UPDATE: Video support available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGirsZ5LDsA Another entry from Utah and this one appears to take aim, more or less, at the vaunted territory occupied by the hallowed ground of Blair's Pure Death. While not exactly a 1:1 version, there are many, many similarities, starting with the Habaneros and hitting the Hawaiian salt as well. I don't know how similar the vinegars are, but while Pure Death opts for Jolokias, this one switches gears to incorporate clove honey, carrots, Jalapenos and Cayenne. If forced to choose just one all-time favorite, I'd probably start weeping openly at the difficulty of such a thing, but definitely the Pure Death would be in the running and near the top. This one isn't quite flavor competition for that, but is excellent in its own right. Even with those additions, it is oddly not hugely sweeter than Pure Death, though somewhat. It is less like the other Habanero-Carrot sauces I've had and this is a good thing. Perhaps it is something in between, as it does not strongly overpower food as Pure Death can sometimes do. Rather, this one plays a lot nicer.
The first ingredient here is not a pepper, so heat is more on the moderate side for chileheads, though people not in that category could find it somewhat uncomfortable out of the gate. There is a nice build with the Habaneros as well, so this is definitely not for anyone to just grab and run with, unless they're at least somewhat accustomed to the fundamentals of heat. It is very smooth and well-blended and, again like Pure Death, will go with damn near anything you want to put it on. In fact, while I don't particularly hugely enjoy this or Pure Death with Mexican food especially, they will even work there. This is not to say it's bad, just that I enjoy other things more. It even works on Asian foods, which is somewhat of a rarity.
Neither here nor there, but I also get a kick out of the imagery and Viking leanings. This is a fairly strongly resonance to my personal heritage and may not apply to everyone, but it's nice to see my ancestry represented in the hot sauce world.
Bottom line: A very impressive entry from Z's Hot Sauce, excellently flavorful, with a decent but not overpowering amount of heat. While this is not going on my Regulars list, I would happily pick up a bottle anytime. This is also the strongest entry to date for SOTY 2017.
Breakdown:
Heat level: 5
Flavor: 9
Flexibility: 10
Enjoyment to dollar factor: 10
Overall: 9
Highly recommend on stir frys. There's also a 3 pepper roasted blend called Viking Blood, that kind of follows the Norse theme.
ReplyDeleteIf you don't already know, Burn Your Tongue has closed. My goal at this time is to bring it back up around September. Thank you for all your kind words. They have been appreciated! Have a great and Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteThis is very distressing, Roger. I was literally planning a trip next week to re-up...hopefully they kept the small section you mentioned. Counting the days until your return, my friend!
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