High River Thunder Juice Hot Sauce Review

High River Thunder Juice Hot Sauce

Note:  Support video available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtgxIz7lvjo

I've mentioned it before, this phenomenon of having a sauce be more fascinating or intriguing or interesting, and having that attribute be so prominent as to increase the time of discovery to find out where it might fit best. That is definitely the case here with this, a sauce that uses no less than 4 superhots and yet comes up with a composite that is both unique and complex.

The tag line for this points up the tequila in the sauce, tequila which is infused with Habanero, but it doesn't read particularly highly as a tequila flavor, thankfully. Instead, it is definitely a bit more with the superhot blend, along with some definite berry notes and an astringency that is combination of vinegar (most of the peppers here come in the form of their mash derivative, which also has a vinegar element), spirit, and perhaps the lemon addition in there as well. There are also peaches involved, but that subtle flavor is entirely drowned in all the others. So too the ginger, though it may contribute slightly to the astringent element, and garlic, which contributes more to the overall rounding of the sauce than a specific flavor note. It is decidedly not a sweet sauce, despite the additions of those fruits and of brown sugar.

There is a certain grittiness to this sauce, which is likely the berry seeds, and the sauce overall pours a bit gloppy and chunky, with various bits of peppers and other ingredients clumping a bit and deftly defying agitation. The website doesn't really offer suggestions, but the astringency aspects usually works well with lighter-colored meats. Having the berry play up as huge of a presence as it does leads me to think this might also do very well with red meat also, as berry and red meat go together extremely well. The bitterness element of it does intrude a bit on the overall versatility of the sauce, however.

The color, maybe from the chocolate Bhutlahs, reminds me a bit of a mole, though it would be a runny one with this texture. With that aforementioned pepper, plus Reapers, Fatalii, and Scorpion powder, there is a fairly heavy superhot presence here and the latter two peppers lend a certain slight floral presence to things. Heat-wise, this is a pretty punchy sauce and probably will not find too much enjoyment other than with chiliheads.

Bottom line: I'm always excited to see what High River comes up with, as they have some of the more inventive and creative concoctions out there, including this one.  

Breakdown:

            Heat level: 5
            Flavor: 6
            Flexibility: 6
            Enjoyment to dollar factor: 7

Overall: 6