Dungeons & Dragons Dragon's Breath
Note: Support video available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gs3LAoyibJI
The sauces at FYE tend to be a mixed bag...sometimes, there are really good ones, good enough, in fact, in the Retsuko Rage (reviewed elsewhere here) to be in contention for sauce of the year, but as often, they're, for lack of a better term, mere "product." I would largely include the relabels, which this sauce is, thus far in the offerings of FYE as well.
This one comes from Southwest Specialty, who you may be familiar with as makers of the "From Hell" or "Ass Kickin'" lines, a few sauces of which I've done some verbiage and FOH content on (if interested, check the Mini-Reviews & Full Reviews TOC pages, which link to the videos), but it is another of their lines, which is called "Desert Creatures" that I think this sauce is probably lifted from. Southwest is not shy about their interest in offering relabels, though I suppose this could be a specifically generated sauce. Given that the ingredients duplicate exactly those of the Desert Creatures Rattler's Bite, a sauce I have not specifically tried so I could be wrong, but I will presume it is that. I will note that the ingredients also somewhat match the Habanero Hot Sauce From Hell, which I have had before, but I remember that sauce a lot more favorably than how I'm finding this.
This is, more or less and despite having the addition of carrots, a Cajun-style sauce, with Habanero flavoring rather than Cayenne. I don't know if that is the specific intent, but that is how it's best used. So we have a vinegar heaviness in the flavor profile, along with Habanero and slight notes of carrot and some trace spices. The main issue I have with this is that it is quite salty, nearly overwhelmingly so, and to the point where I'm unsure if I will finish the bottle out. I don't know if there are people out there who put sauce on their food and then salt the sauce, but if so, I am surely not among them. Indeed, most of the time I take pains to reduce the amount of salt. I don't dislike the flavor or anything, but more I'm looking for balance and if one flavor note becomes overly flavorful, it is generally at the expense of something else. For this sauce, I would submit it comes at the expense of everything else.
As far as a novelty sauce, again, like the FYE Godzilla (also reviewed elsewhere here), this is more in line with expectations and probably one I'd put in the middle, though somewhat edging towards below average. I imagine I can find some uses for it, but given that the sauce by itself is not great, it eliminates things such as fried foods (like chicken tendies) and other areas where the sauce is meant to integrate while still standing up as its own flavor note. I suspect there may be enough vinegar forwardness to function well in richer composite dishes, such as mac & cheese, but I also need to test this a bit further. I may wind up just pitching it. Heat-wise, this is very moderate and it's unlikely too many people will find this challenging.
Bottom line: Unless you're a huge DND fan that needs to have everything imprinted as a tie-in in your collection (or really like oversalted sauces), this is one you can pretty safely skip or wait until it hits clearance. Rather on the underwhelming side...
Breakdown:
Heat level: 1
Flavor: 4
Flexibility: 3
Enjoyment to dollar factor: 1
Overall: 2
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