Aged

This Ain’t Tabasco!

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Hey folks, today I’ve got something a little strange for you. Something that I just randomly came across in one of my local supermarkets and felt I had to feature. Because, while I’ve talked about McIlhenny Co.’s Tabasco Brand Scorpion Sauce and their Chipotle Cola Marinade, I’ve never seen a “Tobasco” sauce before.

Except, of course, when people misspell it online.

Today’s item, however, has the word slapped right across its centre, beneath the “Dipitt” company name, and it looks a lot more like lawsuit dodging than a mistake, to me. But how does it really compare to the original?

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Golden Garlic

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Hello again, everyone. I’ve had today’s trio in my back pocket for a little while know and, as I understand it, so have two of the companies involved. Because, despite their products looking completely different, both Hot Pods and Foraged Fire have done their absolute utmost to highlight the flavours of fermented honey and garlic, in these two:

And, though our third item may have been made a little quicker, it still promises the same sweet syrup and bold root, at its core:

It’s Torchbearer’s Honey Garlic and, while it promises to be rather milder than their last garlic sauce, that reaper concoction was far from all heat. If They can bring the same creaminess and garlic kick to today’s product, without the world record chilli, my bottle’s going to be gone in no time!

So, without further ado, let’s take a closer look at the lot and see how all three manage to set themselves apart.

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Ooft! That’s Hot!

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So, folks, I talked a bit about Carrington’s Flaming Chup in last week’s harissa review and I thought that that would be a great excuse to follow up with another of their products, today. A post on their Chillichup, which I’ve had in reserve for a while.

Then Encona came along, however, with an even more ketchup-y rework of their old “Carolina Reaper Sauce”. And I just couldn’t do it.

Two ketchups in a row was too much. So, instead, here are couple of other sauces that I’ve had on the back burner for a bit. The original and chipotle versions of Ooft!, from Island Girl Ltd:

Another small company, run by a couple in scotland, using an old, trinidadian family recipe. Though not, perhaps, the mustard-based one you might expect.

No, today’s sauce gets its extra zing from a large, white radish, known as either daikon or mooli, depending on your region. And that, my friends, is utterly unique.

I’ve never seen that ingredient in any other chilli product and I’m very curious to see what it does for Ooft!

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Encona do Fear the Reaper

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Happy thursday again, everyone. Recently, it has come to my attention that Encona have made some rather drastic changes to their old carolina reaper sauce and, as a result, I cannot, in good faith, leave my previous review of it alone.

That post will remain accessible here and through my search bar but it will, from now on, be prefaced with a warning that it does not reflect the new version of the product on the market and it will be removed from my review catalogue, in order to replace it with today’s updated article.

So, read on for my opinion on the updated sauce but do be warned – I’ve not got the best of expectations for this one. Especially given its atrocious new label:

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Trick or Trinidad?

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Happy halloween, my fellow heat freaks. It’s trick or treat time and I’m really hoping that today’s seasonal special is the treat that I was promised.

CauldronSauce

This “cauldron” sauce has come to me, quite last minute, from the lovely folk of Brighton Hot Stuff. Too late to make my usual tuesday timeslot. Yet the company’s previous products have earnt my respect through their flavour and I’m willing to fit them in, where I can, with that rare thursday review.

There is, however, a nagging voice in the back of my mind which can’t be ignored. One that’s more sceptical of this sudden freebie, thinking “This would be the perfect time for a company to prank you with another Hell Unleashed.”. And it’s not just BHS’ work, either. It’s a collaboration with a company who I can find very little about online. One by the name of Lazy Scientist.

So, while it’s likely no more than my own paranoia, I’m going to be taking things a touch more cautiously with today’s review.

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Cocoa Loco

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Happy national chocolate week, everyone. A celebration that, for some reason, falls on the week after curry week this year. Not that I’m complaining, though, since I only had that one idea for chocolate madras and it means that I can dedicate the entirety of today’s review to cocoa without worry.

Both in it’s bar form and as a probiotic, living barbecue sauce:

Choc19

What exactly that means, you’ll have to wait and see, however. I want to look at Montezuma’s recent limited edition first. Their “Peanut Butter Centre with Chilli & Lime”.

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Special Smoke

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Hey folks, remember Sauce Shop?

I’ve had some truly delicious sauces from them in the past, in the form of a green sriracha, 📽️ a crazy ketchup and a heatless cherry bourbon barbecue 📽️ but today, we’ve got something extra special. As you can tell from the mock-confetti on its label:

SSChipot

But wait, does that say “Chipotle Hot Sauce”? Doesn’t every company make one of those?

Yes, this is a standard recipe of just three ingredients – Chipotle, vinegar and salt – but its heavier on the peppers than most smoky sauces and that vinegar is something special. Here’s what the bottle actually says:

Chipotle Pepper, Porter Vinegar (water, barley, hops, yeast, vanilla), Sea Salt.

This is a chipotle sauce of the sort that only Sauce Shop would make, with not only fermented chillies but a specially fermented vinegar, too. And, as I’ve said many a time before, the vinegar that you choose can really make or break a sauce.

Let’s see what vanilla porter does for their fifth anniversary release, shall we?

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Pulling the Pin

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Greetings again everybody. Last week I showed you a hotter, more sophisticated and way more citrusy take on habanero Tabasco. An item that prided itself on achieving a complexity of flavour with one of the simplest ingredients lists that I’ve ever laid eyes upon.

A simple, familiar, louisiana-style sauce, properly aged and fermented to get the most out of its peppers.

Today, we’re taking that same concept and applying it to a chilli that I’ve never seen used before – Green cayenne.

We’re looking at The General’s Hot Sauce and their Marine Green, complete with a pretty stunning and weighty, grenade-shaped bottle:

Marine

A custom container that I’m sure has sold many a sauce of theirs, state side, but has also upped the costs involved quite substantially. I don’t normally talk about price but this particular product is going for £12.99, after import, from Hot-Headz and, at that price, you’re gonna want to be sure that you’re getting your money’s worth.

So, unless you’re prepared to drop double digits on a(n admittedly stellar-looking) bottle alone, I strongly suggest that you read on to find out what makes this week’s item special.

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Shaken, Not Stirred

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Hello again, folks. As you’ve probably noticed, I like to deal most in the weird and wonderful but, with the day of my christmas recap steadily approaching, I’d like to switch it up a little and show you all something made for a broader appeal. Something super simple, featuring a mere two ingredients but boasting a whole world of sophistication.

Today, what I want to show you is Shake – The first sauce from Bad Boy Chilli Co and, at the time I purchased it, their only non-mash product.

Shake

As a mash company, they’re all about ageing and fermenting their chillies and, for this particular item, they make a big deal out of the whiskey casks that they use. Which might be impressive if it weren’t what McIlhenny Co already do producing Tabasco.

How does today’s product hold up in light of that fact? Well, that’s the point of today’s review. You’re going to have to read on and find out.

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Witch Time

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Happy may day, everyone! Today I’d like to celebrate a special occasion but perhaps not that one.

Instead, I’d like to talk about a lesser-known german holiday, walpurgisnacht.

It’s the night of Saint Walpurga, the last night of april and, due to my upload times, the night I’m actually posting this on. But it’s also known for being the night when the witches come out. The night when people stay indoors to avoid being spirited away, never to return.

So, with that in mind, I’d like to show you the Chilli Pepper Company’s Witches’ Brew. A sauce which is supposedly their caribbean take on Tabasco.

2016-12-12 12.28.05

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