Water Of Life Hot Sauce Review

Terrapin Station Smoking Co. Water Of Life Hot Sauce

This is the first review (that I can think of off the top of my head, anyway) of a sauce made by a company from Utah, let alone one local to Salt Lake City, which Terrapin Station is...they are perhaps a bit more known for their selection of dried meats and snack nuts than the hot sauce, though I have seen this one around a bit. I've had it on my list but neglected to pick up a bottle as it never coincided with a need for what appeared to be a fruit-based sauce (and it is) at the time I saw it. However, I spied a bottle at a convenience store, of all places and snagged it on the spot...then promptly forgot about it on the shelf for a few weeks...when I did get it, the wax label was nearly fused on, which was an enormous pain to remove, but well worth the effort, in the end.

Fruit-based sauces are not something I eat a lot of and their sauce is best described as occasional use by me. I do like it on fried chicken strips quite a bit and keep some on hand for that, so I can mix and match with my eternally beloved Louisiana-style sauce, but I don't typically have fried chicken all that much, so a bottle can go a good long while and I don't tend to have more than 1 of those open at once. In this case, I sort of made it a point and immediately kicked myself for passing it by for so long and waiting so long to try it.

Make no mistake; this is a ghost pepper sauce, so it does have a pretty decent kick to it. The fruit is definitely leaning far heavier towards the tropical and citrus side of things and I imagine this would have pretty far ranging uses with things outside of chicken, such as pork, fish or even drinks, if you're into that kind of thing. There is an interesting use of tamarind in here as well, though I don't see this overall going particularly well with Asiatic dishes, unless they too lean towards the citrus-y or tropical side of things. It is at once a very pleasant and very interesting taste, but unless you're partaking of something that will do well with sweet heat, it won't be compatible across the board.

Bottom line: Very, very solid entry from Terrapin and a sauce I found somewhat engaging and dazzling...at least in the proper application. Heat is solid, but not overbearing for chileheads, though I suspect non-chileheads will probably find this too much for comfort.

Breakdown:

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

Overall: 7