Halogi Valkyriesson
Note: This sauce was provided for purposes of review by Roger Damptz of
Burn Your Tongue. Check him out on Facebook or, better yet, head on over
to his new online outlet where you can shop the widest selection
available anywhere, www.burnyourtongueonline.com.
Note: Support video available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnPe5ZZ9jJQ
Halogi is a company that came on my radar after seeing them referenced by Bill Moore, back when he was still making videos and it was of interest for a few reasons. First was the Nordic slant (Halogi translates more or less to "high flame," rather apropos for this sauce), which is also part of my own heritage. Secondly was the idea that it came from Brookings, South Dakota. It had never occurred to me there might be a hot sauce maker at all in either of the Dakotas, let alone one in a town I drove by a couple times times annually. So, I checked out their lineup, made a note to try and visit (this is all pre-pandy) mentioned this to Roger as a company he should take a look at the company, as they had some interesting stuff (most of it is lost to me due to the inclusion of onions, however, so this is both my first and possibly only entry from this company) and he's always on the hunt for up and coming sauce makers.
Long story short, a bunch of shit happened, even beyond the pandy, and not only did I not make it there, but it's unlikely that will ever again be in the cards for me. Fortunately, Roger did bring them in and the company is making a stir for itself, what with appearing on The Hot Ones and all, so that trip might be a whole lot less necessary than it might have been in the past. I still want to do a pilgrimage at some point, though lately, that destination strikes me more and more as Fort Mill, SC, but I digress.
Here we have Valkyriesson, literally "son of Valkyrie," a name which admittedly makes not a lot of sense, given that Valkyries are always female and as the legend goes, would slay any child they bore who was not also a Valkyrie. Perhaps this is loosely meant in spirit, with the idea being that whoever has a bottle of this or perhaps even uses the sauce, has been chosen by the Valkyries. I won't get too far into the lore, other than to observe that entrance into Valhalla was via dying in battle, literally physically fighting, with weapons or blows if you could not wield one, during an actual conflict. Fleeing from a battle and taking an arrow in the back or falling off a cliff or something would not qualify. Being sick and dying or dying of old age or, as the suggestion here, by ingesting something poisonous or toxic, would not qualify. It was a pretty strict entrance criteria.
Anyway, as to the actual sauce, it is a very nice pepper-forward blend of the superhots, which comes out as an amalgamation of notes, sort of like mixing dried pepper powders together, rather than one over another. If I had to choose one, I'd call it a bit more reminiscent of either Reaper or Ghost powder, but I would be overstating it to say that was a heavy flavor emphasis. There is a nice note of sweetness from the agave, though it is very light, and some grace notes from the vinegar and whatever spices are floating about in there, lending it, at times, into an almost herbaceous quality...that aspect, like most of the other notes, are subtle, however. The heavy lifting here is done by the peppers.
This is easily one of the hotter sauces I've had this year (not counting those that were in the Q1 Wing Thing - FOH video on that is available) and maybe one of the hotter ones on the blog. The label indicates a slow build, but that is definitely not the case. This thing comes in screaming and builds from there, making it potentially rather punishing if not used judiciously. This is perhaps also the epitome of a chileheads only heat level sauce.
Bottom line: Very forcefully hot sauce, with some nice sweet and herby notes sprinkled in here and there. This is well worth a look for chileheads, especially those who are foodies or enjoy gourmet leanings in their sauces.
Breakdown:
Heat level: 6
Flavor: 8
Flexibility: 8
Enjoyment to dollar factor: 7
Overall: 7
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