The Hot Ones Eye Of The Scorpion Hot Sauce Review

The Hot Ones Eye Of The Scorpion Hot Sauce

Note: This sauce appears on Season 14 of The Hot Ones.

Note: Support video available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRjeNrxfm9k

This, along with a few other Hot Ones sauces, were gifts I received for my birthday and this marks both the first actual Hot Ones sauce I've had, as well as the sauce that now puts me as having done at least one review in every season of the show. Honestly, these are sauces that are both somewhat expensive, comparatively, and also feature a pepper I'm not overly fond of, the Scorpion pepper, so these would have been very definitely more back burner, if left to my own devices to receive. Still, I didn't have a Season 14 entry, so I was glad to have them.

I mentioned the Tabasco Scorpion (reviewed elsewhere here) as a good gateway to the flavor of the actual Scorpion pepper itself and I think that still holds true, as it is tamed down enough to be able to get the gist of the flavor without being overpowered by accompanying heat. This one is like that, though several notches higher. It is borderline more puree than sauce, must be used a lot more judiciously, as it definitely is quite spiky and will start to pack a wallop with continued use. The flavor is overrun fairly quickly by the heat punch. While I am no fan of the very flowery flavor of the Scorpion pepper generally, which shows up in spades here, of course, one of the things I rather dislike about this sauce is the propensity of it to constantly clot the neck of the bottle. This definitely could have done with an emulsifier or possibly more vinegar to thin it out a tish more. The pour of this is chunky and thick as well and one I find a bit on the irritating side to use. 

In Season 14, it was the #9 slotted sauce, so it definitely is meant to be a scorcher, with both the Scorpion peppers and then Scorpion pepper powder as well, just to kind of confirm things. I wouldn't call it breathtaking heat or anything, at least not for chileheads, but this will probably be somewhat punishing for non-chileheads and unless they really like the flowery flavor aspect, might serve to put them off hot sauce entirely. I still haven't really found an application where I'm fond of that Scorpion pepper flavor, but it seems to work reasonably acceptably on chicken strips. It doesn't really lend itself to me wanting to try it in various other settings.

Bottom line: If you're a chilehead AND a fan of the flowery aspects of the Scorpion pepper (or are trying to do your own Hot Ones run), this is a sauce well worth trying. If you are not, those, YMMV.

Breakdown:

            Heat level: 6
            Flavor: 2
            Flexibility: 2
            Enjoyment to dollar factor: 0

Overall: 3

2K21 Q3 Update

 2K21 Q3 Update

Note: This is being posted earlier than usual (these typically come at the last day of the quarter), but due to an ongoing family emergency that is very time and attention intensive, I won’t be able to post at the usual time, so I’m coming in a few days ahead. I will say that this situation makes being as far ahead as I usually am on the videos very handy, as I can schedule those and they can proceed uninterrupted.

So, here we are, finally, Post 300 for the blog (300 full review sauces is still some distance away, probably next year). Another diet change, in the midst of a major life change (not related to the diet change or the noted emergency, but preceding the emergency and not yet concluded), and I’m trying to find more opportunities to fit hot sauce into my diet, which has once again been revamped to accommodate some fitness goals I’m working on. I’m below the 20 sauce threshold for my backlog, even though I wound up getting some for my birthday, so I’ll be looking to head up to Rog’s and load up again in the very near future. I have also added a playlist on the FOH series for the Inferno Candy Company products, since I have done so many of them. Additionally, all content filmed in 2020 is finally posted. It will probably be pretty deep into 2022 before I’m caught up with this year, at least on the non-sauce content. I have also gotten within one letter of completing the alphabet of reviewed sauces...just need to find a manufacturer that starts with the letter “U”...

I might count up just how many Carolina Reaper products I did at the end of this year (and I’m seriously thinking of going through everything in my backlog just to get it all done before then), but I can say that I kind of can’t wait until my existing backlog (maybe a third of what I have left sauce-wise) of stuff with that pepper is over. It truly is on another level compared to other peppers and even extract, an aspect which I both find interesting and somewhat annoying. It also tends to hit a lot harder in the receptors in the back of my mouth, which is rather irritating. Flavor-wise, I’d put it above the Scorpions and probably the Fatalii, but definitely below Jolokias and the 7-Pot Primos, the last of which I am happily running across more and more.

