Dr. Gonzo is a unique guy with the admirable goal of creating quality products for those chileheads out there who want or need them to spice up the food they eat. After tasting some of his stuff recently, we were motivated to find out a little more about him, his products, and growing empire of Dr. Gonzo products. From the good Doctor himself, here is a recent transmission between us and him….

Tell us a little bit about the creative process in making your products. How satisfying/frustrating was it and how many batches do you go through to get things just right?

I have found that if I can ‘see’ the product, then it’s development is easy. The process is fun and you can practice it at home as often as you wish. Are we ready? Good, let’s proceed. Head to your local emporium of tasty comestibles and gaze upon the shelves before you. Now this next step takes some practice, you must ‘see’ the product that you want and is not there… and then simply go and develop it.

Use your friends, family and perfect strangers as guinea pigs/testing subjects to judge the viability of your creation (and remember folks: dead people are not repeat customers). Repeat the development processes until all are smiling.

Your label graphics are definitely different than most. How did you come up with the “classic” sort of look and what has been the feedback you’ve gotten about it from vendors and customers?

Our products always have had a ‘patent medicine’ look. We wanted our products to be somehow familiar and yet ‘out there’. Something that your grandmother may have used if she had survived the ‘70’s (1870’s).

Our original labels were only for friends and family and would boast of the remarkable healing properties contained within our mashes/plasters: cures for male fatigue, sagging breasts, heart break, dandruff, receding hairlines, uni-brows, cankles, sucking chest wounds and the like. Now that we are on retail shelves we have to tone down the snake oil pitch a bit. BUT, you can always find and visit the “Travelling Medicine Show” for the entire effect and awe inspiring back-story of each and every product. Tune to the ‘Where’ page of www.drgonzos.com for our schedule of venues and exotic locations.

If you had one chance with someone to try and hook them on your products, what would you have them taste and why?

Wow, what a great question. This, of course, depends entirely on who that person is….

If I was to feed Admiral Peary prior to his ascension to the northern latitudes, I’d mix up a batch of our “Industrial Strength” Supermash Cheesy Bean Dip and send him on his way with a smile on his face.

Then again, if Lewis and Clark asked me for assistance in long term road food management, I would have to fill their back packs full of our Buffalo Balm Hot Sauce (one always has to be prepared to face a flying buffalo herd and walk away with trophy wings).

Let’s see… Lawrence of Arabia: One Hump Dry Rub #2 (available soon). Napoleon Boneparte and Van Helsing the Vampire Slayer: Garlicmash #4 (ditto). Captain Nemo, of course, gets a case of our Smoke Isle Elixir (great on all seafood dishes and also available soon). Ghengis Khan and the Golden Horde get large quantities of our “Professional Grade” Habeneromash to be eaten straight from the gallon container.

Say… I like this game. We’ll continue this thread later….

Tell us a little about the persona of “Dr. Gonzo.” Is he the same as you, or do you have a Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde relationship going on?

This question usually costs the asker a few dozen pints of fine ale. But, for the sake of posterity I will leave you with this small teaser: Contrary to popular opinion, this iteration of the “Good Doctor” is not a 300lb Samoan attorney, but instead is the professor emeritus of Advanced Mixology and Arcane Aviation Physics at Hardknock ‘U’. Hardknock ‘U’, where the tuition doesn’t cost you anything and you get exactly what you paid for.

Hardknock ‘U’ is also home to the fighting black and blue, Humping Lumper Marching Band (where the instruments AND the players are carried by trained Lumpers in tight formation) and the ever popular Intramural, Cross Country Pruning Shear Relay Team.

What’s the highest compliment someone has paid to you on your products?

That’s tough, I have a couple of quotes that merit that status.

The first is: “That’s HORRIBLE!! But my kids would love it…” actual reaction at an early tasting of our “World Famous” Peppermash at Mt. Wachusset’s Applefest.

And my personal favorite: “Holy SHIT! That’s HOT!” a direct quote from our pastor as he tasted a bowl of chili laced (by himself) with a large dose of our Buffalo Balm Hot Sauce. Oh yes, did I mention that he was within earshot of the majority of the congregation? Yep, you can’t write fiction that good.

Aside from your own products, whose stuff (other manufacturers’ hot sauce, salsa, etc) do you like to eat, and why?

My friend Dan Stevens (a former ferry captain), up in Portland, Maine at W.O. Hesperus Co. (www.wohesperus.com) is making some fantastic sauces in small batches. Yummy stuff.

Why do I like to eat it? Silly rabbit, starvation is a bit overrated, don’t you think?

You mention a few new ideas for Dr. Gonzo products on your website. When might those be available, and what’s first to come off the assembly line?

Our graphic team at Concept Media in NYC is working round the clock to come up with the new labels to meet the demand of our afflicted masses. The One Hump Dry Rub #2 will be the first to hit the shelves followed by the Smoke Isle. Elixir and the Garlicmash #4 (prior to the Holidays).

