Gindo's Spicy Cranberry Hot Sauce Review

Gindo’s Spicy Cranberry

Cranberry hot sauces have traditionally been kind of a low priority for me. I’ve certainly done a few of those, but many of them tend to be quinine heavy and it then becomes a matter of pairing quinine. There is only so much turkey I can consume before tiring of it, but Gindo’s, of course, goes gourmet and takes it in a much different direction. This is not to say that cranberry flavor is not there, it definitely is, but the quinine element has been significantly tamped down, so you get the flavor, but this is a much richer and fuller hot sauce.

This lends it considerably more to versatility and, of course, since it’s Gindo’s, the flavor is excellent. I personally don’t mind a quinine hit and since I’ve been having a certain product that involves cranberries with regularity, cranberry sauces have come a bit more to the fore with me, but this is a very interesting approach. Heat-wise, we have Habanero and Ghost, but this is pretty tame as far as a heat level. There are a few different salts in there, which also add a bit of an umami undercurrent as well, to nicely round things out. 

Beyond the inherent cranberry limitations, this does very well on fowl, whether it be smoked or roasted or fried, and of course on quinoa salad. There is a suggestion, as Gindo’s tends to do, for pairings on things like cheesecake and Brie, which I think would be interesting and perhaps I will acquire another bottle to find that out, as the one I had for this review I’ve kind of flown through. While this may not ultimately be my most favorite cranberry sauce, it is a very good one and if you like quinine less than I do, this might be worth considering as an entry point into cranberry hot sauces.

Bottom line: Another excellent and innovative approach from Gindo’s to a well-established fruit flavor base. Quite accessible and absolutely worth getting.

Breakdown:

            Heat level: 1
            Flavor: 8
            Flexibility: 6
            Enjoyment to dollar factor: 10

Overall: 6