This jar has languished at the back of our “stuff to try” shelf for way too long, so I have been looking for an excuse to open this and use it for several weeks now. The fact is, that I have my motives.

I really love good horseradish. In fact, I’ve been trying to build some tolerance to its nose hair-dissolving effects for many years. I have tried chewing on raw horseradish, eaten strong Wasabi peas, explored just about every store-bought horseradish available, and tortured my palate by downing those Wasabi mustard pellets that come with either sushi or ahi tuna appetizers.

The truth is that no matter how much I’ve ever eaten, the stuff still tears me up if I eat enough of it in one sitting. Adding habanero peppers to the taste profile merely completes the evolution of a product that can heat you up with both esters (horseradish) and alkaloids (capsaicin).

This review is also coming at a time in which the Habby Horse has been steamrolling its competition with awards, having been honored with a slough of awards over the past year. Here’s the product description from the DEFCON Sauces website:

A new version of horseradish that allows you to enjoy not only the horseradish heat but a habanero pepper taste and heat.

In it’s first year of life, the Horse has received a 3rd place finish in the Fiery-Food Challenge. With it’s horseradish front side and then the KICK of the habanero at the end, you can enjoy it all.

First impression: Same no-nonsense labels as the buy cialis online uk other products we’ve reviewed. Don’t gloss over the lack of label art…this product really is meant to be used and not just be decorative on the shelf. The aroma is…how shall I put this…attention-getting to say the least. I can’t really say it’s an alluring scent, perhaps more like a sucker-punch to your olfactory senses. Much more horseradish than habanero, this sauce is a bit darker than the original version I tasted a few months ago at the Jungle Jim’s show.

Ingredients: horseradish, water, vinegar, habanero pepper, salt, and natural spices

Taste: Seems as though I can use the words “attention-getting” quite a bit in this review. This sauce has some serious bite! I can’t give it a heat scale rating like I normally do, as it just assaults the palate pretty hard with a combination of different types of heat. Did I say heat? Yep, this sauce has got serious attitude. Straight up, I thought it needed a touch more salt…but I solved that issue with a few food choices that really complemented its taste.

First choice was tuna salad. I mixed a tablespoon or two into a pint of tuna salad destined for my salad and has a lunch fit for a chilehead king as I gasped and guffawed my way through each bite. It didn’t hurt me too much initially, but each bite had quite the cumulative effect. Next stop was a homemade horseradish sauce that I crafted with 2 teaspoons of Habby Horse, a little Dijon mustard, equal parts mayo and sour cream, and some chopped green onions. A creamy-yet-deliciously-spicy sauce used on pork, beef, or chicken dishes. Lastly, I fell victim to the call of my heritage and slathered some gefilte fish pieces with some. If you’ve not heard of gefilte fish, read a little about it and you’ll realize that it’s sorely in need of being paired with a product like this. I can also imagine this going well as mixed into some deviled egg yolks as well.

Overall impression: While not a star just scooped out of the jar and consumed, this sauce will delight horseradish lovers who just can’t hurt their palate enough with the hottest of horseradish products. Habanero is a great addition to this sauce, and there are quite a few recipes that benefit from this unique yet tasty compilation. Make some tasty dishes and clear your sinuses out all at the same time. Gefilte fish will never be the same again for me. Try some for yourself and see. Enjoy!