Merf's Her Majesty Hot Sauce Review

Merf's Her Majesty

Note: This sauce was provided by Roger Damptz of Burn Your Tongue, hot sauce emporium of legend. Check him out on Facebook & Instagram. 

Note: Support video available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRqf9ATQXJA

Very intriguing entry here and one I was not aware existed up until I had this hot little number in my hands...actually "hot" in terms of spicy might not be the right thing here, as this is a very moderate heat, given that the main (and only) driver is Serrano. I had high hopes that it would be another fruit-based sweet hot and I don't run across berries nearly as much as the tropical fruits, so I was pretty excited to see it. This one also featured a combination of strawberry, blueberry, and blackberry. I've definitely done a few sauces with the first two fruits, but can't say that the third one comes up a whole lot, so I was definitely very interested in checking this one out.

The sauce itself, though, definitely tends hard towards the tart. I wasn't sure what the need for lime juice was, as the sauce is definitely closer to sour than anything else, along with some salt notes, but this very clearly was not intended to be sweet. This naturally came as a disappointment to me, as I don't really enjoy sour sauces and think most fruit-based sauces benefit from being on the sweeter side.

Because of this, naturally, this made it a touch on the challenging side for me to find places it to pair it with. This is by no means a bad sauce or unpleasant tasting one, but moreso something not aligned with my palate, though I tried mightily, all the way from savory dishes to actual desserts. It didn't ruin anything or drag any dishes down, but neither did it really add or compliment most of them. It was just kind of a thing I added and was there, separate and distinct. Part of this was also me being a touch unclear where this sauce was aimed. 

Bottom line: If you like your fruit (and fruit sauces) a bit more on the tart side, this might be worth a go. For me, I didn't quite vibe with it, but found it be another sauce more interesting than outright tasty. 

Breakdown:

           Heat level: 1
           Flavor: 6
           Flexibility: 3
           Enjoyment to dollar factor:5

Overall: 4