I have filmed entirely all of the non-sauce content I had, which puts me into 2022 somewhere. It is so weird seeing a tower of various packaged food staged for review in my office now being entirely absent. I’m still trying to sort out how I want to approach the coming year in terms of posting. Sauces will still be continuing as now, with posting on Sundays and any sauces from Hot Ones (starting to make a solid dent in that list) on Fridays. The quarterly Wing Things will also continue. I’ve done a lot of stuff with the Inferno Candy Company, but do not have anything on deck from them. They are always kicking new stuff out, though, and I have yet to see the Paqui One Chip Challenge for 2021, actually, I have seen signs for it, but have not come across the actual product yet, so it may be a bit later into next year before this problem really comes to the fore.  

It will be, again, another issue, though, as if I go every other week, I probably am closing in on all of next year, however, with products like these particularly, there is also a timeliness issue and I’m not sure how much I want to be posting content that is 6+ months old. I might just keep it the way it is now through the first 2 quarters and then shift after that...depends on how many more products I’m able to come across. Again, though, 2021 is the year of the chile in many respects, so there is a lot more stuff than anticipated, but still not quite enough to keep me comfortable. I am thinking about resurrecting my spicy chicken sandwich battle thing for another round, but really going back and forth on that with the Delta surge. I’m still debating some challenges and/or possibly exploring fresh pods, but those are definitely way down on my list of interest. Of course, I’m always open to suggestions as well.

As to The Hot Ones, the Season 16 lineup is out, which I have updated. Once again, the wisdom of me doing that wretched Da Bomb sauce is vindicated, as I already have an entry in this season, just by doing that singular review and video. As to the rest of it, because I just shot a video for a Yellowbird sauce and referenced Sean Evans heavily in it, namely that he is a big fan, but also no sauce from them had ever appeared on the show, naturally, he has an entry for this season. Go figure. That specific sauce, and a few others, I won’t be partaking in, thanks to onions. Overall, half of the sauces from Season 16 I won’t be doing, and all of them for that reason. Other than that, though, I think the sauces for this upcoming season are definitely intriguing.

One thing I will note is that playing with superhots in 100 degree heat is an interesting experience and makes the internal burn kind of different. With the associated decrease in appetite, it also raises the bar on hot sauces or even spicy foods in general for me to be interested in them, which is something I’ve really only noticed this year and probably both because it’s so stupid hot, but also because I’m doing a lot of non-sauce content as well (and also have my video hood on, which, even though it’s sheer and very loose, somehow seems to increase the sensation considerably). That said (or typed), if I ever do decide to toy around with fresh pods, definitely will be no sooner than possibly winter.

I noticed something interesting in that the Top 5 sauces, in terms of overall views, has shifted somewhat, with Zatarain’s moving down and Schlotzsky’s moving up. The obvious problem with that is to do an FOH video for that, I’d need to acquire another bottle of the sauce, which I would not mind at all, to be honest, buuuuut, there are zero Schlotzsky’s anywhere in the state any longer (the franchise evidently took a pounding during 2020) and the nearest location is 400+ miles away. The sauce is, naturally, only available in-store, buuuut (again), the vicinity of this family emergency actually has one location (and the other is on the way to the vicinity), so I may actually be able to get this done, which would be a bright spot in an otherwise awful mess.

A future hot sauce road trip might also be something I consider doing, like Kendall over at Tasting The Heat (go check him out, he’s great) is kind of doing, bringing in a camera and showing off some different hot sauce places. I note now that the route I more normally take will bring me right to Volcanic Peppers in Nebraska or thereabouts as well as another one called Halogi on the edge of South Dakota, so there might be something to this idea. Road construction and the pandemic are precluding it currently, but perhaps someday... I count myself very fortunate in having nearby perhaps the greatest hot sauce store in Roger Dodger’s Burn Your Tongue Emporium, and of course, both Pirate O’s and Grove Market as solid backstops as well.

