Canal Street Louisiana Crude Cayenne Hot Sauce Review

Canal Street Louisiana Crude Cayenne

Note: Support video available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pQq-e5rvEk

I love the name of this sauce. It's a delightful reference to one of the state's most well-known regional exports and when I saw it, I was hoping the ingredient panel would allow me to get it. Price was a bit on the high side, which is a given with nearly everything on Amazon, but I needed free shipping and was in need of a Cayenne sauce as well, so two birds, one stone, etc. 

Anyway, I was pretty amped for this thing, with both Cayenne and Ghosties in the mix. Irazu also uses this combination (see review for that sauce elsewhere here) and I find those peppers go together quite nicely. I was so excited, in fact, that I wound up opening it a day after getting it and promptly went through a bunch of it trying to get a feel for it. Even if the Lousiana-style Cayenne sauces seem basic and simple - Cayenne, vinegar, salt - they can differ quite wildly in terms of the final product.

For this one, it was a lot more subtle, more smooth, more, dare I say, gentle. There is no abrasive vinegar hit, which is probably due to them using a combination of water and acetic acid (which is the two components of vinegar) to form the astringency effect, rather than using a finished product. This allows them a stronger measure of control. With this, the flavor of both Cayenne and Ghost reads a lot more strongly, which is a nice touch. It also means that when I reach for this sauce to control richness, I have to use more than I ordinarily do with some of the other far more vinegar-forward options out there. 

As far as flavor, I really like this approach. Do I like it better than what is "normal' out there for this style of sauce? Not necessarily, but I will say it is equal to the very top names who utilize the other style. I think there's something to be said for both approaches and I'd happily eat either one of them. With the Ghosties in the mix, this one is notably hotter than most of those others, but it is a nice warm heat that slowly comes on in a, dare I say again, gentle way? It's a pretty interesting approach to that, where the higher heat is there, the better pepper flavor is there, and the vinegar punch is dialed down considerably. 

Bottom line: This sauce is somewhat of a marvel, taking an intriguing approach to a well-established sauce style and is well worth a go for anyone who's a big fan of Cayenne style sauces or for someone who likes the sauces but not so much the vinegar hit. This is also my first SOTY contender for 2023.

Breakdown:

            Heat level: 2
            Flavor: 10
            Flexibility: 8
            Enjoyment to dollar factor: 10

Overall: 8