We interrupt our broadcast of Weekend of Fire product reviews for this very special product review. A seasonal item is out in its limited release and the word needs to get out to the people of Earth to band together and purchase, consume, then purchase more of this amazing offering. That’s right folks, Cajohn’s Pumpkin Pie Salsa has arrived.

CaJohn’s Pumpkin Pie Salsa Ingredients: Tomatoes, pumpkin, sugar, onions, cinnamon, Jalapenos, vinegar, pumpkin pie spice, salt, black pepper.

The first time I had heard of this salsa was when I was getting a tour of CaJohn’s facility. Right then and there, I knew, when it came out, it will be mine. Oh yes, it will be mine. So I waited in anticipation of that day and finally, it came out. Was it worth the wait? You BET!!!!

Like I am with mangoes, I am with pumpkin. Fanatical. I’ve grown ‘em, cooked ‘em, drank them, heck, I’ve even carved them and worn it as a hat. I like pumpkin and I’m really happy to report that this is an amazing example of how versatile and delicious pumpkin can be. Let’s first examine the packaging. I was a little disappointed with the label, it’s nice and to the point with good fall colors, but it really isn’t up to the label standards of CaJohn. Barring no UPC, and looking to be printed off an inkjet, I was a little under whelmed. But it is an extremely limited batch (from what I understand) so I guess I’ll let it slide.

Now onto the main event, the taste! HUGE pumpkin taste right up front with a hint of tomato acidity shortly after. Sugar follows that up with the pumpkin spices coming in fourth. A nice crunch of onions slightly breaks up the consistency of the sauce. I almost would have liked it to be very smooth allover. There is a minor Jalapeno taste but not really much to notice and I do not detect the salt nor the vinegar which is always a bonus in my book. There is a hint of black pepper though.

The heat on this is minuscule at best. If you think really hard about it you’ll notice a front to middle of the tongue tingle. Now, if you read my reviews, you know how I feel about heat. Almost everything needs to be really hotter. But for this I feel only needs to be about 5% hotter. It’s great where it is, but I think a little extra bite wouldn’t hurt.

This really is one beautiful salsa. Nice emphasis on the pumpkin with secondary emphasis on the pumpkin pie spices and the ever so subtle twinkle of heat. Yet another home run by one of the best in the industry. I’ll leave you folks with a picture of how you should enjoy the sauce, with a pumpkin beer and a slice of pumpkin pie.

Taste: 9.5, Heat: 0.5