CaJohn's NOLA Hot Sauce Review

CaJohn's NOLA

Note: Support video available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iidgVf32fFY

It's been kind of interesting watching the labels shift since John Hard sold this company. In an older version, the positions of several ingredients are different and the Caribe chile, in particular, is listed out. On the bottle I have, it is not. I didn't get to this sauce prior to the sale, so I have no idea if the flavor is different, but I have noticed an appreciable difference in some of the others where I have, which was something I was concerned about once I heard the news. It could be batch differences in some of those, but I will note that formerly CaJohn's flavors were quite consistent.

In this case, we have what I would presume is a sauce celebrating New Orleans, Louisiana, and the attendant culinary flavors. We have the obligatory Cayenne, along with garlic and a host of other spices. There is Habanero, presumably to ramp up the heat, all of which is fine, except there is little to no heat to be found. Instead, we have what amounts to a flavor competition in the sauce between a Cajun style and a lemon & pepper combination. I don't typically find that citric and acetic acid work well in combination and here, they are definitely in opposition, which results in a rather jarring aspect.

When there are two disparate and conflicting tastes, the end result is a narrowing of scope as far as flexibility. Case in point, I've tried this one where I'd be inclined to usually use a Louisiana-style or Cajun and it worked poorly to not at all on a number of those. The place I found this best was with chicken, which is a meat that does nicely with either the aforementioned styles or with lemon. I still can't say I like them both at once together on it, but in that specific application, it is far more workable. Unfortunately, that's about the only food type where I found it workable. 

Bottom line: I kind of wish I could have tried the sauce that won all the awards in 2015, which this label pointedly observes, but what's in the bottle here is one of those rare misses from a consummate hot sauce master. 

Breakdown:

       Heat level: 1
       Flavor: 4
       Flexibility: 2
       Enjoyment to dollar factor: 3

Overall: 2