Our pals over at Zane and Zack’s World Famous Honey Company are at it again! Last time I had the pleasure of reviewing two of their gourmet sauces and now I get to do it again but with a slight twist. Not only did I receive their new gourmet sauce, Tina’s Too Hot Honey-Habanero, but also a bottled hot sauce named Three Brothers Hot Pepper Sauce. Let’s see if they meet the high standards that I come to expect from this fine company.

Tina’s Too Hot Honey-Habanero Gourmet Sauce Ingredients: Habanero peppers, carrots, honey, vinegar, garlic, salt, spices.

Three Brothers Hot Pepper Sauce Ingredients: Habanero peppers, carrots, honey, vinegar, fresh cracked pepper, cayenne powder, salt, spices.

First off is Tina’s Too Hot Honey-Habanero Gourmet Sauce. This sauce keeps with the current theme of their line with a very similar ingredient list, label, and the tastes follow the line as well. Chunky, thick, and orange are the best ways to describe the look of this sauce which once again makes me want to label this a jam and not a sauce. Chunks of Habaneros and their seeds float in a sea of honey and if that isn’t just a chili-heads wet dream then boy you need to reevaluate your expectations of beauty.

The taste truly hits the “gourmet” level coming in both hot and exquisite! The first taste that hits right out of the bottle is the sweetness of the honey. Then comes the carrot and Habanero tastes. These two are very close to equal and almost fight for domination of your palate which is an interesting mix of sensations. I don’t detect the bite of vinegar (always a bonus) and the garlic lingers in the background. An interesting thing happens when you cook with this sauce (something I really encourage you to do). The Habanero does a switch with the honey in the order they hit and boy does the Habanero hit hard. After a few bites of the ham that I slathered it on I found the whole back of my throat was on fire. Wow was it good.

Which brings us to the heat. It is primarily Habanero so I expected this to pack a wallop and it did not disappoint. It’s not over the top hot but is hot enough to make you think twice about consuming a lot in one sitting. Be sure to grill with this or put it on a bagel with cream cheese for a morning wake up that even coffee can’t touch.

Taste: 10, Heat: 8

Now onward to Three Brothers Hot Pepper Sauce. Who are these three brothers that we see so much on their labels? The world may never know. But what the world will know is how good this sauce is! The consistency is… well… consistent with other hot sauces out there. A little runny but still carrying a nice thickness and the ingredients are blended much more finely then their gourmet sauces.

The sweetness of the honey swirls together with the fruitiness of the Habanero for the first flavors. The next paring that comes is the bite of the Cayenne mixed with the vinegar and the carrots. Unfortunately the vinegar is more noticeable than the carrots and the carrots have that “unshaven” taste to them making the lingering taste a slightly harsh flavor.

What is really great about this sauce is that it has large chunks of cracked black pepper. I’m a sucker for black pepper thanks to friend Dave Reed who got me addicted to putting fresh cracked pepper on foods and this sauce satisfies that urge. You can see the big chunks of the black pepper floating around in it.

As far as the heat goes, the tongue numbing effects of the Habanero can be felt as the heat starts to fade. You’ll get a double whammy of pepper induced pain on this one, both the back of the mouth burn from the Habanero and the tongue tingling bite of the Cayenne hit at once. So I would say this is only for heat loving people. Awesome job, once again!

Taste: 9, Heat: 8