Ahhhhh, good ol’ Cowboy George. Heart of gold, positive vibe ambassador to the Universe and a fellow Clevelander to boot. He, along with the oh so lovely Bonnie Phillips, got themselves a new endeavor and it’s a company called Blaze Gourmet which has its own line of sauces. Two of which I have in for review right here.

Blaze Gourmet: Avocado Jalapeno Ingredients: Jalapeno peppers, avocado, cilantro, apple cider, vinegar, orange juice, lime juice, salt natural spices.

Blaze Gourmet: Mango Ingredients: Apple cider vinegar, sugar, Scotch Bonnet Peppers, ginger, garlic, onion, salt, lime juice, herbs and spices.

Let’s start off on the Mango with it’s bright and psychedelic like label. Complete with a slightly unsettling character of Cowboy George and a outline of Downtown Cleveland’s skyline. The sauce itself is a muted mango yellow and very thick but well blended consistancy.

Right away the flavors of mango and sugar come through to the front….how I love mango. Then the ginger mixes with the apple cider vinegar for an interesting combo. After that the Scotch Bonnets come through which is followed by the lime juice and onion leaving the garlic to tie things up at the end into a nice ribbon of flavors.

The heat is definitely here, starting in the center of the tongue and moving to the back of the throat. It builds to a nice low end of the hot side and lingers before dieing down. This has it all; awesome, eye catching label, bold and complex flavors, and great heat to follow it all up with. Nicely done, sir!

Blaze Gourmet Mango: Taste: 9, Heat: 7

Now onto the Avocado Jalapeno which also has a similar label. I was really excited about doing a review for this sauce for a few reasons. I only know of one other hot sauce with avocado and it uses artificial colors while this sauce is all natural. I’m also a California guy and that’s basically the avocado capital of the US. I’ve been exposed to so many things avocado that I have gained quite an appreciation for the fruit.

Loads of flavors hit the tongue right away and in short order. First the Jalapeno, then the cilantro, followed quickly by the avocado, then the lime juice. I do detect a hint of salt but don’t pick up on the orange juice. The heat level on this sauce is a mild with a slight center to front of the tongue tug.

The thing I am most impressed with this is the staying power of the color of the sauce. As most of us know, avocado oxidizes really quickly (darkens in color) unless lime or lemon juice is added and even then it’s a fast decline into the unappetizing. So, I did a test. I took two separate pictures of the sauce, one before opening, and another two weeks after it was opened. The results are astounding, only a slight change in color. I had faith in Cowboy George, but I expected this sauce to be black by the end of the first week.

I put this stuff on everything and it was fantastic, salads, subs (the meat filled one, not the sailor filled one), scrambled eggs (really works awesomely). The most awe-inspiring visual display was when I put it on top of my Famous Passow Pizza. Just look at that color contrast!

Blaze Gourmet: Avocado Jalapeno; Taste: 10, Heat: 1.5

Splendid work all around. Both sauces were versatile, their flavors shined through any food that I threw it on, the labels are fantastic and stay true to the city of their origin. Keep up the good work and I look forward to sampling more!