Spicefreak

Happy tuesday again fiery food fans, it’s time for another smoky chipotle sauce:

This one, however – The Raven from Grim Reaper Foods – is likely to be a lot hotter than most and rather more savoury to boot.

Why? Because it’s not just smoked jalapeño. Its first chilli is actually the trinidad scorpion.

That sinister-looking label, depicting its namesake bird in silhouette against the moon, isn’t just dark and evil for show.

It’s also a warning – The nevermore at the moon’s base being a reminder not to overdo it with the superhots, in addition to the obvious Edgar Alan Poe reference.

It’s a bold design, especially with it’s black to brick red background gradient, but it’s the two-tone metallic silver of the moon that really makes it stand out.

Yet I was still quite pleased to see its raven there on the back of the Reaper’s gift boxes.

But, moving on from his high quality as always packaging, I think its time I gave this sauce a taste:

It’s a thick sauce but it pours easily and quickly.

In colour, it’s a reddish brown like the bottom of its label, with the occasional shred of actual red in amongst its chunks of pepper and seeds.

But, more telling of its flavour, there’s a rather acidic smell as it drops from the bottle.

This isn’t going to be a sweet sauce and it isn’t just going to be a chipotle sauce with more heat. We’re going to be tasting those scorpions, those fruity, acidic-flavoured, vaguely orange-like superhots. And their tang is only going to be enhanced by the sauce’s cider vinegar.

Indeed, that is a significant portion of the flavour when it reaches my tongue but it’s not everything. And, interestingly enough, the scorpions and vinegar aren’t even the only form of fruitiness.

Alongside adding a richness to the upfront acidity and a good amount of smoke that comes in after, the chipotle in this sauce also provide their own fruity undertones – Those of the red jalapeño that they were before they were smoked.

If, like me, you expected something with serious smokiness, you might be a little disappointed with this one. It has a decent amount but it’s less than your average chipotle sauce and it comes in a little late.

If, however, you’re a fan of the scorpion flavour, The Raven has an amazingly well layered fruity forefront with that particular chilli providing the bulk of it.

In my opinion, the rich and acidic nature of this sauce makes it best suited for something equally rich and meaty.

Honestly, I’d prefer it a little less acidic myself but I’m more into the taste of ghosts and reapers and I do have to admit that it’s great on burgers or stirred through a con carne.

Plus, with all the fruity elements it holds, it makes a great addition to potato salad and I’d be shocked if it wasn’t a perfect fit for pork.

But, given the amount of scorpion in here, I’m surprised at how mild it manages to be. The very top of my

4.5/10

Heat

creeping in ever so slowly and really hanging around the back of the mouth and throat.

It’s a dry heat that lingers and you can definitely tell that it contains superhot peppers but it still never quite reaches the strength of your average first ingredient ghost pepper sauce.

This one isn’t for the challenge seekers but it is, most certainly, going to satisfy the cravings of those who enjoy crazy heat. It’s for the serious chilliheads among you, who can appreciate delicate intricacies of flavour in an item that’s otherwise anything but delicate.

And I’d leave you with that for the week but the ingredients list never quite fitted into the text above so I’ll have to end on it instead. Here goes:

Cider Vinegar, Red Peppers, Water, Scorpion Chilli (10%), Chipotle Chilli, Onion, Mustard Seed, Lime, Salt, Citric Acid