Also have added another SOTY candidate, which makes 5 as of now, and a very, very difficult decision will have to be made towards the end of the year, if this holds. It is both a good and somewhat agonizing problem to have, but definitely preferable to wondering for most of the year if there would be a contender at all...

Yellowbird Blue Agave Sriracha Hot Sauce Review

Yellowbird Blue Agave Sriracha Hot Sauce

Note: Support video available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpO0FU8dqqQ

Ahhh, Yellowbird, those of the squeeze bottles so much admired by Sean Evans of The Hot Ones, a company that is overly fond of onions, but who has been on my radar for some time. With this, their pass at sriracha, a sauce that does not contain onions generally, they finally leave off of that, both allowing me to add in a sauce company starting with "Y" and getting that much closer to completing the alphabet and to finally sample some of their wares.

For those of who have been around Asian culture to any extent, or even without that, eaten in a significant number of Asian restaurants, the ubiquitous sauce, the large squeeze bottle with the green cap, is the Huy Fong version of this sauce. It is a very good sauce, reminiscent at once of a chili-garlic sauce, just more refined, in terms of milling and smoothness, and with a slightly higher garlic kick. This one models that existing monolith pretty well. I am no fan of agave, but the sauce here overall tempers down the garlic hit somewhat, and also adds in a bit of citrus fruitiness. This is a very acceptable entry into this style of sauce, unlike the previous sauce in the blog timeline that uses the sriracha name incorrectly.

There is next to no heat in any of the srirachas, this one included. While its veer from the "classic" Huy Fong taste is moderate, it is enough that I would probably not favor this over that one, but then again, I've eaten so much of this, given my various relationships with different Asian women, that I don't either buy or particularly ever eat this style of sauce much anymore. 

Bottom line: This is a very solid, very capable rendition of a very specific style of sauce. To my taste, I wouldn't say it's better, but perhaps almost as good.

Breakdown:

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

Overall: 5

Lilly Lager Hot Sauce Review

Lilly Lager Hot Sauce

Note: Support video available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24D90s2P_u4

Another of the novelty sauce buys and I didn't notice until after I'd opened it that the sauce was calling itself sriracha. I had gotten it primarily because it used Cayenne as the pepper, which was what I was after. I'm not generally a fan of booze in foods, as I consider them to be two entirely unrelated realms, but had also never really had a sauce that utilized beer (at least not that I could recall at the time) and suspected I may hate it a bit less than the hard liquor sauce, given that I do, despite not being generally a fan of booze in foods, use beer here and there in cooking, particularly Germanic foods.

Before I get into the sauce, I am going to, again, register a complaint here publicly about the idea of using the word sriracha, which describes a very specific style of sauce, inappropriately. Sriracha may be considered a generic term by the Office of Copyrights, which is fine, but devaluation of words is something I have huge struggles with. Sriracha is not, among other things, a tropical fruit-based sauce, as another manufacturer alleged on label copy. Here, I think this gets closer to the line of what it could be (though definitely not what it is) by having a similar ingredient profile, less the addition of beer, but I don't find this to be an acceptable sriracha entry, given how loose and runny this sauce is. Consistency definitely matters with certain sauce types, Louisiana-style being perhaps the foremost example. There is also a discussion of which peppers can conceivably constitute an actual sriracha (again, a parallel with Louisiana-style), however, I don't find the idea valid that sriracha can only be red jalapeno.

So, for me, this is closer, but definitely not quite all the way there to an actual sriracha. As to the sauce, it is quite loose, to the point it comes with a restrictor cap, so me thinking it was either a stab at a Louisiana-style or Cajun style is perhaps more understandable. There are not stabilizers in the sauce, so it separates constantly, including during use, which is quite an annoying aspects of the sauce. Given that is is Cayenne-based, there is not a great deal of heat here. The overriding presence of the beer flavor is perhaps the most notable features of this sauce and again points to the novelty nature of the sauce, wherein I'm not necessarily convinced those manufacturers are trying to make good sauces, so much as passable ones. What should be, at most, an accent flavor, tends to interfere with any actual sauce flavor notions the sauce may have and consequently significantly challenges the variety of usage this sauce might otherwise expect to have. I should stress the sauce is not offensive, per se, but strikes some very odd notes that lean towards being unpleasant, but are generally off-putting enough not to want to use this. In the end, I'm not quite entirely sure I will be finishing this bottle.

