As 2005 rolls to a close, I thought it’s be a good idea to take a look at all the things that have happened here on the HSB during the year.

The first post of 2005 can be found here - not much of a beginning for 2005 - at that time the blog was still hosted on the SNS domain.

Later that month we moved HSB to it’s own domain.

February was much more interesting with posts such as:
How to Make New Mexico Red Chili: A Step by Step Guide
Blair’s 3 A.M. - Taste Test
How to Make Hot Wings: A Step by Step Guide

In March we brought you to the Fiery Foods show:
How to make Guacamole: A Step by Step Guide
Sparx Chipotle Chocolate Chip Cookies
2005 Fiery Foods Show - Pictures here & here.
The only way I really enjoy spaghetti - Deadly style

April was a flurry of activity and fun in the springtime:
Pilarcita’s Carne Asada Marinade - rockin’ some tacos
Blair’s Mega Death: Taste & Heat Test
Manhattan Chili Co - sadly it’s now closed.

In May, we went international & the threat of divorce was quoted worldwide:
Black & Bleu Tenderloins - CAUTION: You may want to lick the screen.
Introducing - The Art of Chipotle
Blair’s Jersey Death Sauce
Hot Sauce Media Frenzy
Blair’s 16 Million Product Review - 94 comments to date.
Ring of Fire Shrimps

June brought some more creative ideas to kitchen:
Cayenne Peanut Butter Cookies
Living with a Hot Sauce Addict - The first post from the wife on HSB
New Favorite Hot Sauce

In July we reviewed some wonderful salsas, watched the world’s best eaters and cooked up one mean steak:
Frostbite Hot Sauce
Preserving Cilantro
Salsa de Rosa Fresh Salsas
The Ultimate Steak
Black Mamba Hot Sauce
Nathan’s Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest
Sparx Cookies

In August we brought in several new reviewers to expand our hot sauce taste buds:
Blair’s 2005 Halloween Reserves
Review: Big Daddy Jake’s Texas Pit Smoked Hot Sauce - Adam
Reviewing: Chef D Rocks Florida Swamp Water - Jim
Peppermaster Hurricane Mash - John
Purgatory Brand Alligator Alley Asphalt Sauce - Bill
How to Make Cincinnati Chili

TorchBearer Sauces hit the blog in September, along with more reviewers & hot sauce comics:
Hot Sauce Comic #1
DC Hot Trivia Question #1
ZestFest 2005 Winners!
Review: TorchBearer Sugar Fire Sauce
Hot Sauce Lover in a Black Pepper World
Review: Slaughter Sauce

October - A year older and none the wiser!
Chipotle Steaks
Review - Uncle Brutha’s Fire Sauce No. 9 - with thanks!
Pure Cayenne Gourmet Pepper Sauce
Blair’s Q Heat Wasabi Ginger Hot Sauce
Real Wasabi
Nick’s No Name Chili
Happy Birthday HSB!
BBG Chile Pepper Fiesta A Bust

We cooked up a bunch of tasty dishes in November:
Hot Sauce Blog Stats & Visitor Info
Playing With Fire
Review: Blair’s Q Heat Chipotle Slam Hot Sauce
Habanero Pepper Poppers
How To Make Buffalo Wings: A Step by Step Guide
Blair’s Le Million Reserve
Creamy Chorizo Fusilli Pasta

We performed Santa’s duties in Dec and brought you the collector’s corner:
Hot Sauce Collector’s Corner - Edition #3
Holiday Reserves Shipped!
Hot Sauce Collector’s Corner - Edition #2
How to Make Chile Verde
Hot Sauce Collector’s Corner - Edition #1
Cleaning Pennies with Hot Sauce
Catalogs are Complete - Finally!
Chipotle Garlic Chili
Blair’s 2005 Holiday Reserve - 155 comments!

A big thank you to all the readers and reviewers that have contributed to the HSB in 2005. Here’s to a HOT 2006!

