Flashpoint Peach Hot Sauces Review

Flashpoint Peachanero
Flashpoint Screaming Banshee
Flashpoint Grim Peacher

Note: Support video available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuPdESBli-M

Here we are, then, the very first triple full review in this history of the blog. I won't be spending a lot of time with the sauces individually, so this may read a bit more as a mini-review, but that brevity is for good reason. These sauces are near-identical, other than the pepper used. The base is peach puree, followed by apple cider vinegar, then Fireball (cinammon) whiskey, then light brown sugar, then whatever pepper, before concluding with granulated garlic, kosher salt and unnamed spices. It's extremely unlikely that any of the non-pepper ingredients change in concentration from sauce to sauce and they are all identical in order on the various labels. 

This is not to say they are the same sauce. To get an idea more truly reflective of the sauce, the Peachanero is a good starting point. There is not a great deal of heat to be had there and one gets the impression of the peach and brown sugar before the hammer blow of the cinnamon. If there is a main complaint I have about these sauces, it's that I'm not a fan of cinammon (I had a buddy who played with the idea of liking cinnamon schnapps once upon a time and I strongly disliked that beverage) and that flavor is way forward in the mix, particularly in the Peachanero. This makes usage a bit of a struggle, as foods I might normally use with a fruit-based sweet hot I don't find any of these work well with. They do reasonably well with desserts, though, I must say, though they are not quite sweet enough to lend that impression initially. The garlic and salt also play a role in dialing down the peach flavor, which is rather a shame, as I prefer my peach hot sauces to be a lot more peach forward. There is thankfully no hard alcohol taste or aspect to any of these.

From there, we have next, heat-wise, the Screaming Banshee. This one utilized the Ghost pepper and is the only one of the three which does not have a play on the pepper name, unfortunately. For this sauce, probably my favorite of the bunch, we have a nice bit of smokiness at play, along with a far more prominent pepper presence. I like the flavor of Ghosties quite a lot, so this was a very welcome direction to things. The peach and brown sugar seemed to be a touch more prominent here, as my guess is there was some cancellation between the superhots and the whiskey, but either way, this is the best-tasting of the lot for me, with a solidly building degree of heat, probably more than non-chileheads will find comfortable.

Not by a great deal, though, as the Grim Peacher, which subs in the mighty Carolina Reaper in the pepper slot, is another solid entry. For this one, there are more of the bitter superhot notes, a bit less of the pepper flavor of the Banshee, none of the smokiness, but overall a pretty solid balance between sweet, salty, and cinnamon flavor notes, though here the flavor of peach is very low key and the peaches more just contribute to sweetness. This is, by far, as one would reasonably expect, the hottest of the trio.

Before I wrap this up, I will conclude by saying that I really like these labels quite a lot and it was those which piqued my interest enough to look into the bottles and pick up what amounts, at least to a degree, of three bottles of same sauce. The artwork is magnificent. I love the naming convention and the ingredients are clearly legible, all of which puts these labels right near the top, as far as I'm concerned. Excellent work there.

Bottom line: How much you like these will be dependent on how much you like cinnamon. I found myself wishing for a lot more peach, but do find these enjoyable on lighter breaded meats, where the flavors play a bit better.

Peachanero Breakdown:

            Heat level: 1
            Flavor: 5
            Flexibility: 2
            Enjoyment to dollar factor: 4

Overall: 3

Screaming Banshee Breakdown:

            Heat level: 3
            Flavor: 8
            Flexibility: 4
            Enjoyment to dollar factor: 5

Overall: 5

Grim Peacher Breakdown:

            Heat level: 4
            Flavor: 7
            Flexibility: 4
            Enjoyment to dollar factor: 4

Overall: 5