For as many sauces as there out there to review (and we collectively have a ton of them ourselves,) for us to re-visit one speaks volumes about the quality and taste of the product. Such is the case with the Cayenne Habanero Sauce from All Spice Cafe. Our writer emeritus, Chuk Hell, reviewed some of the All Spice Cafe sauces in a post he did back in 2009.

Chuk had complimentary things to say about the sauces, but he did NOT have a bottle of XXX version of the Cayenne Habanero Sauce, which is what we have. So, the fun stuff began as we tried to figure out what foods to use with this sauce. It resembles a wing sauce in both appearance and the size of the bottle, but lacks the butter component that many wing sauces are using these days. As for what’s in it, here’s what you get:

Ingredients: Aged Red Peppers, Vinegar, Water, Canola Oil, Habanero Peppers, Granulated garlic, Cayenne Pepper, Salt, Xanthan Gum

The All Spice Cafe website has this to say about their sauce:

Cayenne Habanero Sauce got it’s start as a hot wing sauce, but that perfect flavor has been used on everything from popcorn to pasta sauce, as well as a marinade for chicken or steak, and even added to Ranch Dressing.

Kudos to JD Cowles for keeping all the ingredients as all-natural ones! The aroma of this sauce is all vinegar and peppers, although it’s not intrinsically obvious which ones they are. It’s a thick sauce, much thicker than a traditional vinegar-based hot sauce. The label is simple, professional, creative, and even looks good on the shelf.

Taste: It’s a very pepper-laden sauce, and the cayenne flavor tastes every bit as prominent as the habanero. What does that mean, you ask? Well kids, it’s hot. It ain’t labeled XXX hot for any small reason, this sauce packs enough habanero heat to get any chilehead’s attention…perhaps 8/10 or so, with even more with increased consumption.
We split a little on the garlic flavor…I thought it was easy to taste, but Linda not so much.

The main issue with this sauce is what does it do well besides chicken wings? I used this sauce to taste both breaded and non-breaded wings, and it is OUTSTANDING with those. It makes for a tasty, spicy concoction on anything fried, honestly. I used it as a dip for fries, a condiment for burgers and other sandwiches, and mixed into some mundane salad dressing to make the salad truly chilehead-worthy. After that, our creativity fizzled a bit and we were at a loss at what else to use it upon.

Overall recommendation: The XXX Cayenne Habanero Sauce is an excellent wing sauce, but with other uses your mileage may vary. It’s got enough flavor and heat to do what you want it to do, but the food pairings will be hit-or-miss as you go. The cool thing is, if you like to cook, finding new ways to use this sauce may make owning it a little more fun. Enjoy!