Gindo's Haunted Habanero Hot Sauce Review

Gindo’s Haunted Habanero

Hey, so remember that one time, a long time ago, where I said that any new Gindo’s sauce I have runs the risk, the absolute danger of being a Sauce Of The Year candidate? Well, case in point, this magnificent jewel, this gem of an oasis in a desert of sand.

I’m not sure if it was meant for a Halloween season, given the Haunted part, which I presume refers to the use of the very nice Ghosties in there (and maybe, distantly, the grace notes of smokiness), but it is yet another in their long line of Limited Run sauces (which are the 5 fl. oz. Bottles, from what I can observe) that I am so very glad I came across. Here we have a very pepper forward sauce, thanks to starting out with the roasted red peppers, which is buttressed by the excellent tropical combination of the Habaneros and mangos. It is more an embrace of the fruity aspect of the Habaneros, I suspect, as it reads quite nicely in that direction, into a wonderful flavorful medley, that has just enough sweetness to assert its presence, but not enough to be an actual sweet sauce.

It treads a lot of delicate lines beyond the one I mentioned. There is also the last two ingredients, the oregano and thyme, which don’t show up prominently when the sauce is by itself, but emerge when you pair it with something like pizza, on which this sauce is fantastic. Gindo’s, as usual, very nicely presents some pairings on the label, though I’m not sure if the avocado toast is meant to be serious or not (I’m going to pretend it is not, as that would make me happier) and I can attest to most of them directly. I’m not quite sure where this wouldn’t work, maybe red meat and probably you’d be better off with something else in a rich creamy sauce dish, but that’s more because I’d be afraid the food would diminish this lovely sauce, something I say very rarely and about very few sauces.

As mentioned, the Habaneros are definitely a fairly substantial flavor component, rather than heat, but here they put their very best foot forward, to the point where I swear the people at Gindo’s are magicians. Ghosties are also here, but this is not a particularly blazing sauce and I don’t imagine it will push too many people. Like nearly everything else in the Gindo’s lineup, this is very much meant more to be flavor first, and is relatively tame. Given the flavor dynamic, this is also one of the most accessible I think I’ve yet had from Gindo’s as well. 

Bottom line: As you might have guessed from the glow of the review, if not the first paragraph, this is yet another Sauce Of The Year candidate and one you should take pains to try and get.

Breakdown:

            Heat level: 1
            Flavor: 10
            Flexibility: 10
            Enjoyment to dollar factor: 10

Overall: 8