After loving my first experience with Peppermaster’s fine Hurricane Mash, I was extremely excited to sample another of their offerings, Red Pepper Jelly.

Ingredients: Sugar, Apples, Fresh Chili Peppers, Spanish Onion, Vinegar, citric acid, apple pectin, spices

That’s a lot of sweet in the ingredients list! Clocking in at 5 out of 10 on their heat scale, I expected a little heat and a lot of sugary flavor.

On First Taste
The consistence is very jelly like, smooth, shiny and easy to spread. The apple flavor comes on strong with a lot of sweetness, and a mild heat comes on later. The big chunks of pepper in the sauce are a big plus. This is definitely a breakfast condiment, or anyplace else you’d use jelly. The jelly tastes fresh, like something homemade, and though the heat is low the flavor makes up for it.

On Food
I feel like this jelly would be the perfect compliment to some great potato pancakes. However, since I can’t make good potato pancakes for my life, and it’s a long way to the nearest good Polish restaurant, I decided to settle on a typical breakfast usage, a toasted roll.

The jelly went great with the bread. The apple flavor is really delicious, and the spices bring out a lot of additional flavor, though I can’t identify them precisely. This is a morning treat worth looking forward to. And I bet it would make one heck of a good spicy Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich.

Conclusion:
Peppermaster’s Red Pepper Jelly came in with a big reputation to uphold, and stood in admirably. It’s a fine tasting condiment that’d be at home on any chilihead’s breakfast table, or used to add a touch of heat anywhere jelly is required.

Rating: 8.7 out of 10

The wife and I have friends in from the west coast and it’s our duty to show them the best Manhattan has to offer. It is also our job to get them as drunk as possible from as many bars/restaurants/clubs we can find. The wife even called up BED (a bar/restaurant that has beds you lay in while eating) to reserve a bed, but not only couldn’t we get a bed for the next week, but we looked up the menu & prices online and were quite shocked. $250 for a bottle of Jack Daniels, $300 for Grey Goose and the food prices weren’t even listed. No thanks.

So instead of BED, we went for BBQ. Dinosaur BBQ (reviewed previously here) - 5 people with appetizers, drinks & food came to less then $200 with tip. Not bad at all - plus between the wife and I, we have a full rack of leftovers.

That’s some good BBQ!

Now for the hangover part of things. In addition to good food, Dinosaur BBQ also has some good beer on tap. We (3 of us) finished off 2 pitchers of Rogue Valley Dead Guy Ale (from Oregon). So after eating & drinking we all felt like a bunch of stuffed ticks and somehow waddled back to our place where we finished off a bottle of Newton ‘99 Unfiltered Cab while watching Oregon lose in the final moments of the Holiday Bowl. And after the wine we got into one of my X-mas gifts, a bottle of George T. Stagg Bourbon. So that’s how I got the hangover. Not a bad hangover, but I did wake up seriously thirsty and needing some good solid food.

Needing sustanance I turned to the leftover roast in the fridge - combined with some Boneyard Brew Hot Sauce and I had myself a perfect breakfast sandwich with minimal effort.

Shredded roast, salt & pepper, butter (for the pan) & some Boneyard Brew.

Using the same pan (less dishes) I grilled the bread and added the cheeses (gouda & cheddar).

