this - and is one of those that stands out and strikes me as special...as well as utterly delicious. 

Bottom line: While I enjoyed playing around with these and thought they were all solid and had something to offer, there’s only one I’d consider getting again, and that is the delightful Creole.

Breakdown Original:

            Heat level: 1
            Flavor: 6
            Flexibility: 5
            Enjoyment to dollar factor: 7

Overall: 5

Breakdown K.O. Edition:

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

Overall: 3

Breakdown Creole Maple:

            Heat level: 2
            Flavor: 8
            Flexibility: 8
            Enjoyment to dollar factor: 9

Overall: 7