“AUSTRALIA! AUSTRALIA! AUSTRALIA! WE LOVE YOU!” was what the crew of Monty Python once proclaimed and I am in complete agreement. It’s time for yet another review from the Land Down Under and this time it’s Alpha Nerdz, whom we haven’t heard from in a while.

Bent’s Black Dog Ingredients: (drought) Orange Habaneros, plums, Trinidad 7-pot (2 varieties), Asian Birdseye, Kentucky Bourbon, Naga Morich, Dorset Naga, 70% cocoa chocolate, Douglah, ginger, sage, balsamic vinegar, vanilla beans, cracked black pepper.

First I have to note the color of the sauce. This is probably the second most unappetizing color I have ever seen in a sauce, baby poo green with the same consistency. But, being a foodie, I know that just because something looks disgusting doesn’t mean that it is disgusting (unless it’s mustard). So down the rabbit hole we go!

WOW! This stuff tastes fantastic! Sweet cocoa, plum, and vanilla intermix with a large ginger presence to from an amazing front end!!! I can’t tell you how much of a wonderful, velvety, smooth taste it has. Then the peppers start to hit, 7-Pot (or Pod) mixes with the fruity Orange Habaneros and an earthy hint of Nagas, followed by the Asian Birdseyes (those Aussies loooooovvvee their Asain Birdseyes).

The black peppercorn isn’t very pronounced and is almost a background flavor as is the bourbon . The vinegar isn’t prominent at all either which makes sense based on the thickness of this sauce. I really can’t get over how fantastic tasting this sauce is.

The heat is bold but has died down a lot in the few weeks that I’ve had it. It’s got a decently long creeping heat that builds over time. Going from a back of the throat burn to a front and middle of the tongue burn it was just hot enough to make my nose run but not enough to do an air suck.

Now comes the tricky part with this sauce. I did a lot of experimenting with this one (more so than usual) because of it’s unique ingredient combinations. This was very hard to match up with food but I’ve gotten it down to a select few. Do not cook with this, it completely ruins the wonderful balance of flavors. This is a sauce that you want to either add it to food or dip foods in it. It is amazing in tomato paste/sauce (the vanilla, plums, and ginger really come out when paired with tomatoes) so mix it in right before you put it on pasta. A little bit on crackers with some salmon on the top goes nice for snacks. Add about 2 teaspoons of it into your coffee grains in the morning makes a nice zinger of a cup O’ Joe to wake you up in the morning.

So there you have it, yet another wonderfully creative sauce from our friends down South. Their sauces continue to delight me to no end, keep up the good work. Until next time, this is America’s Sauce Ambassador to Australia saying, “Good day, mate”!

Taste: 9, Heat: 7