Tonguespank Scotch Whiskey Trinidad Scorpion Hot Sauce Review

Tonguespank Scotch Whiskey Trinidad Scorpion Hot Sauce

Note: I'm not clear exactly on what transpired with this company and its ownership, but this sauce no longer appears to be made.

Note: Video support available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNIKT6kIKZM

I had this one on the shelf for a while, quite a while, expecting it to come across as a superhot, open bottles of which do not tend to rotate super quickly through my open fridge door sauces. I think it was one of the first ones I picked up after learning that Burn Your Tongue was back in action, which has been for some time now. Adding to that is that 2020 (and 2019, to a degree) has seen me having the opportunity and thus eating a lot more sauce than in previous years, there is the fact that I am finding the flowery notes of the various Scorpion peppers less and less attractive to my palate.

It reminds me a lot of IPAs, actually. When I first got into home brewing was the first time I'd ever had one, now well over a couple decades ago, and like most people when they first encounter it, I went hog wild with IPAs, seeking, finding, trying, and slugging down all of them I could find. Somewhere along the lines, the microbreweries latched onto this and a trend I call the "hop wars" ensued. Around that time, I was also well sick of the flavoring, had my fill and then some, and drifted away into less flowery beer flavors. So, too, is what is going to be happening with the Scorpion sauces, I imagine, in 2021. I have a few left, as I write this now, but once those are concluded, I don't foresee those being very high on the list of sauces I will want to acquire, much like the Habanero sauces. Those, however, I have somewhat come to terms with, but the superhot I find most favorable lately is the venerable ghost, the Jolokias.

That aside, it took me a while to get a handle on this sauce. It is very runny, as in Louisiana-style runny, but with some very nice flecks of pepper in there, which I always appreciate. I don't know why boozy sauces aren't more of a thing, since I can't think of any sauce with booze in it I haven't found favorable, but here, even though Scotch is not my hard liquor of choice, it works to great effect here, creating a nice unami effect in the aftertaste. The flavor is a bit subtle, kind of like CaJohn's Dread, though, despite the label warning, unlike the Dread, you won't get blasted too much consuming a lot of it to chase the flavor down. The addition of the Habaneros, Jolokias and Scotch whiskey also do a very nice job of rounding this sauce, and taking down that flowery edge of the Scorpions somewhat.

There is not a definitely flavor to this, however. For most sauces, this would seem like it was lacking an identity, but here, it lends itself to a wide variety of applications. The flavor profiles of Scorpion peppers and Mexican foods strike me as clashy, and that applies here also, but it did work, to a degree, on some of the foods that could be considered of that style. Heat is definitely present, and should appease most chileheads. It is more of a flash heat and doesn't really build up to what I was expecting, both from the label and from the presence of a superhot as the main pepper, but does have a very nice linger to it. I'd call it overall pretty pleasant, as far as mouth heat and the burn goes. Definitely will not appeal to non-chileheads, though.

Even if this was still available, I probably wouldn't keep a bottle around, as it does not fit into categories particularly well, but is a very good all-around superhot sauce, so if you didn't want a fridge door full of sauces, but did want to have some hotter than normal sauces, this would be a good choice. I'm a bit disappointed I missed it when it was still produced, even still, and will be checking out whatever sauces I can still find from the company. I also note, once again, my list of SOTY candidates has increased for 2020 with this entry.

Bottom line: Another SOTY candidate for 2020 and one of the most curious and unique sauces I've had. Well worth picking up for any chilehead who has not yet experienced it and can still find a bottle.

Breakdown:

            Heat level: 4
            Flavor: 8
            Flexibility: 9
            Enjoyment to dollar factor: 10


Overall: 8