Private Selection Jalapeno Tomatillo Hot Sauce Review

Private Selection Jalapeno Tomatillo Hot Sauce

This, then, brings us right to the end of the 4 sauces of the Kroger Culinary Hot Sauces. What I had hoped for with this one was sort of repetition of the Salvation Sauce from Danny Cash, for which my wife has been increasingly vocally requesting. That is by far her favorite sauce of any I've gotten. Few are those she can or is willing to eat and fewer still the ones she enjoyed, but she loved that one and would greatly prefer it stay on hand. A sauce I have to perpetually order in is kind of pain, though, particularly when I am not placing sauce orders online with any frequency at all. So, I was cautiously hopeful when I saw this one as it could at least possibly be a much easier and probably ultimately more practical solution.

This one also typifies another of the issues I have with these sauces, besides the fact that only one of them I would consider purchasing again and that is a dropper cap on a glass bottle. It is a larger opening on the restrictor, to be sure, but still a large scale PITA with all of these sauces. This one will take some solid usage to get enough distance in there to really be able to get it cohesively back out again, which is annoying.

There is no heat to this, as expected and in flavor, it falls very short of the Danny Cash wonder stuff. However, wonder of wonders, my wife seems to really like the highly astringent nature of this (well beyond anything enjoyable to me and certainly beyond the Salvation Sauce), so I won't ever be using it, but we have easy access to it and my wife alone will now have a sauce of her very own in the door to use and enjoy at her leisure and to refill with ease.

Bottom line: I think you could probably put this with something else and make a fairly acceptable tomatillo sauce...or you could just make a fairly acceptable tomatillo sauce to begin with. I don't find this necessary in any context, but if you are in a situation similar to the one portrayed above, this may be of some use.

Breakdown:

            Heat level: 1
            Flavor: 5
            Flexibility: 3
            Enjoyment to dollar factor: 2

Overall: 3

Torchbearer Zombie Apocalypse Hot Sauce Review

Torchbearer Zombie Apocalypse 

Note: This sauce was provided for purposes of review by Roger Damptz of Burn Your Tongue. Check him out on Facebook & Instagram. 

Note: This sauce appears on Seasons 3 & 4 of The Hot Ones. 

Note: Support video available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8ncdJnL1ig

While there is more than a passing commonality with the Rapture sauce from Torchbearer (reviewed elsewhere here), as it shares several ingredients, I would hesitate to call this "Rapture-Lite". It has its own distinctive flavor and style and given the "zombie" part of the nomenclature here, one can naturally expect that is be far more abrasive, as that tends to be the one common theme and element uniting all sauces sporting that moniker. So, we definitely have harsher pepper notes here, particularly in the black pepper and while this is lower in SHU than the Rapture, it is somewhat less enjoyable to partake as well. Much of the other review also applies to this in terms of usage and which foods it works best with.

I'm not a fan of "challenge" sauces, which are to test this or that characteristic or even of the challenges themselves, to be blunt. All of that sort of stuff is lost on me and I want some good flavor that complements the food or elevates it and adds the sometimes missing heat element that I tend to have as a preference. I'm not extreme in any sense in this regard, in that I don't attempt to use it on ever single thing I eat, but when I do bust out the sauce, I'm really wanting flavor first, which is why Trappey's Red Devil sauce was so beloved for so long. I still try to keep a bottle around, just because it is a fond, familiar and dependable flavor, Old Reliable itself.

As far as sauces go, this is probably not one I would consider getting again, but compared to several of the other "zombie" sauces I've tried, this is near the top as Torchbearer are aces, without question. Just there name on something is enough to get me interested and though this isn't pushing all of the right buttons with me, I will definitely not be punting on the bottle. It is certainly well-crafted, so no knock there. It mostly just doesn't jibe with me quite enough. 

Bottom line: I think they meant this sauce as one to work up to the Rapture, as I believe it is the second hottest in their lineup. It is fairly abrasive, but more or less in line with the other "zombie" offerings out there. Good for those who want a little punishment with their sauce...