Buffalo Balm Hot Sauce: jalapeno peppers, habanero peppers, water, garlic, sugar, vinegar, lime juice, salt, spices

Joe’s take: This sauce was a unique find to me in terms of taste. Very few sauces can I say that I feel like I can taste every major ingredient, but with this sauce I can. It’s a little thin, and you can see ample numbers of chile seeds floating within. Tasting a glob of it from my fingertips, I first noticed a hint of sweetness (from the sugar), followed by the jalapeno, then finished off at the end by the habanero taste & heat. Most habanero sauces don’t have an element of sweetness to them, and it doesn’t hurt the taste of this at all. The rest of the ingredients are an uninspiring list, but this is a well-made sauce that I liked in nearly everything I tried…particularly soups, stews, and gumbos. It’s about a 7.5/10 on the heat scale, so it’s hot enough to get your attention…but not too much to overwhelm, which makes it a nice for an everyday pepper sauce.

Linda’s take: The sweetness of this sauce makes you think that you’re not going to get the KICK it gives…and, boy, does it give it! What’s nice is that the flavor lingers longer than you think it will given the heat. Once the heat mellowed out, I was left with a nice Jalapeno flavor with a touch of lime and a hint of a warm spice like cinnamon or cardamom. This is a really great sauce to use in soups and stews. It’s also a nice compliment to the mashes in salads and salad dressings.

World Famous Peppermash: jalapeno & cherry peppers, onions, garlic, sugar, vinegar, lime juice, salt

Joe’s take: Such a delightful jalapeno smell comes from this mash, which has the consistency of hot dog relish. Trying a little on the tip of my finger, I found that intial sweetness that was somewhat akin to the Buffalo Balm hot sauce (see above), but gives way to a fairly mild jalapeno & garlicky taste which is pretty smooth. Its mildness (what I’d call about a 3/10) makes its utility in many foods pretty high on the usefulness scale. I used it in (& on) egg scrambles, as a sandwich relish on my egg & tuna salad, mixed in a variety of condiments like salad dressings, and even straight-up as a chip & dip sorta concoction. Few products I’ve run across really use cherry peppers to this level of effectiveness, and this one’s done really well. If you demand habanero heat, this mash ain’t for you. However, for those of you who like you heat a little on the milder side, this mash would be ideal for you to use.

Linda’s take: The peppermashes are fantastic, starting with the lower level heat of this one. I would have to say that the first impression of this is tang. The tangy flavor instantly led us to believe that it would be fantastic in tuna salad, and that’s true. It’s especially good in Tuna Nicoise Salad. The mashes have the consistency of relishes instead of mashes, per se. So, I found myself using it as a relish instead of a mash. I’m telling you, there’s no better way to spice up a hot dog than to use some of this stuff. The jalapeno flavor, as in the sauce, really stands out. Sometimes that flavor is masked in other products on the market, but you won’t find that here.

Industrial Strength “Professional Strength” Supermash: jalapenos & habaneros, onions, garlic, sugar, vinegar, lime juice, salt

Joe’s take: Now this stuff is really the shizznit. Dr. Gonzo manages to make habaneros and jalapenos go together as well as peanut butter & jelly, and the results are outstanding. It could be a smidge hotter (I call this about a 7.5/10 as far as heat goes) for my tastes, but this is a pretty darn accessible pepper mash for the chilehead public. It’s good on food, like as a relish or spread, and it made my lunch hamburgers quite palatable…which is a stretch for hospital food. Mixed into foods, it still retained most of the heat and a lot of the flavor of the original mash, like what we did with fajita veggies and pasta marinara. I loved this stuff, and just wish it came in bigger jars. Thumbs up!

Linda’s take: Wow! Just, wow! If you like a little more spice to your life, hop on up to this habanero laden mash. It has all of the goodness of the jalapeno based mash, but steps it up a notch. This was the bomb in deviled eggs…in ANY egg dish. Mixed with eggs, the sweetness is not as pronounced, but the flavor of the peppers remain. I really don’t know what else to say about this other than, “You’ve got to try it!”

Want to review Dr. Gonzo’s products for yourself? Go here and leave your own opinion:

www.thehotpepper.com

Don’t just take our word for it! Here are some online reviews of these products:

HSB reviews “Professional Grade” Habaneromash
HSB reviews “Free Range” Jalapenomash

Give these reviewers a shout and ask them to review Dr. Gonzo’s products as well.

Carl’s Big List of Reviews
Alien Zombie
The Hot Sauce Guide
Saucerater

Special offer:

Dr. Gonzo asked us to give a special plug for our service men/women. Any $20 order heading to an APO/SPO gets a free bottle of Buffalo Balm Hot Sauce to help with their MRE’s.