Bottom line: Pin-up girl on the somewhat haphazard label, booze in the product, clearly a novelty item and somewhat sloppy in terms of being an actual viable hot sauce.

Breakdown:

            Heat level: 1
            Flavor: 4
            Flexibility: 3
            Enjoyment to dollar factor: 2

Overall: 2

Firelli Hot Sauce Review

Firelli Italian Hot Sauce 

Note: Support video available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpI5iVdjy64

Sauces like this are really why I keep on trolling the various supermarket aisles, as you never quite know what will show up. This one is direct from Italy, the famous Parma, specifically, and utilizes the great Calabrian pepper, which, if you watch the Food Network at all, know is one of the darling trendy peppers in that sphere. I don't run across it in sauces, aside from that Private Selection sauce (reviewed elsewhere here) which used it extensively and quite effectively, to the point where that sauce was in contention for Sauce Of The Year.

This one is not quite of that caliber. Labeling is kind of interesting, with porcini mushroom, of all things, making an appearance. It is a very smooth sauce, very vibrant and lively, nice and rich, with some herby notes that keep reading through. One of those reads through the strongest and it is somewhat of a confusing flavor, that of dill. I know people have utilized dill in other sauces, but this one is ostensibly geared towards Italian food, with special emphasis on pizza, which I don't think I've ever seen dill used with. This aspect sort of waxes and wanes, depending on the other flavors. Indeed, this sauce is one of the more reactive with what you use it on, with the taste profile changing dramatically depending on what else is there. 

Heat-wise, like the Calabrian pepper itself, it is minimal. I'm tempted to give it a zero, but there is enough there, just enough, to let you know it is meant to be a hot sauce. I think, given the shape of the bottle and the cap, that they are really taking a swing at the gourmet market here. It will probably fit in nicely there, but as a hot sauce, I think it somewhat misses the boat. A gourmet sauce, yes, but not so much a hot sauce, in that much more focus is devoted to flavor complements and contrasts than on anything resembling heat. 

Bottom line: Well worth a pick-up, as anything with Calabrian peppers works nicely with Italian foods and there are never enough sauces that function well in that setting, but this is perhaps the epitome of a YMMV sauce and I don't find it especially resonant.

Breakdown:

            Heat level: 1
            Flavor: 6
            Flexibility: 8
            Enjoyment to dollar factor: 4

Overall: 5

Pepper Palace Uff-Da Hot Sauce Review

Pepper Palace Uff-Da Scandinavian Gold Hot Sauce

Note: Support video available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2rfTpiLIIg

Note: This will be a lengthy blog entry, as there are a number of things attendant to this sauce I feel need some discussion. If you are not interested in those things and want to skip right to the actual review of the sauce, skip the next two paragraphs.

Note: The phrase "uff da," Norwegian in origin (with possibly some Danish usage as well, from what I understand, though I have yet to hear any Danish person I know actually use it), is something you may hear around either Norwegians or persons of Norwegian descent, particularly if you are in the upper Midwest, where in various locales, it is ubiquitous. Pronunciation phonetically in normal usage would be something like "ooffda," with the double o sound not being drawn out but fast like the "ew" part of the word few. If it is an especially grievous event, the oo may be drawn out longer, but that is somewhat unusual and emphasis tends to be on the "da" part. I have heard certain Norse-descended persons Americanize the phrase slightly with a "wh" sound in front, which comes across as "whooffda." It carries  a meaning very similar to the Yiddish expression "oy vey," which is of grief or dismay. "Oy vey" itself means more or less "oh, woe." 

