Sweet Baby Ray's Hot Sauce Review

Sweet Baby Ray's Hot Sauce

UPDATE: Video support available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDvZoteoaJE

So here we have the newest entrance from the Sweet Baby Ray's line, which appears to be another BBQ joint like Stubb's that decided to take their restaurant sauces, rubs, etc. and go national. I don't know the backstory of Sweet Baby Ray's nor am I really motivated to look into it further, but I will address some of their other items as ok, nothing too great or terrible one way or the other, but fine if there and equally fine if not. It is that exact characteristic I would ascribe to this sauce.

Regular readers will know that Louisiana-style sauce, if not my all-time favorite overall, is right up there near the top and my fondness for Trappey's Red Devil is well-established, despite it not having any heat to speak of. It is, in fact, probably the only sauce I can think of that I would consider drinking as a beverage, though I wouldn't realistically do that. It is perfection of flavor for that style, though and the litmus test for everything else. Nearly all other sauces have been found wanting and so I didn't really have a lot of hope when I saw this one...in fact, I didn't buy it at all until I had a coupon and it's a pretty large bottle for $2. But, as it would have things, I'm trying not to buy further sauces until I whittle down further and I ran out of not only that style, but a sauce I could use as more of an everyday sauce, hence the purchase.

This is ok for that style. Truth be told, it is not even a match for Texas Pete's, let alone Irazu or Red Devil or any of those, but it's ok for what it is. No real bite to it, though more than Red Devil. It also has a cheapness to it, a sort of bitterness I attribute to the dried garlic introduction. I wish sauce manufacturers would stop doing that as it is a wholly unnecessary addition. In this case, it detracts considerably from the sauce itself.

Bottom line: For the money, if you just need a Louisiana-style cutting sauce, this is ok, as long as you remember to use sparingly. Not among the best out there, though.

Breakdown:

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

Overall: 5