Pepper Palace Diabolito Hot Sauce
After the somewhat dismal showing of the Heat hot sauce from Pepper Palace (review elsewhere here), I admittedly started to to get a touch nervous. I didn't have really high hopes for that, but the others were of some interest. This one, for instance, with its nifty little pirate hat graphic and a special explosion splash to let you know it was made with ghost pepper, seemed like it might have some utility. Now, knowing what I know now, which is not the same as what I knew then, I probably would not have bothered as soon as I saw the price tag, but I didn't notice at the time. The pricing on it is not what I actually paid for it (this will be discussed more in the video), but that is kind of their thing...jack up the price for what I would describe as mediocre sauces, at least of the three I've tried, including this, then give someone a discount so they think they're getting a deal or will buy more for a greater discount, etc. Again, I did not go there to get sauce but for a product for the FOH video series of non-hot sauce stuff and picked them up as an afterthought.
With this one, I seriously don't know what they're trying for. I thought it was maybe a stab at Happy Beaver (my first SOTY, also reviewed here elsewhere), but if so, they missed wildly. It's hard to say there is ghost pepper in it, this is not to say that I doubt that there is, as the heat is not particularly pronounced, but there definitely is sugar. Not any particular kind of sugar, but sugar. There is also a heavy smoky flavor, which reads a lot as chipotle. I suppose it could be smoked ghosts, but it doesn't say that...but then again, nor does the label say chipotle, but that is by far the dominant flavor. Combined with sugar, the overall effect is odd...and somewhat cheap and unrefined.
Consistency is very runny, not quite runny enough to be watery, but very loose...it could probably do with a restrictor cap, but my bottle did not come with one. I found it best on relatively neutral foods. Anything strong and it would begin to trend to bitter, including something as innocuous as ramen. The sugar vanishes and you're left with a mild heat charge and a good amount of bitterness. It is not, at the end of the day, a particularly enjoyable sauce and I had much debate over whether or not there would be an FOH video for it...I have decided yes to that, but I am definitely not going to finish the bottle.
Bottom line: This now makes Pepper Palace 0-2 and I'm increasingly concerned about the rest of the sauces. There is no point to getting this as there is no real point to this sauce.
Breakdown:
Heat level: 2
Flavor: 2
Flexibility: 2
Enjoyment to dollar factor: 0
Overall: 2
No comments:
Post a Comment