Breakdown:

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

Overall: 3

Private Selection Peruvian Aji Amarillo Hot Sauce Review

Private Selection Peruvian Aji Amarillo Hot Sauce

Two down and two to go in the so-called "Culinary Hot Sauce" line from the higher end of the two Kroger store brands. This one is by far the worst-tasting of all of them, with spices far more reminiscent of something for baking, but a flavor profile that is frankly just not very good. Both plain, by itself and in conjunction with being utilized as a grill sauce, the taste, while not outright foul, does tend to detract from food...when enough of it is used to be noticeable. It's hard to determine exactly what they were going for here as this things missed on everything I tried it on. There is very precious little heat to be had and it's hard to see where this would fit in anywhere. Overall, even as an experiment, this was simply not worth getting or even using.

Bottom line: This is a near-total bust. Not the worst sauce I've had, but I bailed on it well before finishing the bottle and so far, this is the worst of the new Private Selection Culinary line.

Breakdown:

            Heat level: 0
            Flavor: 0
            Flexibility: 0
            Enjoyment to dollar factor: 0

Overall:0

Private Selection Peri Peri Hot Sauce Review

Private Selection Peri Peri Hot Sauce

This is the second of 4 in the new series of "boutique", as in grocery store boutique, hot sauces straight from the minds and presumably kitchens and vats of the Kroger grocery empire. While the Mango sauce (reviewed elsewhere here) was pretty worthy, this one is what I call a "stepper" sauce, as in a sauce that you use to increase the heat of another sauce while not modifying the flavor much. The flavor here is rather mild, but by itself, while not unpalatable, is very uninteresting...rather a pity, as much more can be done with these peppers. This attribute makes it great for a stepper sauce, but not very good as a standalone. The heat is also somewhat minimal, but it does work well nearly across the board, so things like Mexican sauces, ketchup, barbeque sauces, all benefit from this. The only one that this really doesn't do well with is Louisiana-style sauces but those are really meant solely as standalones.

Taken on its own, this is not a very good sauce and if you're buying right, you shouldn't really have need for a stepper sauce, but I do find this to be of use with some of the other sauces. Once I run out of those, though, there will be little value to this...

Bottom line: As a standalone sauce, this is a pass and your mileage will vary depending on what value, if any, you attach to a stepper sauce.

Breakdown:

            Heat level: 2
            Flavor: 4
            Flexibility: 8
            Enjoyment to dollar factor: 3

Overall: 4

Private Selection Mango Scotch Bonnet Hot Sauce Review

Private Selection Mango Scotch Bonnet Hot Sauce

Note: Video support available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZMz2_8963Q

A note before I start the review proper, which I don't usually do. As you may have surmised from either my numerous Yelp reviews or this blog, I'm based in Salt Lake City. As such, I find it opportune to have a go-to grocer. That one for me (and one of the largest in the area) is Smith's, which is part of the Kroger family. The "Private Selection" label refers to their higher end house/store brand. They have recently launched a line called "Culinary Hot Sauce" within it.

I have chosen to start with the best of the lot for this introduction, the Mango Scotch Bonnet. As regular readers may have noted, my favorite pepper generally is the Cayenne. Say that someone asked for my second-favorite. Odds are, it would probably be the Scotch Bonnet, which is kind of odd, I suppose, considering my general disdain for its close relative, the Habanero. There, however, as the saying goes, it is, though. I have yet to have a bad hot sauce with Scotch Bonnet, providing they don't also include my two nemesises (nemesi?), that being extract and onions. I also find the Scotch Bonnet to be one of the tastier peppers in general.

I will say I have not had a solid Mango-hot sauce...until now, that is. Despite misgivings, considering this is a sauce from a large grocer containing what I consider a very volatile flavoring element, it succeeded wildly. It captures, somehow, the fruit well, with both that sort of tangy tartness frequently a hallmark of the fruit, with the distinct sweetness it is known for. It also rounds it out nicely with that flavor profile and (admittedly minor) heat that the Scotch Bonnet provides. This is a well-crafted and well-blended sauce and my main (and perhaps only) complaint is the idiot cap that comes with it, something that plagues the entire line. A dropper cap with a glass bottle with a thick sauce is a shit combination and they should not have made that choice, as one has to remove the cap entirely for usage to make any sense at all.

Bottom line: This is the best of the lot for the Culinary Hot Sauce line from Private Selection. Only minor heat and is best used as a dipping sauce, but the flavor profile is excellent. Worth a look.

