UPDATE: Video support available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14CDkOPd03Q I think a funny thing happens sometimes to people who consume hot peppers or hot sauce regularly, and who keep up with the happenings in the world them, the so-called chilehead community. That is as we get higher and higher up the chart with different strains and varieties of pepper, setting new SHU records along the way, sometimes we forget about the former top heat holders. The tendency of Reaper this and Pepper X that and Dragon's Breath in the wings and so on, getting all the glory and press, the tendency often seems to degrade the earlier peppers. Because the Carolina Reaper replaced the Trinidad Scorpion does not suddenly make the Ghost peppers any less potent. It doesn't make us automatically and suddenly tolerant to their punch, unlike Habaneros, which would have to work pretty hard to get to that kind of heat.
You talk about peppers hitting, let alone exceeding the million SHU mark, and you're talking about a playground that 85%+ of the planet would never consider passing the gate. It is some fairly rarified air and it's good to remember that. So those other peppers can have their prestige and moment, with all of the various sauce makers diligently putting them through the kitchen paces to come up with the next winning formula. There are still tried and true past masters, like the affable Jolokia, and it's nice to sauce makers still relying on that flavorful entry as an ingredient.
This sauce honestly took me a bit by surprise. I saw it on the shelves, probably a year or so ago, maybe a touch longer, and as I had a number of bottles of superhots already (sauces in that vein I find rarely make good everyday sauces for me), I passed it by, but liked the name (and label) considerably and mentioned the sauce in passing to Roger when I was chatting with him about something or other else. The man remembered (it is a memorable name) and slid a bottle my way, but I had it on my future list, once my other superhots ran down a bit. Fast forward to now and I rather wish I would have picked it up at the time.
The first impression I got was a callback to a sauce that has been gone a good 3 years now, at least, that of the Wicked Cactus Ghost Of The Samurai (see TOC if you want to read that review). It had a very distinctive flavor from the Ghost pepper powder, which this one also shares. Using the powder is something I'm surprised more makers don't do, as you can easily get a wicked amount of heat through the concentration into a powder, while still retaining a more solid flavor profile than using extract. The Ghost chili powder is pretty distinctive, though, but it was a largely welcome one for me, a bit earthy, in the same manner as is cumin, though in a different way and flavor, of course.
The second impression was one of tamarind, which was something I was definitely not expecting. Tamarind is an ingredient I rarely (almost never) see in hot sauces, as there is generally not much of a push at the Asian flavor profiles directly. After scouring the label, I was unable to find that particular ingredient, so I suppose it may be the combination of flavors with the mango. Honestly, all of the individual fruit flavors are pretty lost and it just reads as a general sweetness, albeit along the lines of a sweet plum or tamarind. There is also an unidentified chile pepper as an ingredient, which is odd considering they list out both Bell pepper and Ghost chili powder. If I do have a complaint about the label, it is that facet.
Flavor-wise, I do find it quite favorable and have not found anything I didn't like it on, other than ramen (where I don't like sweet sauces) and Mexican food (clashy, clashy). I say sweetness, but this is not a hugely sweet sauce, not gloppy sugar or anything. The sweetness is more of a grace note than anything, which melds nicely with the Ghost pepper powder flavor.
On the heat side, it definitely packs a wallop. One of the interesting facets of it is that you get the immediate brace of heat that is typical of sauces that use Ghost pepper powder, but then it kind of settles in and opens up after that first shot across the bow. I'm trying to think of a time that it didn't immediately ping the receptors in the back of my mouth and can't, which I found kind of interesting. After the initial flare-up, though, you can get a hotter build fairly readily, and it doesn't have a restrictor cap (bit too thick for that), so using it judiciously is the wisest course.
Bottom line: This is a very unique sauce, with an unexpected flavor that borders on outstanding...and yes, another SOTY candidate.
Breakdown:
Heat level: 7
Flavor: 7
Flexibility: 9
Enjoyment to dollar factor: 8
Overall: 8
No comments:
Post a Comment