Big Red's Three (3) Kings Hot Sauce
As I've mentioned before, while I root for anyone out there trying to slug away at making hot sauces, if I am a fan of certain companies, this would definitely be one of though. I need to parse this a bit, though, as that like for the company doesn't always translate over into the sauces. This is the final one from a large haul of products from them that I picked up last year and it definitely was a matter of saving the hottest for last.
Named 3 Kings due to the inclusion of the 3 last (and current) reigning record-holder for heat peppers, the venerable Ghost, the Scorpion, and the Carolina Reaper, this one is clearly meant to be punchy...and it definitely is, particularly for a non-extract sauce. This is somewhat reminiscent of the God's Wrath, in that we have another kitchen sink approach to this sauce, which seems to be a hallmark of all their sauces.
I go back and forth on this approach a bit. While God's Wrath (reviewed elsewhere on this blog) does a nice job of being accessible to things like Italian foods, this one strays from that a bit. It does not work overall quite as well as did the GW, but what it loses in terms of flexibility, it more than makes up for in heat. It is however, very nicely, a flavorful heat, not just a blast furnace. I was not able to pick out flavors of individual peppers, given the blend, but rather a very cohesive and somewhat unique whole. Not to worry, even with that step in heat, there is still a very solid amount of flexibility as well.
I don't really understand this approach, the whole "more is more," in terms of hot sauces generally, I guess, which tend to be very strongly flavored. Here, we have hibiscus. I'm curious to know if during testing, they tried it with and without hibiscus, as that tends to be a very subtle flavor note and one I can't detect here personally. The coffee extract I can kind of see, particularly if using tomato paste, let alone brown sugar and carrots also, to keep the sauce from getting too sweet, but with any conglomeration featuring this many ingredients, I always wonder if there was specific intent to all of those different ingredients and to what desired or intended effect. Most probably that would not be something that would be publicly shared, as I'm guessing these are going to be rather closely guarded secrets, but it is at least a strong source of curiosity for me. It's interesting to me how their sauces share so many similar ingredients, but are overall so radically different, and that is a mark of excellence and of a high degree of technical skill. Of that, there is no question.
Bottom line: Hottest product from a very enjoyable company making very, very solid products, including this, which serves as another outstanding display of flexibility and tremendous flavor paired with very respectable heat. This is definitely one hot enough to restrict to chileheads, though, and now, for the third time in the blog (and second year in a row), I have 2 SOTY candidates from the same company.
Breakdown:
Heat level: 6
Flavor: 8
Flexibility: 8
Enjoyment to dollar factor: 10
Overall: 8
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