Note: This is second Pepper Palace sauce I've gotten with some very questionable naming strategies. The earlier one, the Asian-oriented, Wok Dis Wei, I addressed somewhat in the review, but here, this reference to ethnicity refers rather directly to my own ancestry. So, this name..."uff da," as mentioned above, is not a phrase even remotely denoting something positive. So, using that doesn't really make sense. The label also has a Viking figure on the front, which is fine, but then it goes on to include "Scandinavian Gold," which really makes no sense with that already dubious name, given that Scandinavia tends to include Iceland, Finland, and Sweden, zero of which use the phrase "uff da." I will also observe that pepper plants are tropical and there is no region of Scandinavia which would fit that description. Habaneros and Cayennes would only thrive there in a well-protected area, same with the black pepper plants. I really find this sort of appropriation frustrating and truly wish they would stop. Here, it is quite literally a historical call to nothing. Culturally, Norwegians do tend to make heavy use of black pepper (you could even say that was my own gateway into being a chilehead), but this is not meant to be a black pepper sauce. 

I have understood this was the first Pepper Palace sauce and from which they built the empire they now enjoy across various states. As far as the sauces I got last year go (this is #5 of 6), it is far and away the best of the lot, but that is not really saying much. It is a fairly pedestrian sauce overall. I do rather enjoy the prominence of black pepper. Habanero and Cayenne I think can go together, but this sauce seeks to try to balance them instead of leaning heavily to one or the other, which is the wrong way to go. Black pepper is definitely must more to the fore than either of those, though.

I'm not sure which vinegar this uses, I'm guessing apple cider, as there is somewhat of an off-taste to this, which oddly only becomes apparent when the sauce is chilled. Warm, it is very pepper forward and much more enjoyable. It is something thin, but smooth. It's right on the border of being appropriate for a restrictor cap, but this does not come with one, so careful with the pour. It is not particularly hot, but definitely it overpowering foods is not an especially enjoyable thing to experience.

I guess the big question here is if the sauce is worth getting. I will probably run out the bottle, but the sticker on it reads nearly $13 (not what I paid for it), and you can get much better sauces for that same money or less. The bigger problem is that it doesn't fit in anywhere especially. I got it hoping to use it as a Louisiana-style, but it doesn't hit enough of the right notes there. It's probably worth trying, if you haven't had one of their sauces and are curious and can also get a discount, but not one to go out of your way to get.

Bottom line: Very okay-ish sauce overally, which makes it easily the best of the 5 I've tried so far from this company.

Breakdown:

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

Overall: 4

Boyle's Irish Scream Hot Sauce Review

Boyle's Irish Scream Hot Sauce

Note: Support video available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwJYQVSAr08

This was part of a package of various kinda sorta novelty sauces that I bought on a whim during, as memory goes, a Black Friday sale somewhere. I put various sauces in my cart that I'd been curious about but had not ever seen on Roger's (Burn Your Tongue) shelf (and would never dream of asking him to try to get a single bottle of something that may or may not even be any good, unless he was already carrying that particular sauce maker). I'm not usually inclined towards novelty sauces, but I needed more in the cart for free shipping, after I'd already added a pretty substantial number of Cayenne sauces, so I threw in some cheaper, random ones. This was one of those.

I don't know, to what degree, if any, Ireland is known for either spicy foods or hot peppers, and the main impetus of calling this Irish appears to be the addition of Irish whiskey. Fortunately, this does not cause the sauce to taste alcoholic. Here, we have a blend of Jalapeno, Cayenne, and Habanero, with that last providing most of the heat and perhaps a good degree of bitterness as well, which is not helped at all by the whiskey, which notably ramps that part up. The sauce is inexplicably rounded out by Yellow 5 and Blue 4, which are food dyes and elements I'm confused at to their presence here.

Sauce is chunky, but not particularly smooth, and there is a slight grittiness to it as well, which presents a touch of a problem as best results are if it's used somewhat sparingly and when it clots, the bitterness is reinforced significantly, to the point it becomes overpowering and unpleasant. Flavor notes are definitely more towards the Habanero, though elements of the Jalapeno, Cayenne, and the Irish whiskey will occasionally come through. Heat-wise, this reminds me of both Orange Krush and El Yucateco Red (both reviewed elsewhere here) in that the heat is a very up-front blast, which then plateaus. It is not a heat to give any chileheads pause, but may take non-chileheads aback. This could have been a much more palatable sauce if the bitterness had been dialed back...

Bottom line: I'm somewhat confused by what this sauce is meant to be, with the unusual combination of peppers and food dyes. It's hard to see this not as a novelty sauce, with the leprechaun on the label and the addition of Irish whiskey rounding out that theme. Novelty sauces are definitely of a "mileage may vary" type, which is where this one falls for me. 

