We usually take great efforts to avoid duplicating reviews of sauces here on this blog, but sometimes certain products make us think that was a silly idea. This is one of those. While we don’t know ‘Bent’ personally (he lives in the Land Down Under), we’ve chatted with him through The Hot Pepper discussion board for quite some time. He was kind enough to brighten our day by shipping us some of his wonderful hot sauce creation for us to try for ourselves.

One thing we can say for sure is that this sauce is certainly one-of-a-kind, if for the ingredients alone:

Ingredients: chillies (habanero 23%, naga morich 15%, asian birdseye 15%, long green 7%, jalapeno 5%), pears, gari, vinegar, garlic, cinnamon, black olives, brandy essence, white pepper

Professional sauce makers, take note. Now this is a way to craft a hot sauce…all natural ingredients, a variety of excellent chiles, and a recipe that distinguishes it from most of the rest of the marketplace. I can’t say we’ve ever tried a hot sauce made with black olives or brandy essence, so this was going to be a treat whether we liked, loved it, or just tried it and put it back down in the back of cupboard.

First impression: Well, I have to say that I like the label. It’s just cool enough to appeal to the geek in me with its oversized brain and cartoonish graphics. It’s not quite professional caliber, but a far cry better than 99% of the labels that are made for homemade or amateur hot sauces. The aroma is nothing but capsaicin-dominated pepper goodness. A lot less of that ubiquitous vinegar smell that many sauces have, I detect a lot of habanero and a little of the pear fruitiness with a gentle whiff. This sauce is also thick. Way thick. So much so that I had to really throttle the bottle with a few shakes to dislodge a glob of it to taste. It might be a tad thick to me, but perfect for those who like a little more substance with their hot sauces.

Taste: At first, I thought it was simply a super-good habanero sauce. I definitely tasted the pear right away, then then enjoyed it as the habanero set my taste buds aflame with that characteristic heat. I really do get some of the other flavors (the gari, black olives, garlic), but not with every bite. The pepper blend makes for an interesting mouth feel. The overall mouth-searing heat and tropical flavor of the habanero, the sharp bite of the asian peppers, and some hints of jalapeno. It’s such a well-made sauce that I found myself almost enjoying it too much to really analyze the taste overly much.

That is, until the Naga Morich heat arrived. Wowzers, but that adds a whole new element to the sauce…and makes it worth every bit of the “Pain” name that this sauce bears. It took me quite a few bites to reach capsaicin critical mass with this sauce, but when I did it was impressive. About 9.7/10 for heat to be sure, and it seems to keep accumulating more heat with more consumption. After a meal with this in my chili con carne, I was sucking wind big time.

Speaking of uses, it’s still a pretty all-purpose hot sauce despite its high heat level. Used in moderation, even the novice chilehead could find good uses for this. I liked mixed into my foods, like soups and sauces, but I wasn’t afraid to pour some directly over my grilled meats as well. Great, great flavor.

Overall recommendation: I’m no longer just an aficionado of this sauce, but I may be in the running for president of the fan club. Searingly hot but still tasty, this sauce is for the chilehead who likes a great tasting sauce that will make you sweat and cry with joy. Bent is seemingly always looking to make new batches and improve this sauce’s formula, so feel free to contact him through The Hot Pepper and let him know you’d like to try a bottle. Even with shipping costs from Australia, it’s well worth you giving it a try. Enjoy!

We are constantly thrilled to find that there are people who can make hot sauce at home that is every bit as good as the ones you buy from the professional sauce makers. However, it often takes numerous rounds of experimentation to get your sauce just right. Thank goodness for events like the amateur hot sauce competition from this past Cinco D’Ohio Festival at the North Market here in Columbus, OH. Gathered were a collection of amateur hot sauce creators dueling for the affection of the judges (myself included), and these sauces by Donavan Stanley were the runaway winners amongst the competition. Donavan was thoughtful enough to have some extras on hand (in some spiffy frosted bottles) to share with us to try without the pressure of making a spot decision on their merit.

