Hank's The Linger Hot Sauce Review

Hank Sauce The Linger

Note: Support video available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exSk4JLeRbk

Now this, THIS, is more what I was expecting from the Hank's Honey Habanero (reviewed elsewhere here), a nice, rich, creamy sauce that hits the flavor notes hard and well and makes you want to use it. This one doesn't have any sweetness per se, but uses the Italian Long Hots, a gorgeous pepper with some outstanding flavor. The "linger" in the name is in reference to the flavor, not the heat, of which there is decidedly not much to be found here. This, instead is one of the more savory sauces I've come across and probably my overall favorite of the Hank's line that I've had so far (see TOC to the right for a full list). 

Like Hank's Heat (also reviewed elsewhere here), it is a modified Louisiana-style Cayenne sauce, though here, it neatly skirts away from the Cajun stylings of the aforementioned Honey Habanero, and instead becomes far more of its own thing, referencing its antecedent of the Base, but forging its own flavor identity. The website describes it as a warm blanket fresh out the dryer, but for your tongue and that's both a really good description and one I identify with fully. No matter the ambient temperature at the time, there is nothing quite like getting something fresh out of dryer and putting it on. That feeling, that sensation, that je ne sais quoi, is fully present here with this sauce.

Usage would be anywhere you would use a Louisiana-style or Cajun sauce. The website suggests pasta, which is fine if it's a creamy sauce dish, but for a tomato sauce, I find it still a touch too vinegary, though I will also note that the vinegar is muted somewhat, so you could use it conceivably beyond where you want a high-powered astringent vinegar blast. Heat-wise, precious little. Italian Long Hots are like Shishitos in that a slightly spicy variant will show up randomly, but are not generally, as a rule, particularly hot, despite the name. Cayenne as the base is also a fairly low level pepper, so while there is a slight charge here, it is clearly not the focus of the sauce.

Bottom line: Maybe the best example I can think of regarding flavor before heat. Just an absolutely delicious sauce, that in a less competitive year, would be in Sauce Of The Year contention...

Breakdown:

            Heat level: 1
            Flavor: 10
            Flexibility: 10
            Enjoyment to dollar factor: 10

Overall: 8