Breakdown:

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

Overall: 4

Angry Goat Dreams Of Calypso Hot Sauce Review

Angry Goat Pepper Co. Dreams Of Calypso Hot Sauce

Note: Support video available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8UwNn66CPs

Ahhh, Calypso, beautiful and alluring famed water nymph of the Odyssey and a style of Caribbean music, the latter of which perhaps has some bearing here. Yet, we see on the label that the Greek mythology figure is much in mind as well, so we have a melding of two very distant through time and disparate references into the product. 

The Caribbean, of course, is immediately apparent through the Scotch Bonnet peppers and the use of tropical fruits. Mustard plays a role here as well and I had intended this to be my final entry in the FOH Summer Of Mustards 2021 series, but this is very clearly not intended as an actual mustard. The label does not make that particularly clear, but going on the website to try gain some insight as to what the makers meant and see them listing it as a hot sauce helped me decide to move more towards that arena, which includes a review here, which is not the case for the mustards.

That aside, we have a gorgeous yellow color to it and a very smooth pour. Taste-wise, this is intriguing as it is very fruit forward, with a mustard back end. That back end gives me some pause. It is a flavor note that comes across as a touch off and a bit off-putting, depending on where I use it and this limits a bit where this sauce is useful. I did not love it on chicken and mustard and pizza is a non-starter for me. The label suggested ham, which does blend nicely with both tropical fruits and mustard, and I wound up using it quite successfully as a grill sauce as well. I did not attempt it in salads, i.e. egg salad or potato salad, where I would normally use a mustard, as I don't generally put hot sauces or fruit in those. This would also make sort of an interesting sauce to use on brats, possibly. The suggestions also included egg rolls (which I'm not going to make for the sake of trying this and dislike generally) and rice, where it would be kind of interesting, if you were having a dish of that style. I think it also mentioned jerk chicken, which probably would work better. I think you need a certain saltiness to the meat for this to truly shine.

Heat-wise, this is minimal. As with most sauce companies, I usually halve whatever their rating and here, that is about exactly right. They place it a 2 - 3 of 10, which I am rating as half of the low side. 

Bottom line: This is a very interesting sauce. While I applaud the makers for both using Scotch Bonnet, their references in naming it, and the spirit of experimentalism, I find, as is often the case with sauces more on the interesting and novel side, that I have a bit of difficulty finding a food anchor for it.

Breakdown:

            Heat level: 1
            Flavor: 7
            Flexibility: 4
            Enjoyment to dollar factor: 4

Overall: 4

Silk City Badass Jew Hot Sauce Review

Silk City Badass Jew Hot Sauce

Note: Support video available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTPxTg0dShc

I had another Silk City sauce, which I found favorable, the Mango Madness (reviewed elsewhere here) and so when I was last at Burn Your Tongue, in my random phase-- I should perhaps elucidate. 

The first thing I do after I get back from hot sauce hauls is to update my list, that list which I keep of various sauces I would like to try and review. I keep it updated between hauls (usually trips there are anywhere from 10 - 20 different sauces) as it is not especially close to me. Anyway, during the actual shopping, I go through the list, to see what is there on the shelf (if a sauce is a really high priority, I may order it online if I don't find it on Rog's shelves) and usually accumulate a good number doing that. From there, I look at what's on sale, what's on clearance, and anything new. That will sometimes pick me up a few others. Then I do the randomizing sweep, which is more stem to stern, to see if there's anything that grabs my eye. This particular sauce was in that last phase I mentioned.

The name and graphic obviously immediately struck me, as I was not aware that Jewish cuisine was particularly known for picante. Looking at the ingredient list, I also saw Habaneros and Serranos, which does not strike me as particularly Jewish or even Israeli ingredients. Then I saw Long Hots, which are Italian, and thought maybe this was a sauce with a co-creator, probably from New York, where different cultures seem to mesh naturally in foods, or that it was one of those so-called vanity sauces that are sometimes really good and sometimes clearly just gimmicky. This one evidently is in reference to a podcast.

