Taco Jesus Cayenne Pepper Hot Sauce Review

Taco Jesus Cayenne Pepper Hot Sauce - [TSAAF Sauce Of The Year 2018]

Those that know me know that there is no way I would pass this by on a shelf, just on name alone. The bottle imagery is actually quite cool as well, not that I typically care about that kind of thing, but just sayin'. Had it had either onions or extract, obviously, I would have skipped it, but despite the more Mexican-y sounding name, this is not a thing you would normally put on tacos or even want to put on tacos. No, this is much more of a Louisiana-style sauce.As long-time readers know, that style is probably my overall favorite of all of the various styles there are.

It is also no secret that I think the best of those sauces tend to heavily (even exclusively) favor Cayenne peppers, but that I further find the combination of the Naga Jolokia with Cayenne to also be a strong one, such as my more usual standby sauce in this category, the Irazu. Irazu has been difficult for me to locate lately, however, so I was cautiously hopeful when I picked this one up, as I'm always in need for a good Louisiana-style sauce. This is definitely a good one and possibly the best sauce I've had this year.

It's a bit hard to judge flavor notes with this style of sauce, as it is not at all meant to be consumed by itself, but this is consistent with the best of the category. It has worked marvelously with every food that I normally use this type of sauce on, so I have zero complaints. It acts as I would expect and does what I want the sauce to do. I wouldn't probably place it right at the top, but instead very near the top, along the lines of the Irazu. It is a bit spicier than this style tends to be, thanks to the Naga, but the flavoring profile is definitely hard along the lines of the Cayenne, right where it should be.

Bottom line: Catchy (though non-descriptive) name for a very strong entry into the Louisiana-style sauce category. Fans of that style would do well to look into a bottle of this.

Breakdown:

            Heat level: 4
            Flavor: 8
            Flexibility: 8
            Enjoyment to dollar factor: 10

Overall: 8

Bravado Ghost Pepper & Blueberry Hot Sauce Review

Bravado Spice Co. Ghost Pepper & Blueberry Hot Sauce

NOTE: This sauce appeared in Season Three of The Hot Ones.

Note: Support video available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBulqjX3gm8

Figured I might just as well round out the last of my selections from this company. Of the fruit-based sauces I got, this one is probably my favorite, though the consistency is very reminiscent of Torani. It is a very bright and somewhat sweet sauce as well, but more importantly, it actually tastes pretty good. I wonder if some ingredients got left off, as this is perhaps overly sweet for having blueberries as the main ingredient, but this could definitely work in a dessert, even with both black pepper and Jolokia components.

As to that, if there is one thing that Bravado seems adept at, it is stripping all of the heat out of normally fairly hot peppers for their fruit sauces. Unlike the Special Reserve Crimson (reviewed elsewhere here), which moves into blast furnace territory out of the gate, this one doesn't seem to generate much heat, even when used to excess. If it was a wine, we would definitely be calling it fruit forward and though the consistency isn't quite that runny, the tag definitely applies. It is so much so that I didn't catch even a hint of the Jolokias, which is perhaps another thing Bravado is adept at...

In a way, this is a shame, as this would be a very interesting sauce were it hotter. It doesn't need to be along the scorching levels of, say, Blueberry Hell or anything like that, but definitely could use a greater degree of being amped. Despite this one having the 4 pepper tag on the label, it is still quite mild, which really becomes confusing then comparing the Crimson Special Reserve, which carries a 5 pepper rating. This means the difference between a 4 pepper and 5 pepper rating should be fairly moderate, but instead here is more like the difference between lukewarm water and boiling water.

Bottom line: An extremely runny, but overall fairly enjoyable sauce that definitely could stand to have more heat.


