Z's Mustard Hot Sauce

Z's Original Mustard Hot Sauce

Note: Support video available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zn3KS1lnHTc

I was casting around for some mustards for grill season to make some FOH videos, as I did in 2021, and had this on the list, but once I got the bottle, I noticed it was labeled as a hot sauce. This renders it as unsuitable for that particular playlist I'm in process of building, but does work for the blog. I must admit to some confusion around Z's labels in that both this one and the TWANG (reviewed elsewhere here) both use the word "Original," as moniker, this one on the label (although the website refers to it as a mustard - it also states that are too many potential uses of this product to mention, which is a no-no), the other not on the actual bottle label, but on the website. I think it would be better to make everything consistent and drop the word for both sauces. This one, in fact, should probably be renamed.

I am unclear on the motivation of sauce companies, not just Z's, to refer to what are clearly hot mustards as hot sauces. To my mind, they are very separate and distinct things and pretty far from interchangeable. I also find that one precludes the other. If you are to use mustard in a hot sauce, it should be primarily a hot sauce, in other words, hot sauce first. Just making a mustard hotter than normal does not make it a hot sauce, but rather a spicier mustard. Mustards tend to have much narrower applications than do hot sauces. I mean, I get that they're trying for greater coverage, with the goal of selling more product, but it strikes me as a real world version of clickbait.

That aside, it also creates a bit of a dilemma specific to me. This is basically a spicier yellow mustard. However, with the words "hot sauce" on the label, I feel I have to accept the manufacturer's designation for their own product and view it in that light. To be frank, while I do enjoy this as a spicy yellow mustard, particularly with the addition of the Fresnos, a pepper I find myself enjoying more and more, it makes a poor-at-best hot sauce. This is a hot sauce blog, which means the things on it are going to be treated as hot sauces. Unfortunately, this is going to impact the rating of this somewhat. 

In terms of actual flavor, it more closely follows your standard yellow mustard, which I imagine everyone is familiar with. There are both Serrano and Habanero to compliment and accompany the Fresno, which add a splash of wonderful pepper flavor, along with a touch of heat, though this is pretty far from blazing. While it won't challenge any chileheads, it may be a bit surprising to non-chileheads. There is also garlic in the mix, though it does not appear particularly strongly in the profile. As a mustard, it's pretty enjoyable. 

Bottom line: Taken as a straight mustard, as long as you enjoy the yellow mustards, you will also probably enjoy this. The rating below reflects its manufacturer designation as a hot sauce.

Breakdown:

            Heat level: 1
            Flavor: 2
            Flexibility: 3
            Enjoyment to dollar factor: 5

Overall: 3