Precious Booty Ingredients: Tomato puree, Rum, malt vinegar, habanero peppers, shallots, onions, honey, brown sugar, rice vinegar, jolokia pepper, spices.

Purple Nurple Ingredients: Black Currant Preserves (Black Currants, Sugar, Glucose Syrup, Citric Acid, Fruit Pectin), Vinegar, habanero peppers, jolokia peppers.
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It’s been a little while since we had some good homemade salsa, so we dove back into the fray with this new arrival from Ed & Patti Wajer called Ed & Patti’s Hot 4 Pepper Gourmet Salsa. This salsa fits into both categories with us…that of a homemade product as well as a commercially distributed one. Ed & Patti hail from the great state of Michigan, where their salsa is available at select vendors at various times throughout the year.

One of my buddies from The Hot Pepper forum (his screen name is bentalphanerd) has sent me my first homemade sauce that I have ever received from Australia. The sneaky bastard said he was sending me pepper seeds for my garden this year and I was bowled over when I saw one of his sauces in there too. Surprise!

AlphaNerdZ ‘Pain2’: Ingredients: Chillies (Habanero 23%, Naga Morich 15%, Asian Birdseye 15%, Long Green 7%, Jalapeno 5%), pears, gari, vinegar, garlic, cinnamon, black olives, brandy essence, white pepper.

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It’s always a pleasure getting test sauces from industry hopefuls. Often they are way crafty and sometimes so inventive I’ll have to bust out the thesaurus just to find the words to describe them. Such a sauce always comes from Lynn “Devil Duck” Duck (no, I didn’t type Duck twice, his last name really is Duck). Last I was in his area of New Mexico I received his two newest sauces, Barracuda Breath Test Batch #1 and Barracuda Breath Test Batch #2.

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The Naga sauces keep rolling in and for heat lovers like me, this is the best thing that could ever happen. Scott from the Philippines just brewed up his own homemade hot sauce called Chili Scott’s Nuclear Naga Sauce and sent it to me for a small taste. It’s a very small bottle, but I’m glad I got some in because this one’s really interesting.

Ingredients: Vinegar, Naga Morich Peppers, sauteed onions, garlic, salt.

Scott let this sauce age for a few months before sending it to me and I must say, it really adds to the flavor. It allows the ingredients to introduce themselves to each other and they end up all having a good time, except for our poor friend the Naga. He just sits in the corner because no one will talk to him. They all know he’s a biter.

This is an extremely well blended sauce, smooth and liquidy. The vinegar stands out but not as much to distract you from the overall taste of the sauce. The garlic and sautéed onions are really the forefront taste and the Naga Morich hovers around them. I can definitely taste the Nagas, which brings back a flood of memories from when I ate a whole one. There also is just a hint of salt that helps to accent the subtleties of all three ingredients.

I would have to say that this isn’t a complex sauce. It’s very straightforward in the flavors, the heat’s spot on, and it complements every single dish that I put it on. The food that I found this to go perfect with is fish. Grill up some Maui-Maui (I do so love Coryphaena hippurus) and slather a bunch of this sauce over it. The garlic and onions pair amazingly well with it and the fruity taste of the Naga throws your taste buds into overdrive…until the heats kicks in that is.

I was really disappointed by the heat upon first sampling the sauce. I just did a little spoon full at first and got a big blast of heat right away that died down a second or two latter. This is because the sauce is mainly vinegar based so the pepper heat is really thinned out. Then I used it in my breakfast burrito (the cook at work knows of my pepper addiction and tolerance so he always uses copious amounts of the sauce I hand him for my food).

HELLO!! THERE WE GO! I FOUND THE HEAT!!! WAAAAHHHOOOO!!!! This sauce has bite! Unlike some other Naga sauces I’ve had, the heat in this stays with you. Like riding a bucking bronco, the heat grabs your tongue and holds on for dear life. I found myself bouncing around in my chair, red faced, smiling, and having a hell of an endorphin rush. Plus, my tongue went a little numb afterwards (a nice little side effect of the Nagas. It’s almost like the tongue says, “That’s it, we’re shutting down for a bit until this heat goes away. Why do you keep doing this to me?”).