Breakdown:

            Heat level: 2
            Flavor: 6
            Flexibility: 4
            Enjoyment to dollar factor: 4

Overall: 4

Culinary Tours Jalapeno Hot Sauce Review

Culinary Tours Jalapeno Hot Sauce

UPDATE: Video support now available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhKhHhxX2w8

Another grocery store find, as the various places in my general vicinity seem like they are in process of rotating out vendors. For this one, it is a sauce styled very reminiscent of Danny Cash's Garlic-Serrano Salvation Sauce or the Bottled-Up Anger sauce, which is a somewhat astringent green sauce vaguely approaching perhaps along the lines of a tomatillo sauce. This makes it best for lighter meats, chicken, pork or the best usage we've thus found, fish tacos.

Taste is not bad, but this is overpowering on the vinegar side (listed here as acetic acid), so much that it drives up the astringency to a quite pronounced effect and overruns whatever you put it on. For some great-tasting sauces this aspect, while not wholly desirable, is at least tolerable. Here it is not and comes across as obnoxious and jarring. It's unfortunate, as had they dialed that back, this would have been a pretty ok sauce.

There are very light notes of Jalapeno and some of the additional Habanero sneaking through here and there, but mostly the taste is heavily on the vinegar side, far more pungent than any Louisiana sauce I've yet had. I don't always necessarily even mind one note, as long as that note is good. Here, definitely not. If that's your jam, you may like this, but this is not something I'll ever be using again.

Bottom line: Very aggressively vinegared sauce, to the exclusion of nearly all else. Not in my stable.

Breakdown:

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

Overall: 1

Bravado Pineapple & Habanero Hot Sauce Review

Bravado Spice Co. Pineapple & Habanero Hot Sauce

Note: Support video available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODIRu8ly2Kw

UPDATE: I revisited this sauce, some 6 years and change removed, in later 2024, in the midst of shooting an FOH video for it (link will be above when live). I found it to be a whole lot more agreeable and this review in need of a bit of a refresh. I don't like to rewrite the entire reviews, as I like their historical nature, hence why I'm not updating the picture to the current label, so this one has some minor modifications, to bring it more in line with my current impression, which is noted when there are changes.

As mentioned elsewhere, fruit-based hot sauces tend to be a very mixed bag, as far as what is available commercially. I don't know how well they actually sell, since I see so few of them, but when I noticed a number of the Bravado sauces at a local grocer's, given that I hadn't tried any of them, it seemed like a sporting idea to pick them up.

It is at this point that I begin to think that Bravado might be a company to avoid in the future. This sauce, when it tastes like pineapple puree, is mostly fine. However, agitate it enough and you start to get notes of garlic, which does not really pair particularly well with pineapple. The Habanero is MIA for this sauce, on the flavor side, at least leaving the salt, garlic, and pineapple to duke it out, though the garlic has been meshed down when I revised this sauce in 2024 and works much better and harmoniously. Before, I said I would go so far as to say the inclusion of garlic actually ruins this sauce, but am well-pleased to say that is no longer the case. 

I still have another Bravado sauce to go from my haul at that grocer's and have reviewed another of their sauces earlier, but now 3 sauces in, I'm pretty mightily unimpressed [note - this has also changed somewhat, where I'm not as mightily as previous]. While better than the apple nonsense sauce of the prior review, it still is far from a good sauce, though I'd say it's a pretty solid mid-range entry. I do wish that it was a lot less loose, however, but my impression in 2024 is far more favorable.

Bottom line: Very low heat, but a pretty solid mid-level pineapple Habanero sauce, tending more towards the pulpy puree/juice variety.


Breakdown:

            Heat level: 1
            Flavor: 7
            Flexibility: 5
            Enjoyment to dollar factor: 7

Overall: 5

Bravado Jalapeno & Green Apple Hot Sauce Review

Bravado Spice Co. Jalapeno & Green Apple Hot Sauce

Doing a fruit-based hot sauce is very difficult to do well, even moreso when you are starting with a flawed concept. Case in point, this entry. Here we have a Jalapeno-based sauce, which by itself is fine, and then to "change the game," as the label insists, they use Granny Smith apples. Granny Smith, as those bakers out there already know, is an apple that does well in pies because it is very hard flesh and stands up well to high oven temperatures. Part of the reason that flesh is so strong is because there is not a lot of either liquid or sugar in those apples. So, when you see it used in baking, it is generally amidst a ton of sugar and other flavorings, which are necessary to cut the tartness out of those apples, whose flavoring can quickly run to the sour.

