Arthur Wayne Mango Habanero Hot Sauce Review

Arthur Wayne Mango Habanero

Note: Support video available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qx0zqAMDGb8

This is a bit of an oddity and as I get into this, we will see why. I will start by observing that I got this bottle last year and didn't manage to fit it in until recently, as I had a lot of not only fruit-based sweet hots, but specifically Mango-Habanero sweet hots, which is a touch odd, now that I think on it. I believe this is one of the newer labels on this bottle, but could not find any kind of best-by date or anything anywhere. So, it is possible there is something wrong with the sauce, but it does not even remotely match up to the label copy, which indicates a sweet sauce. This one is pretty far from that, both sour and having a note somewhat distinctive of dirt or dust. I suspect this is the Fresnos in there, but can't be sure. Either way, the mangoes used here were apparently unripe, as even the additional element of sugar is lending little sweetness.

I have had sour mango Habanero sauces before and always find it kind of bracing. A fruit-based sauce is, to my mind, meant to be sweet, with the fruit both imparting flavor notes, but also some natural sweetness as well. There is none of that to be found here, which makes this a somewhat unenjoyable sauce to consume. Using a white vinegar will definitely bring a pucker, as that is one of the more abrasive ones, but even with that the lead ingredient, this comes across as somewhat more sour than it should, at least to my mind anyway. 

Heat-wise, this is fairly minimal. With a number of manufacturers, I can usually automatically cut any rating they have in half and get a solid estimate, but this one, I needed to cut by about 2/3. One may observe that the ratings are for normies, but even with my tolerance fairly nominal, as it is at this point, this is not above a 2 and even a 2 is kind of a push. 

Bottom line: Like the Danny Cash Mango hot sauce in the TOC list (to your right), this is a sauce by a manufacturer who has produced a lot of other stuff I like (two sauces from this maker were in contention for SOTY last year), with this particular one being a disappointment.

Breakdown:

            Heat level: 2
            Flavor: 2
            Flexibility: 4
            Enjoyment to dollar factor: 0

Overall: 2