Breakdown:

            Heat level: 3
            Flavor: 8
            Flexibility: 6
            Enjoyment to dollar factor: 8

Overall: 6

Torchbearer The Rapture Hot Sauce Review

Torchbearer's The Rapture Hot Sauce

Billed as the hottest natural hot sauce in the world and the hottest of the entire Torchbearer line-up, I've seen it listed at more than 1.2 million SHU, which, if true, makes this probably the hottest sauces I've reviewed in these pages and the hottest sauce I've had that did not have an extract element. It is also quite flavorful, with a very nice sweet and citrusy element, which I've heard ascribed to the presence of the mandarin oranges and carrots. Obviously, with the crazy amount of superhot peppers - specifically the Trinidad Scorpion, the Jolokias and the Habaneros for 66.6% of the actual sauce content - you probably will be straining to get a lot of that flavor while your mouth slowly begins its meltdown, but it is definitely present, at least in the beginning.

This is a sauce that takes some degree of caution for best results. I made the mistake of oversaucing a few things with it and that is a mistake you will have plenty of time to contemplate if you also do it. It will be edible, but if you use it sparingly, you can achieve a very nice balance that complements foods, particularly fried foods, such as the ubiquitous chicken strips, quite nicely. Go too far overboard, though and this thing will tend to send your senses over the edge, which makes things rather unenjoyable for a while. It is a slow build, if you use it the way I described as preferable, but it will nail things to the wall fairly immediately (but still not as fast as extract), if you go full boat and overload things. It's a very expensive sauce to use in that manner also...consequently, it is realistically somewhat low use, but for this kind of a trophy sauce, that's probably more what you want.

It is blended nicely and this is a sauce where clearly the designers had a very specific goal in mind and frankly nailed it. Because it clears the million SHU mark and I don't see a lot of non-extract sauces clearing that particular hurdle (and because I hate extract sauces and generally refuse to consume or review them), this also is the first sauce that gets all 10 points for heat. It is also my first SOTY  contender for 2017.

Bottom line: This is a great sauce to have in your stable. It won't go with everything and needs to have a fairly strong, yet uncomplicated flavor profile of the food you put it on for best results, but it is a very pleasant-tasting sauce overall and Torchbearer rightfully deserves much acclaim for it.

Breakdown:

            Heat level: 8
            Flavor: 8
            Flexibility: 7
            Enjoyment to dollar factor: 8

Overall: 8

Q1 2K17 Update

The overarching trend of the past 3 or 4 years continues on unabated as 2017 began very soft, mostly because I was trying really hard to clean up the open sauces in the fridge so I could get to newer ones and hopefully find a SOTY contender before the very last second, such as last year went. That task is done now. Still on tap is to clean up the pantry shelf more, but as everything I have is of the super-hot variety, that is not generally a fast task, as it takes me a bit (ok, a lot) longer to cycle through those, but that isn’t really cause for a delay to things as much as the usual considerations, such as time. It’s not as if I suddenly got an influx of free time (I’m a month late, for instance, on this post, due to a project that barely wrapped up and have another major project on the near horizon) and with a fairly intensive travel schedule for the foreseeable future, it tends to preclude being able to really spend a lot of time with bottles of sauces, as I do not and will not travel with them in tow.

I do have a lot of stuff on tap that I haven’t gotten a chance to post yet, most of which should be forthcoming prior to June…hopefully. I am also probably going to put up my first quadruple review and I’m also looking forward to being able to resume updating the rest of the sauces that need pictures at some point. I think several of those sauces are long gone, but I would also really like to put that project to bed.

Speaking of SOTY contenders, I do have one sort of kicking around, but I’m not sure it is quite there with some of the previous worthies from years past. It is, however, easily one of the hottest non-extract sauces I’ve had a review is forthcoming, though I think I want to kick it around just a touch more first. I definitely need to go hit the usual brick and mortars for a recharge and should have that done by the time I get to the Q2 update.

Sweet Baby Ray's Hot Sauce Review

Sweet Baby Ray's Hot Sauce

UPDATE: Video support available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDvZoteoaJE

So here we have the newest entrance from the Sweet Baby Ray's line, which appears to be another BBQ joint like Stubb's that decided to take their restaurant sauces, rubs, etc. and go national. I don't know the backstory of Sweet Baby Ray's nor am I really motivated to look into it further, but I will address some of their other items as ok, nothing too great or terrible one way or the other, but fine if there and equally fine if not. It is that exact characteristic I would ascribe to this sauce.

