El Rey Habanero
Note: Support video available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8dBEKWf69A
A while back, my good YouTube buddy Donnie The Chilimancer commented to one of the Mexico Lindo reviews there about an odd bit of timing, also seeing the bottle himself on the shelves just recently of a Mexican supermarket and him not being aware of the brand previously. This, in turn, reminded me that I was about due to one of those myself, having not visited in quite some time, so, with that prompting, headed myself down to go wander the aisles a bit. It was there that I came across this little beauty. It sat patiently waiting for me to finish the other open bottles of Mexican-style sauces ahead of it, but once I finally did, it proved an absolute gem.
What we have here in this little beauty is one of the hotter sauces of that style I've come across on commercial shelves. There is a very nice build to this, which consistently surprises me, yet the flavor was what really impressed me out of the gate. This is a fantastic-tasting sauce, so much so that one cannot help but wind up using enough of it to engender that very nice smoldering build. There is a lot of Habanero flavoring, red, unless I miss my guess, of course, but this sauce also has a bit of an astringency, pungency from the vinegar, along with a good dash of citric acid. Oddly, there are also carrots listed, but they don't show up to any particular degree. An ingredient entry of "spices" rounds things out and makes this equally at home with both red and green sauces, such as you may find on burritos or enchiladas. I prefer this moreso where you wound find the red sauces, things like beef tacos, etc., but it is no slouch dancing with chipotle, chicken, and pork, either.
The consistency is a bit runny and it comes with a restrictor cap built right in to the lid, which is fine. I suspect that is more due to the heat of this, rather than the consistency of the sauce. Flavor-wise, this tastes good enough that there is no real worry to oversaucing, but I think for most people, the attendant heat would be a bit much. This is right at what I would call the dividing line, so a 3 on the heat scale for me. Given that astringent nature, this sauce would also be equally good in cream-heavy dishes, might do ok with instant ramen, but I don't think I would find it enjoyable at all on things like chicken strips or pizza or burgers. It may be more flexible than most Mexican-style sauces, but there still are limits. At right around $3 for a 6.6 oz. bottle, this is also a phenomenal value.
Bottom line: Probably my newest favorite off-the-shelf commercial Mexican-style hot sauce, though I suspect mainly chileheads will find the heat enjoyable, particularly with heavier usage.
Breakdown:
Heat level: 3
Flavor: 10
Flexibility: 6
Enjoyment to dollar factor: 10
Overall: 7
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