Hoff Haus Hot Sauce

Hoff & Pepper Haus

Note: This sauce appears on Season 16 of The Hot Ones.

Note: Support video available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CK-0kHoBnTI

I really have to hand it to Aaron & Michelle Hoffman, masterminds behind the Hoff & Pepper company. They devised this beautiful base sauce (Hoff's Original, reviewed elsewhere here) and created a platform from which to spin off variations (this, Smoken Ghost, also reviewed elsewhere here), which not only stand alone as excellent sauces in their own right, but really show off the flexibility of the base sauce. This is an exceedingly smart approach.

For this variation, it is cited as taking a stab at a Germanic slant, but this seems to be strictly limited to the usage of black mustard, as that, dill, and honey, along with the unlisted "spices," are the only variations of this to the Original. As having a heritage similar to my own, I'm hard pressed to say that honey or dill (no comment on the blanket "spices," as I have no idea what they actually are) plays any notable role in that style of cuisine moreso than any other. That leaves the black mustard. Mustard, of course, is of much heavier prominence in that style, and to make the call it does to that sort of specific regional cuisine, then not back it up in the flavor profile is a bit odd to me. I also note here that the honey is not showing up to any particular degree. This is not a notably sweet sauce and I suspect it is more there to just cut down on the savory side a bit and perhaps temper the dill.

I'll be honest here, as always. As I come across dill in hot sauces, I am find it much more of a double-edged sword than an ingredient I like in sauces. A little of that goes a really long way and here, while it is not the dominant flavor, it is forward enough that it masks a lot of both the black mustard and the honey. It adds a lot of effervescence to the smokey notes of the Original sauce, but I'm not altogether sure I wouldn't rather it be not present here at all. I find it more detracting than adding to the sauce as a whole here and keep wishing I could have this be both sweeter (more honey) and much more mustardy. 

Part of this, I will note, has to do with agitation, as in the earlier parts of the bottle, when there was not enough room to shake it up in the flask, I found myself thinking that it was not only delicious, but perhaps the best spin on the Original sauce, but I've come to back off from that sentiment quite a bit. I do think it's very solid, and certainly the equal of the Smoken Ghost, but also both of them still take a back seat to the Original. Heat-wise, as this does not add at all to the Original, it is fairly minimal. What heat is there is coming from the Habaneros, which are also blended with Jalapenos and Chipotles.

Bottom line: Another very solid entry from the show line-up and an interesting variation of what is proving to be one of the stronger base sauces in the industry. Better for those who like dill, but readily accessible overall.

Breakdown:

            Heat level: 1
            Flavor: 7
            Flexibility: 7
            Enjoyment to dollar factor: 8

Overall: 6