Someone apparently forgot to tell these guys as there is no sweetener anywhere on the label and indeed, though Jalapenos have a degree of sweetness, it is perhaps even less than these apples. So, what does that leave you, without some sugar, but with a dash of vinegar? Sort of green puree slurry mess that is bracingly sour, with no discernible heat...Jalapeno flavor is lost entirely.

It is one of those products that I'm somewhat astonished it made it to market, as I can't imagine anyone testing this and feeling that it 1) tasted good and 2) was finished enough to bottle and send to market. I also have no idea what possible use one could use it for as it is in no way tasty enough to add to pie flavoring or to anything else. The first time I tried it, I was shocked, before being appalled and the second time, thinking maybe I hadn't agitated it enough, very thoroughly shook it and came up with similar results. The rest of the bottle now resides in the trash.

Bottom line: One of the worst sauces I've yet come across while doing this blog, this was ill-advised in concept and didn't get any better in execution.

Breakdown:

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

Overall: 0

Dave's Ginger Peach Hot Sauce Review

Dave's Gourmet Ginger Peach Hot Sauce Review

I think a question that probably every chilehead has been asked, myself included, is where ginger would fall in terms of relative hotness to chili peppers. This is an interesting question. While the jury is still sort of out on that question, ginger has as its main component of piquancy/pungency gingerol (or possibly zingerone), rather than capsaicin. Unfortunately, the two do not compare directly on a 1:1 basis, but it is a reasonable thought and one I've also been asked about garlic.

The bottom line is that there is a natural connection here and it's no surprise that an ace saucemaker decided to incorporate both (non-specified) chiles and ginger into a concoction. Regrettably, there is precious little heat from this combination. There is, however, a massive amount of sweetness, so much so that it rather defies the description of "hot" sauce.

It is a touch on the runny side, but pretty solid for a dipping sauce, which seems squarely where this is aimed. It does stick well to food and the color I find somewhat appealing. Color does not normally play a huge role for me, but I have started to notice it begin to build expectations for me as I get further and further into sauces.

It is a poor-tasting sauce solo, so you will want something relatively salty and preferably fried here. It does acceptably, for instance, on fried chicken fingers, though it is not my preference. I probably will finish out the bottle, but can't see a repeat purchase on the horizon.The ginger seems mostly absent and even the peach gets frequently lost, without a ton of agitation...perhaps more energy than the taste delivery is worth expending.

Bottom line: Peach is a somewhat difficult fruit to do well in these sauces and this one also misses the mark a bit there.  Ok as a dipping sauce, if you want little to no heat.

Breakdown:

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

Overall: 3

2K18 Q1 Update

After a mostly “cleaning” January, that saw me purge a couple sauces that had hung around just a bit too long, I finally got back in the swing of new sauces. I had to go back and check to confirm my suspicions but not since 2014 happened, which is that the first sauce I reviewed was a SOTY candidate. I’m extraordinarily pleased that it happened this year. I’m also down to 3 unopened sauces on the shelf, so another run will be coming in the very near future. Also, due to yet another change to things, I’m home a lot more now, so hopefully, after an improvement last year over the preceding year, I’ll be able to see more posting activity this year, which means more sauces to try.

I’m right around the corner from adding a new criteria to the sauces I’m going to consider eligible for review and by that, I’m very close adding another disqualifying ingredient. As it is, if I see either onions or capsaicin extract, of any kind, it automatically DQ-es the sauce instantly. I am right on the borderline of also adding apple cider vinegar to those other two, as I’m trying –and failing – to think of a sauce where I’ve ever liked it. I’m not there yet, but I think it’s coming, probably soon. When that happens, I’m going to add a blog post about it, I suspect.

