Sea Monster Signal Fire Lift Up
Note: This sauce was provided for purposes of review by Roger Damptz of
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Note: Support video available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1EyhdyN0jA
It's an intriguing coincidence, apropos of nothing other than an odd curiousity and maybe interesting only to me, but the last Sea Monster sauce I had, which was the Danger Berry (reviewed elsewhere here), was followed by another sauce (from Jersey Barnfire, the Strawberry Scorpion, also reviewed elsewhere here) of a very similar type. For this one, we have a sort of crossover, to a degree, between a Dijon mustard and a Louisiana-style hot sauce, this time coming after I had something similar (though that one was definitely aiming towards a different mustard type entirely) from Da Kine (reviewed elsewhere here). It's a weird bit of magnetism, associated with Sea Monster's sauces. I know it's random and all, but it just struck me.
Anyway, Sea Monster left me a comment on the earlier sauce (always like hearing from sauce makers) about their new sauce coming out, which I didn't discover until sitting down to write this review, was a collaboration with a band called Signal Fire. I thought the name kind of odd, as "Signal Fire Lift Up" sounds a bit more like a command than a sauce name, but the sauce itself is named Lift Up and the Signal Fire designation is for the band's participation The idea here is unity through music and the sauce itself representing that by uniting flavor and fire. I dig the label, which has a sort of reggae-inspired feel to it (I believe Signal Fire is a reggae band) and it complements the lovely color of the sauce well. All good there.
The sauce itself is smooth and a touch on the thick side. There is quite a bit going on with it. Rather than essentially trying to make a mustard by way of hot sauce, they have opted for a newer creation, that is unique unto itself. In that light, they have definitely succeeded. The ingredients list does strike me as a bit odd, with the inclusion of Tabasco sauce, which implies they are using an actual finished sauce in here, rather than the elements as part of their own sauce, which is also the case (but a bit more normal in that regard, with the Dijon mustard), but Tabasco doesn't show up particularly, in terms of flavor notes. Here, we have the Dijon mustard and Cayenne making their presence felt, along with a sort of fruity sweetness coming from the orange juice and sugar. Using tomato paste to round it all out was a nice touch as well. Heat-wise, it's pretty low. Out of the 10 ingredients, it goes all the way down to the 7 slot, with the Tabasco sauce, before we see any peppers at all. Cayenne winds up in the 9 slot.
Clearly, this was meant to be a harmonious blend of elements into a composite taste, rather than one distinctive profile. I think it definitely achieves that, but it winds up in a sauce I find more interesting than enjoyable. This is not to say I find it bad, not at all, but rather the case that, as always, using mustard in a hot sauce, even the slightly more flexible Dijon, tends to pigeonhole applications a bit. I've tried this on quite a few different applications and the same problem as the Da Kine, though not to that extent, is still present. For foods that I'd normally put mustard on, the somewhat astringent nature (there are 3 different types of vinegar in this sauce), intrudes and where I'd normally use a more pungent Louisiana-style sauce, the mustard conflicts. So, I find this one works much better with lighter (non-fish) meats, where this sauce doesn't need to meld with other flavors and can shine under its own identity.
Bottom line: A more successful bridging of mustard and hot sauce, in the right setting, this can be quite nice, but it is one of those sauces that definitely needs the right setting.
Breakdown:
Heat level: 1
Flavor: 7
Flexibility: 2
Enjoyment to dollar factor: 5
Overall: 4
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