Torchbearer Honey Badger Honey Mustard
Note: This sauce appeared on Season 14 of The Hot Ones.
Note: Support video available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jK4O-LofG4Q
Despite my best efforts, sometimes sauces will sit on my shelf and be neglected for longer than I have in mind (though I'm much better at that now and that number is pretty low). This is one of those, but it's largely because I thought this was more a honey mustard than a hot sauce and during the grilling season campaigns, I usually have several mustards open, taking up precious space in my fridge door. In fact, had this not been on the show, like the Double Take Mustard (reviewed elsewhere here), I would not have done a written review for it at all and just been content with an FOH video.
So, indeed, what we have here is a rather spicy honey mustard. I believe it was in the 7 slot for the season it appeared on the show. The Torchbearer website calls it the hottest mustard you'll ever try, which is probably not far off. I would also add that it's easily my favorite honey mustard, ever. This is a sauce that is definitely a bit on the blazing side, but the flavor is such that it really carries the day and genuinely makes me want to keep going with it. They have definitely found the formula here, apparently one that was long in coming, but well worth the wait. We have the usual honey mustard suspects in here, but additionally, we have Scorpions, the mighty Reaper, and Cayenne, just for color and to round things out a bit. The neat trick here is that this is primarily a lovely honey mustard, hitting all the exact right flavor notes, but one can also get a good feel for the flavor of the peppers. There is certainly a heat component as well, but this is very much a flavor-first type sauce. I'd say this is probably best reserved for chileheads, but with smaller amounts, given that tremendous flavor, it could be a good stepping stone for the curious.
I generally greatly like the Torchbearer stuff (they have a SOTY winner (check list at right) and the company name I think is truly brilliant), but I do have a few minor complaints here, mostly to do with the packaging. I'm not clear precisely on where the 5 oz. comes from with those ubiquitous 5 oz. glass bottles (is it the base only? up to the cap? is there an invisible fill line somewhere in there heretofore previously unknown?), but Torchbearer has a habit of leaving a lot of neck room in the bottles. This may be because they are doing it by weight rather than volume. It may be because their sauces, this included, tend to run on the much thicker and sludgier side and need the space to agitate the sauce, given the lack of preservatives. I don't know, but this sauce is one of the more expensive in their lineup and generally on the show, which makes the loss a bit more acute. This also is a bit prohibitive of keeping it at hand, unless you just wait for sales and stock up...not a bad prospect, all in all. Also, given how thick this sauce is, and this kind of applies to all of their sauces as well, is a glass bottle really the right choice? Iinglehoffer seems to have perfected the squeezable mustard bottle. I don't know if it's a cost thing or something else, but I really wish this came in that packaging.
For this one, while the website suggests things like pretzels and veggie trays, amidst others, I have found that I'm not a fan of those with honey mustard. I think it's best application is with meat, particularly warm meat, so hot dogs, roast beef sandwiches (like Arby's), grilled pork, chicken strips, etc., is the best move here.
Bottom line: Rather punchy, but incredibly delicious honey mustard and practically defies one to restrain from eating a lot of it, perhaps the ultimate chilehead honey mustard. Certainly has my vote.
Breakdown:
Heat level: 4
Flavor: 10
Flexibility: 5
Enjoyment to dollar factor: 9
Overall: 7
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