Hot Ones Classic Garlic Fresno Hot Sauce Review

Hot Ones The Classic Garlic Fresno

Note: This sauce appears on Seasons 12, 13, 16, 18 & 24 of The Hot Ones.

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

It's a bit of a shame that this sauce hasn't appeared in more seasons as it is definitely a rather notable and substantial upgrade to The Classic original version (which I've also done a mini-review on elsewhere here). Gone is the Arbol from that sauce, replaced here by the Fresno, a pepper which continues to impress me, both as pod and in sauces. Here, it adds a bit of sweetness and a slight uptick in heat, along with a much better overall flavor. While the original suffered from a fairly sustained sourness, this one gets away from that slightly. Garlic still shows up here and there, but there is another addition to this which turns things over a bit. That is the black pepper, which is an ingredient I wish was in a lot more sauces generally. There is not enough of it here, but when it hits, it transforms the sauce nearly magically into something that more closely approaches good.

While I would not overall call this an actual good sauce, it is definitely not a bad one, either. I'd probably put it firmly in the middle of all the various Hot Ones sauces, as in it has its moments, but could also be a lot better. My suspicion is that they're going for a riff on a Cajun sauce, but in a roundabout way that involves tinkering around with the ingredients one would normally expect to find there. With the original Classic sauce, it was to somewhat dismal results, with a barely palatable sauce. With this sauce, we have one that I find myself having to chase around a bit to get a handle and feel on it, but a sauce that is enjoyable enough that I don't mind doing that. It is often subtle and inconsistent, so agitation here is a must, particularly if you adore those black pepper notes as I do. 

Heat-wise, like most Louisiana-style, which is the root that Cajun sauces branch off from, it is low to moderate in heat. With sauces at that level, flavor becomes even more of a factor and here, it gets really close at times to living up to that and delivering, but not quite all the way and not quite regularly enough. Still better than the regular Classic, so progress of a sort.

Bottom line: Strong improvement to the regular Classic sauce from The Hot Ones, but still a sauce that is better reserved for persons interested in doing a run at sauces from the show.

Breakdown:

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

Overall: 4