Smokin' Ed's (Hot) Chocolate Strawberry Hot Sauce Review

Smokin' Ed's (Hot) Chocolate Strawberry

I'm not entirely sure if the Smokin' Ed branded line is meant to be a sub-line of Puckerbutt or an entire rebrand, but it strikes me that these are somewhat experimental, but mostly boutique concoctions of Ed stretching out as hot sauce chef. I've gotten a few sauces from this line that will be coming down the pike, including both versions of his wing sauces that use the same "Wing Thing" name as I use for my quarterly FOH video homage to The Hot Ones. They are so far perhaps a bit more interesting than anything else, with this being a really good example of that concept. I opened this bottle in September 2024, so it has taken nearly 5 months to get to this point, which is fairly unusual.

Part of this was because I was trying to figure out what to put in the video with it. I do not typically make videos (in fact, I don't think I ever have) wherein I just eat the hot sauce itself, but sometimes I get a little stumped, such as with this one. I played around with it a while and then finally decided to lean into the cocoa of this sauce (you'll see in the video, which, by the by, if you count run time, is probably the longest video to date I've done, and if you count filming and editing time, is definitely the longest, and if you count the many weeks of pre-production, once I settled on the accompanying food, easily the longest there probably will be). I do really like the interplay of the cocoa and strawberry here, which is, of course, a great combination, but there is a big problem. 

That big problem goes by the name of vinegar. This is an exceedingly sour sauce, to the point where I couldn't use it on ice cream or any other desserts. I don't find cocoa to be something I want to put with savory foods, generally, so I had to wrack my brain to find a place for it. I did also like the pretty solid heat of the mighty mighty Reapers at play (non-chileheads may be pushed a touch with this one), but I honestly was more confused with this than anything. I am not sure, at all, what Ed was going for here and was going to shoot the video and bin the sauce, but something extraordinary happened during the filming and I found the place where it is most fitting and intend to use it fully. Normally, I would tell you what that particular food thing is, but instead, I am going to say watch the video (which will be coming in early February 2025). I will say that the sauce does work well with chocolate-type stuff, so long as you can cook it with whatever that stuff is and try to knock off some or all of the astringency. 

Bottom line: As is, this is a very pungent sauce, to the point where it doesn't really mix and match in its raw form. Use it in the right place, though, and it is pure bottled magic.

Breakdown:

            Heat level: 2
            Flavor: 4
            Flexibility: 1
            Enjoyment to dollar factor: 5

Overall: 3