Silk City has also largely moved to flasks only, which I'm good with, really good with, actually. They also build the bottle price in the label graphics, which is interesting. This company is really high on my list now to whip through more of their sauces, so that will be a major focus my next haul trip.

Back to this sauce, it also contained, in addition to Long Hots, which I almost never see, some nice cherry peppers. Cherry peppers are one of my longest-running favorites. So, anything with them in it, I expect to be a wonderfully flavorful sauce. I'm all about flavor first, so this had a strong appeal to me. It also has apple cider vinegar, but way down in the list. There are 5 different peppers in this, with the hottest (and first listed) being Habanero, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. Color looked great, though, and that ingredient panel led with tomato, so I didn't expect a lot of heat. Indeed, there is very little to be found here.

This definitely is skewed more heavily in favor of flavor. This is one of the better-tasting sauces I've had in recent memory, slightly reminiscent of the Gindo's Original (also reviewed here). One of my laments is that I went on a streak where there weren't a ton of sauces I really wanted to use, where I was really excited to eat them, where I'd find stuff to cook just so I could eat more of them. The Gindo's changed all of that and this is right along those lines. With the heavy tomato combination with the peppers, which is done quite skillfully to meld those flavors and to give it a nice sort of semi-chunky pour, we get an aspect that reminds me a bit of a very nice chile-based cocktail sauce, but this extends well beyond seafood. In fact, I have yet to find an application, including Mexican, where it does not work fantastically. It is a highly flexible sauce, though I should observe that I did not attempt Asian foods, but will be doing that in the coming weeks, if I don't run out first. 

Bottom line: Just an absolute phenom of a sauce, amazing flavor, nice pour, but precious little heat. If you're a flavor-first chilehead, like yours truly, you will love it, and it can also serve as a safe gateway for friends and family chile-curious. In any case, yet another contender for Sauce Of The Year.

Breakdown:

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

Overall: 8

Tabasco Scorpion Hot Sauce Review

McIlhenny Tabasco Scorpion Hot Sauce

Note: Support video available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRZxhtkK2P0

Now...I am not really a fan of either the Tabasco pepper or the Scorpion pepper, but McIlhenny has meant a lot to chileheads and for many of us, this served as our (often inglorious) introduction into the hot sauce world, so it has more than earned its place. The label makes a really big deal out of how "hot" this sauce is and it is notably hotter than anything else McIlhenny has put out, including the previous hottest Habanero. This stands to reason, superhot and all, but this will pose zero challenge to chileheads, and clearly that warning is for people used to regular Tabasco or for whom Tabasco does read as actually hot. 

Flavor here is interesting. This is essentially regular Tabasco spiked with Scorpions (did not specify whether Trinidad or Moruga). They mention guava and pineapple, but those are not really present in flavoring. Oddly, the usual sweetness of the Tabasco is largely absent as well. Instead, what we are left with is the very dominant floral notes of the Scorpions. Herein is where I think this sauce is of some utility. I have been saying for some time that Scorpions have a flowery aspect to them. This often confuses people, unless they are beer drinkers, and specifically, unless they are also familiar with (usually intensely overhopped) IPAs. This sauce does a great job of broadcasting that flowery part of the Scorpions without a lot of accompanying heat. So, if someone wants a good example of what that means in regards to this pepper, this sauce does this better than nearly anything else I can think of. That part overrides and completely takes over the sauce. 

The sauce itself is quite refined and is smooth. It does come with a restrictor cap, but is much less watery than the regular Tabasco. I'd put it probably around where the Chipotle or Habanero variation falls. The less good part is that combining two tastes I find unfavorable does not make this a winner for me, nor does it leave me a lot of room for usage. This is really sort of a prestige thing, I suppose, in that McIlhenny/Tabasco is a huge name (this is also why there will be a video for this) and as a chilehead, I had to at least give it a shot. It's really hard to see where this will appeal, unless you're a chilehead who really likes those floral notes of the Scorpions.

Bottom line: As a sauce, this is not very good. As a demonstration of a specific component of the Scorpion pepper flavor, it succeeds much better. Mildly interesting, but unnecessary.

Breakdown:

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

Overall: 2