Regular readers will know that Louisiana-style sauce, if not my all-time favorite overall, is right up there near the top and my fondness for Trappey's Red Devil is well-established, despite it not having any heat to speak of. It is, in fact, probably the only sauce I can think of that I would consider drinking as a beverage, though I wouldn't realistically do that. It is perfection of flavor for that style, though and the litmus test for everything else. Nearly all other sauces have been found wanting and so I didn't really have a lot of hope when I saw this one...in fact, I didn't buy it at all until I had a coupon and it's a pretty large bottle for $2. But, as it would have things, I'm trying not to buy further sauces until I whittle down further and I ran out of not only that style, but a sauce I could use as more of an everyday sauce, hence the purchase.

This is ok for that style. Truth be told, it is not even a match for Texas Pete's, let alone Irazu or Red Devil or any of those, but it's ok for what it is. No real bite to it, though more than Red Devil. It also has a cheapness to it, a sort of bitterness I attribute to the dried garlic introduction. I wish sauce manufacturers would stop doing that as it is a wholly unnecessary addition. In this case, it detracts considerably from the sauce itself.

Bottom line: For the money, if you just need a Louisiana-style cutting sauce, this is ok, as long as you remember to use sparingly. Not among the best out there, though.

Breakdown:

            Heat level: 2
            Flavor: 6
            Flexibility: 6
            Enjoyment to dollar factor: 6

Overall: 5

Mexico Lindo Red Habanero & Green Habanero Hot Sauce Review

Mexico Lindo Red Habanero & Green Habanero Hot Sauce 

Note: Support video available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8P3yHNFm1Q

I haven't done a double review in quite some time, but these sauces are respectively not worth separate reviews. I stumbled across these in a grocery store and I think they were something like $1.50/bottle. The bottles are a bit small, but not excessively so. For both sauces, they are very well-blended. No complaints at all there. Sauce is pretty smooth coming out and with the restrictor cap and softer plastic bottle, you can control the flow very easily.

Neither one of them is particularly hot, though there is enough to notice. As with most Habanero sauces, the heat tends to progress and build, though it never gets to particularly high levels. The Rojo "Red" sauce is a bit of a misnomer, as the sauce itself is very orange. I'm guessing there are minimal actual red Habaneros in it but more likely orange, which are not at all among my favorite variety. The green definitely tastes of green Habanero, so that one is on the money.

If you're not familiar with Habanero sauces and are thinking of taking the plunge and grabbing a bottle of this for your first, don't. These are two of the worst examples of that type of sauce. Find the El Yucateco version of either first. Both of those sauces are worlds better. These, to varying extents on both are highly astringent, with all the grace of high citric acid and vinegar, as the more forward flavors. This is probably due to them using acetic acid rather than vinegar. Also, the red/orange is slightly more salty than the green. 

Though the price is mostly in the same range as the El Yucateco, these taste rather cheap, tending towards the noxious side, so much as to be largely inedible. The taste is probably best described as harsh and abrasive. The red/orange one is a bit better in that it occasionally cooperates with what you put it on, but it is by no means a good-tasting sauce, certainly no comparison for El Yucateco...both of these do a nice job, in fact, of wrecking or significantly degrading whatever you use them on. I'd guess they might work better blended with something, in cooking, possibly, but the potential is there for it as easily to ruin that as well.

Bottom line: Don't let this be your first encounter with a Habanero sauce. If you absolutely have to have something in a pinch, go with the green, but neither are particularly worthy.

Breakdown:
Green

            Heat level: 2
            Flavor: 0
            Flexibility: 0
            Enjoyment to dollar factor: 0

Overall: 0

Breakdown:
Red

            Heat level: 2
            Flavor: 3
            Flexibility: 1
            Enjoyment to dollar factor: 0

Overall: 1

Best Hot Sauce 2016 + Recap

Like last year, this was not a strong year for sauces…mostly because I didn’t get to many of them. In fact, I’m going to let the numbers speak for themselves (all sauces not directly linked here can be clicked to directly from the Table Of Contents page).