For Scott’s first attempt, this sauce is a winner! While simple, it hits upon most of my favorite things when I look for a sauce; recognizable tastes, heat, and the amount of food that it pairs well with. Here’s hoping I see some on the market someday. Preferably soon because I’m all out now.

Taste:8.7, Heat:9.23

Well, it’s been a while since we have had a request to do a homemade sauce review, so were pleased as punch to hear from Julie B. with an offer to try some of her pork green sauce that she makes which she sells to friends and family. A pork green sauce? That was a new one on me, I must admit…but the more she told me, the more I was inclined to give it a try. Here is some of what Julie had to say about her sauce:

We have played around a lot with this sauce and I think it has really turned out good with a great aroma especially when heated first. This pork green sauce is slow cooked for 3 1/2 hours before it is packaged. We offer both a mild & hot sauce. It is great smothered over burritos, etc. I have used it when I have grilled shrimp & fish by adding a little sauce to the shrimp & fish while I am cooking and also when I have grilled chicken. Also, if you take a little velvet cheese and heat it with the sauce, it makes a good dipping sauce for tortilla chips. We have taken hamburgers and smothered them with sauce & cheese.

So, this sauce arrived in two medium-size mason jars, complete with a no-nonsense label that simply laid out what was in these sauces. This is:

Ingredients: green chilies, tomatoes, onions, jalapenos, habaneros, pork loin, almond extract, garlic, broths, spices & more

Admittedly, I’ve not had many green chile sauces that were made with pork. I’ve tried my fair share of ones made to use with pork dishes, but not where the pork was made with the sauce itself. Taking some of Julie’s advice, I set about the task of trying the milder sauce by first pouring it out into my saute pot to heat up a little. Here’s a look at it as it warms on our stove:

Here we go folks, the last part of the two part review of Devil Duck’s (aka Lynn Duck) homemade sauces. If you didn’t catch the first part, be sure to check it out right here

Devil Duck: Nuclear Scurvy Ingredients: Habaneros, Jalapeños, Distilled White Vinegar, Onion, Garlic, Spices, Olive Oil.

This last one continues his Sea theme, caring the name “Nuclear Scurvy”. For those that don’t know, Scurvy results from a lack of Vitamin C, thus causing lots of problems for the body. Why is this related to the sea, you might ask? Well, in the long distance sea fairing days, Scurvy would afflict most crewmembers because of the lack of fruits and fresh food on board. By adding the word “nuclear” in the title, it gives one a sense that this sauce is from the future. When Depleted Uranium poisoning, and nuclear bombs have devastated the earth, making Scurvy even more prevalent due to the lack of viable citrus seeds and trees. Lynn, high marks for the name my friend.

Like his other sauce, this has one of the weirdest colors I’ve ever seen in a hot sauce. It’s almost a putrid green with small, pin head sized dots of spices and chunks of peppers suspended in the liquid. The green color probably comes from unrippened Jalapenos (typically used in the industry, even though red, ripened ones have more flavor and heat) and a combination of spices. The red Habaneros that are suspended are an awesome contrast to the main color of the sauce. They almost glow in comparison. Maybe this sauce is nuclear and that’s the result of it being irradiated…eek!

When poured out onto a spoon, one notices that it is a mixture of smooth and some chunks. When you look at the liquid in the bottle (which separates oddly due to the use of Olive Oil) you notice it appears quite viscous, but when poured out, it becomes a little thick. The vinegar separates from the mixture within a minute of sitting which means that too much was used.

The first tasting of this sauce hits you like a nuclear blast. It’s a big boom of heat mixed with the bitterness of vinegar. I was a bit disappointed by this, I must say. My suggestion would be to lessen the amount of vinegar and add some citrus juice. Not only would it eliminate the bitter taste of the vinegar, it would fit with the Scurvy theme and also compliment the fruity taste of the Habaneros.