I’ve also tried a couple new “spicy” foods at national chain restaurants, specifically the “Nashville Hot” fish at Arby’s (ok, but nothing special, like most of the other “Nashville Hot” stuff I’ve tried) and the Ghost Chili batter at Popeye’s, which is excellent and something I wish they’d put on everything. A Korean place called CupBop also has a spicy pork bowl, which, at 10, can get ratcheted up decently, though at that level, the taste also leaves a great deal to be desired. Sauce updates, to this point, have been kind of low. I think I’m up to a whopping 3 total, which is probably the worst start to any year since this blog has been active. This is mostly due to a constant plague of illnesses this year, which has been of the worst I can remember. It seems that one or another of the 3 of us has been consistently sick, though I think, with spring finally on the way, this should abate.

Wife has also resumed another weird diet, so it is sort of undercutting opportunity. I need to kick my own ass and get back into better shape as well, which may cut down what few are there further. Back down again to 2 local storefronts, with the sad closing of the beloved Burn Your Tongue. This probably means I will need to resume ordering online, which is both a blessing and a curse. I’m down right now to 5 or 6 sauces unopened, total, so that order will be coming probably sooner rather than later, once the cold/flu season stops and I can both have normal taste and capsaicin tolerance restored, both of which go right out the window when sick…

Red Rooster Hot Sauce Review

Red Rooster Hot Sauce

Note: Support video available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-CBr5zL8Ys

Red Rooster makes no attempt at diffusion at all; this is - and is clearly meant to be - a Louisiana-style sauce, including being bottled, as I recall, and possibly produced, in Louisiana. This naturally meant I had high hopes for it, as I was mining one of the last brick-and-mortars I have left, as I've struggled as of late to find the Irazu, which means testing some new sauces to find, if not a replacement, then at least a backup to the mighty Irazu.

This one was slightly more expensive than I was expecting, but I don't mind paying for quality...to a point. Louisiana-style is a fairly uncomplicated sauce and someone wanting over say $3 for a bottle of it had better plan on making a fairly strong case for why it's more. In fact, Irazu is the only one I can think of that has done that well, though I seem to recall something from CAJohn's also being in that area as well.

As to this, very nice bright red color, sauce is very slightly thicker than most of the other sauces of type, but it oddly also tends to separate, even after being shaken and added to food. I find this more confusing than anything else, as it does not ever appear to be separated in the actual bottle. Taste is right along the lines of where it should be, and if someone were to ask me about what a Louisiana-style sauce should look and taste like, I'd point to this for example. It has very little heat, which is also usual for that style, though it does perhaps have more than some of the other entries out there. 

Bottom line: Very solid entry and one of the better epitomes of what a Louisiana-style sauce should be.

Breakdown:

            Heat level: 1
            Flavor: 10
            Flexibility: 7
            Enjoyment to dollar factor: 10

Overall: 7

Z's Viking Blood Hot Sauce Review

Z's Viking Blood Hot Sauce

After the glory that was Z's Shield Maiden (SOTY 2017 and review elsewhere in this blog), I bought every other Z's hot sauce I could find (they also have a mustard sauce, which I may get and possibly another that I haven't been able to find anywhere). I saved this one for last of those that I could find, as typically hot sauce companies, when they put the word "blood" in the title, mean it to be something particularly hot, usually referencing a demonic entity, i.e devil's blood, demon's blood, Satan's blood, volcano's blood, etc. This was also reinforced by the black wax melted over the cap, which, again, is typically only seen in the hotter sauces. The black wax here was actually a bit excessive in that it took me quite a bit of time to remove, but smaller hot sauce company and they're out there hustling to get their name out and all, so I can forgive that.

When I finally got to this, I wasn't quite sure what to do with it. It was nowhere near anything hot, not even to the somewhat moderate level of Shield Maiden, which was kind of a surprise as I didn't remember Shield Maiden having wax at all. After reading the ingredient panel (and seeing the apple cider vinegar again!), I concluded that it was meant more for Mexican-style food flavors and keyed it accordingly. It does work fantastically well there...but only as an accent. By itself, as many other sauces are, not too wonderful, which means some caution must be employed to avoid over-saucing.