Total posts (including this post): 147

Total views (as of this writing): 8768

Total single sauce full reviews: 119

Total double sauce full reviews: 1

Total sauces full reviewed: 120

Total mini-sauce reviews: 20

Total sauces reviewed, combined: 146

Total unopened sauces waiting on shelf for review: 9

Total opened sauces waiting for review: 0

Total open bottles in fridge: 13

Door sauces: 4

Back of fridge sauces: 3

Highest viewed review: 357 - Valentina's Extra Hot

Highest viewed article, any type: 357 - Valentina’s Extra Hot

If you compare and contrast these vs. last year, they are all down comparatively and last year itself was a down year to begin with…so the slide continues, mostly unabated. In fact, for the last 3 years, I’ve used Black Friday/Cyber Monday to load up and re-stock, but I still have sufficient of a backload as to make that pointless. It is taking me a long, long time to claw through sauces, for the most part and I can’t even imagine when I’m going to re-up again. I don’t see this changing notably, if at all, in 2017. I do still need to re-visit the pictures of some of the older sauces that haven’t made it up yet as well, but that is about as back burner as it can be.

Despite the sort of molasses crawl I’m doing with sauces this year, I did have a few contenders. For a while, I thought it would be between the Water Of Life from Terrapin Station (link to this sauce and all others I've reviewed is in TOC) and Pirate O’s Surface Of The Sun, but in reviewing this, that was because I was mistaken on the ratings. WOL came in at a 7, while SOTS was an 8, sort of rendering their competition over immediately. I would have given the edge to the SOTS for pure flexibility, but I did find another 8, that being the Boar’s Head Jalapeno, which is remarkably flavorful and flexible. I also found another 7 in B.J. Bull’s Hot Sauce, but that one wore on me after a bit and the Jak Jeckel Red, also at 7, which I liked better, but not enough for it to be in actual running for SOTY.

So, competition this year was rather minimal. SOTS was the leader, in my mind, but to compare vs. BHJ head to head, we have an edge to SOTS in heat and in value, about equal in flavor and a very slight edge to the BHJ in terms of flexibility. Thus, it was not much of a competition and SOTS was not seriously challenged at any point. However, if I'm being honest, this year is a notable step down from previous winners, a trend I'm hoping changes back in the other direction next year. As it is, your clear winner this year, with a rating a point less than the eventual winners of the last 4 years and less than some of the runners up of those previous years:
 

Pirate O’s Surface Of The Sun Hot Sauce

Previous TSAAF Sauce Of The Year winners:

2012 Sauce Of The Year: CaJohn’s Happy Beaver

2013 Sauce Of The Year: Blair’s Pure Death

2014 Sauce Of The Year: Born To Hula’s Ghost Of Ancho

2015 Sauce Of The Year: Voodoo Chile’s Voo Dew Honey Doo

My current standby sauces are unchanged. They are:

*Emeritus Everyday sauce: Trappey's Red Devil

*Everyday sauce: Blair’s Pure Death Sauce

*Grilling sauce: CaJohn's Bourbon-Infused Chipotle Habanero (BICH)

 Mexican-style sauce: Arizona Pepper’s Chipotle Habanero Pepper Sauce

*Emeritus Asian-style sauce: Huy Fong Chili-Garlic Sauce

 *Asian-style sauce: Zenso Sweet Chili Sauce

 *Louisiana-style sauce: Irazu Cayenne

 Sweet-hot sauce: CaJohn's Happy Beaver

 *Wife's sauce: DannyCash's Salvation Garlic-Serrano and/or Bottled-Up Anger

 *= Not looking for a replacement

There is, of course, also my wine about blog, the Happy Sippin’ Companion (HSC), which has now 55 posts, 50 of which are reviews. It has drawn, to date, 741 views.

Then we have Yelp. My review count is now 1209 reviews and 144 updates, which is a total of 1353 reviews, all in. I was "First To Review" 138 times.  I also have 755 "Friends" (feel free to add me, if you wish), 30 "Followers" and am up to 16 Lists. My distribution of ratings and further metrics are available on my Yelp page, which you can click to from my widget. As always, I have several on tap that I haven’t gotten around to posting as of yet.

So, as we put another one in the books, as always, thanks for dropping by. If there’s any changes to suggest or sauces you’d like to see me get to, please drop me a line in the comment section of any of the reviews.