Once you get past the initial blast and try it a second time, the flavors really start to shine. Upfront is the fruity taste of Habaneros with the sweet taste of Jalapenos floating in the background waiting to fall on your tongue like radioactive fallout in the first rain after the bomb was dropped. I also detect a bit of onion,, which also lends its sweetness to the first two ingredients. Rounding off the bend is cumin. I can taste that one from a mile away. A little bit too much has been added though, because when you use too much, the bitter taste of it really starts to come out.

There is also a nice aromatic and thick taste floating around the taste buds. Having much experience with sage, I’m going to have to say that’s one of the secret “spices”. Although you can also get that thick taste from rosemary, I’m still going to have to go with sage. It adds a very nice finishing texture and flavor to the whole shebang. I half expected to be scolding Lynn for the use of Olive Oil, but it actually works wonderfully as a thickener in this sauce. Olive Oil tends to have a nasty habit of leaving a greasy film on the tongue, bit not in this case. The only way you’ll be able to detect it is if you either look at the bottle when it’s separated or take a peak at the ingredients.

Now that all the tasting is done, we get to my favorite part; the heat. Like the name states, this thing is nuclear! It knocked my socks off the first time I tried it three months ago at Lynn’s house, and it still does now. Even the smallest amount will set off an endorphin rush. Heck, I’m feeling very dizzy as I am typing this review. I guess that’s what I get for downing a whole spoonful. This has a big hit with a beautiful linger that will rival most extract sauces.

In closing, I have one bit of advice for Lynn when he makes the labels for this product. Put the following on the label, “Consume sauce while cold”. I tried this sauce warm a little bit ago before I refrigerated it and was regretting that I would have to give a negative review. The vinegar and cumin really gagged me and the tastes were way off from what they should be. But once I refrigerated it and tried some, it’s was a whole other ballgame and resulted in the above review.

Taste: 7.9, Heat: 9.6

I got the pleasure of staying with Devil Duck (aka Lynn Duck) and his wife while I was in New Mexico after the Fiery Foods Show this year. Lynn grows his own peppers to make his blend of homemade hot sauces, Nuclear Scurvy and Barnacle Remover every year. I was able to trade him some of Dave’s Zesty Blend to get my hands of these little gems for review. I’ll be doing this as a two part review and this time around I’ll be reviewing his Barnacle Remover.

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I’ve had this little jar of goodness sitting on my shelf since ZestFest last year, and was gifted it to me in person by Chuk after he had the opportunity to wow lots of industry people with its flavor and prodigious heat. In fact, there is a pair of pictures from the post we did for our picture collection from ZestFest 2006 in which you can see the before and after snapshots of me trying the Ogoun sauce for the first time. While the jar was meant to be a sort of collectible, there was simply no way I could get away with letting this yummy container of homemade hot sauce goodness lay around forever without getting used. Well, not for more than 6 months anyway….

Initially, I thought that “Ogoun” was a made-up name from out of Chuk’s imagination. However, Chuk provided some information on a card packaged with the sauce that I found pretty interesting and imaginative. In fact, his picture is what you see to the right side of this article. So that you, the devoted readers, know who Ogoun is, here is an excerpt of the Wikipedia definintion of Ogoun:

Ogoun (or Ogun, Ogum, Ogou) is a loa and deity respectively, who presides over fire, iron, hunting politics and war. He is the patron of smiths and is usually displayed with his attributes: machete or sabre, rum and tobacco.

Ogun is the traditional warrior, similar to the spirit of Ares in Greek mythology. As such Ogun is mighty, powerful, triumphal, yet also exhibits the rage and destructiveness of the warrior whose strength and violence can turn against the community he serves.

His possessions can sometimes be violent. Those mounted by him are known to wash their hands in flaming rum without suffering from it later. They dress up in red, wave a sabre or machete, chew a cigar and demand rum in an old phrase “Gren mwe fret” (my testicles are cold). Often this rum is poured on the ground then lit and the fumes pervade the peristyle.

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