If you're familiar with Danny Cash's Salvation Sauce or his Bottled-Up Anger or even the Private Selection Jalapeno Tomatillo, this is more or less along those lines. a pretty good-tasting overall sauce when used in conjunction with Mexican-style food. By itself, not so good and like those others not particularly hot. This one does not have tomatillo and the apple cider vinegar isn't super-overbearing, again, presuming you don't over-sauce. In fact, this is probably my favorite sauce that utilizes apple cider vinegar, but truth be told, I also strongly wish it wasn't present at all.

Bottom line: A very strong contender in the Serrano pepper/green sauce category. I don't particularly utilize that kind of sauce much, but my wife does, so this could be a good fit there. If you like those kinds of sauces, this is definitely a good one to have on hand.

Breakdown:

            Heat level: 2
            Flavor: 6
            Flexibility: 4
            Enjoyment to dollar factor: 6

Overall: 5

Dave's Gourmet Scorpion Pepper Hot Sauce Review

Dave's Gourmet Scorpion Pepper Hot Sauce

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

Update 09/30/24: I picked up a bottle of this for an upcoming sort of project video wherein I needed a sauce with Scorpion and since I've largely sworn off buying sauces with that as the main pepper, I didn't have any at hand. It's very obvious that I was less disinterested in that pod when I wrote this review 6 years or so ago. Back then, it was a SOTY candidate for 2018, a year before I started doing the FOH videos, but that was a challenging year for sauces for me and while I don't now recall exactly why it had (that section has also been updated as of this writing) what I consider an inflated rating, it was probably because I needed a few more entries in the consideration pool.

Most of us are probably most familiar with Dave's from the Insanity line of his, long a staple of drunken party challenges and maybe the most well-known to break out extract to the population at large. This is not necessarily a good thing, as it did his company a disservice, causing a focus primarily to the heat, which is a shame, as there are some very good sauces output by the company. This is one of them.

Looking at the ingredient panel, there is not a whole ton going on here, basically just Scorpion peppers and the usual suspects of seasonings and preservatives. I kept catching hints of smoke and, at times, a touch of sweetness, which was interesting. The sauce is about a perfect consistency to not have a restrictor cap and I bounced back and forth from being thrown about how good it tasted, to wanting to back off a touch so I didn't get a heat overload and have my entire face tingling. Most of the time, I found a happy medium, but I've also managed to oversauce it more than a few times with this particular gem. It is a tasty sauce, without question, one of the better ones to utilize this pepper, by my reckoning.

Make no mistake, though, this one does pack a wallop and best reserved for chileheads. It's kind of like taking a bite of a lit candle flame, as the heat is immediate and sharp. It does taper off fairly quickly after that, settling into a nice, slow build, but lips and tongue will get numb and tingly after a time from the build-up, if you keep going and because I liked the taste so much, I kept going.  After the initial feeling, which is kind of like, say, if you pricked yourself in the tongue with a cactus needle, it's not quite as intense, but definitely is something that requires a degree of care. If you do oversauce, it won't tend to burn for hours on end, like heavy extract oversaucing will do, but rather settle into a nice warm sort of ember-y warmth. Still, I definitely recommend caution for mid-level chileheads, probably about where I'd put myself and avoidance entirely for non-chileheads.

Bottom line: Another great entry by Dave's Gourmet, one of the longest running purveyors for a reason. This not a casual entry point for introduction to the Scorpion peppers for beginners, but something better off for chileheads. For us, it is a great-tasting, solid heating and very worthy entry into the pantheon of sauces utilizing this pepper. It is also my first SOTY candidate for 2018.

Breakdown:

            Heat level: 4
            Flavor: 6
            Flexibility: 5
            Enjoyment to dollar factor: 5

Overall: 5