Hangover sandwich goodness

(by Shannon Becker - December 29, 2005) - This holiday season, visions of a spicy ice cream empire are dancing around in the heads of two longtime friends. The two men — Jeffrey Russitano and James Wishneski — began experimenting with their Hotscream ice cream concoction about 10 years ago during a particularly festive Monday Night Football game.
“We’ve been friends for 25 years and we were always entering chili and hot wing contests and on the look out for the best and hottest foods. Then, we discovered this together one Monday night,” Wishneski said.
The spicy ice cream, dubbed J&J’s Hotscream, is fast becoming a local favorite, and now the two men are working to secure financing and broker lucrative deals with distribution companies, hoping to finally start production on a full-time basis.
“I’m not sure when it will actually happen,” Russitano said. “Right now we are taking it one step at a time. But it’s our dream to get our spicy ice cream on the menu of every Mexican restaurant we can find.”
The Hotscream treat has become a favorite ending among the clientele at Aunt Chilada’s in Hamden, and Russitano has little doubt that other aficionados of the habanero will be lining up for a taste when the dessert hits menus at other venues. “The taste is really addicting,” Russitano said.
“Once we get the ice cream business built up, we plan to branch out to barbecue and other hot sauces.” “There’s really no limit as to how far we can go with this because we have developed such a strong base product. We’re not afraid to experiment and we’ve put it into frozen drinks, vinaigrettes and all kinds of sauces,” said Wishneski, a chef at Portabello Mediterranean Grill in Huntington.
“We both have full-time jobs, but the Hotscream is such a passion for us, there are really no limits as to where we could go with this.” Sitting at his dining room table, Russitano shared the story of how the Hotscream ice cream came to be. “It was a Monday night game, and we were watching the Steelers play the Bills,” Russitano said.
A few beers mixed with a boatload of very hot wings eventually sent the men in search of ice cream. “After scooping two huge bowls of ice cream we both looked at the remaining wing sauce, then at the ice cream and back to the wing sauce,” Russitano said. “We mixed the two flavors and that’s how we first came up with the concept for our spicy ice cream.” Life then intervened, temporarily putting their ice cream dreams on hold. Russitano got married and moved to Georgia, and the duo shelved their idea to distribute a unique and spicy dessert treat. “When I moved back we resurrected our concoction and started spending hours in the kitchen,” Russitano said. “Jim’s a chef, and we experimented with flavors, trying to pick the best chilis and trying to come up with a way to incorporate the chilis to have heat without the skin or seeds.” “People thought we were crazy,” Wishneski said.
“When we first made it, it was so hot we were the only ones who could eat it. It was pretty weird to be eating ice cream and sweating.” Russitano said the two friends made gallons of inedible sauce before finally coming up with just the right pepper — a habanero —to blend with the cool, sweet vanilla base. They mixed in some strawberry flavoring and out came J&J’s Hotscream.
But be warned. Hotscream ice cream is not for the faint of heart. It’s a subtle, building to bold flavor that grabs you in the taste buds and makes you want to take another bite to try and identify all the flavors dancing around in your mouth. “It’s spicy but still enjoyable,” Wishneski said.
“We wanted to make sure our products were palatable so we used quality ice cream and real fruit, but the mixture still carries some heat with it.” When not at work, the duo are out marketing their product, attending food shows and garnering both local and national recognition. “It’s a passion for us and we want to share what we’ve made with other people. I think it’s just a matter of time before people all over the country are eating Hotscream,” Wishneski said.
In 2002, J&J’s Hotscream debuted its original flavor during the summer of 2002 at WPLR’s “Buried at the Beach” with Smith & Barber’s morning show. In 2003, Hotscream won “Best of Dessert” category at the International Restaurant and Food Service Show in New York City.
Also in 2003, Hotscream introduced its new chocolate sauce at the Mystic Chamber of Commerce “Chocolate Affair” held at the Mohegan Sun Resort and Casino. The dessert showcased as one of the Top 5 New and Spicy Treats on the Food Network, and it first aired in May of 2004. The show, Top 5: Spicy Treats, is scheduled to air again on Friday, Jan. 27, 2006, at 11 a.m. I
n 2005, the duo have been fine tuning their treats, marketing their spicy cool treats to various Mexican restaurants and it has become a menu favorite at Aunt Chilada’s in Hamden. “We’ve won awards, and I know it’s good. Everyone who tries it likes the concept,” Russitano said. “About 98 percent of them like it and the other 2 percent appreciate it but just aren’t spicy food people.” The problem is finding a way to get it out to more people. Russitano said the men have developed the ice cream, ice cream sandwiches, fried ice cream and something called a Hotscream taco (filled with ice cream of course.)
The ice cream sandwich is a big hit — a cookie at each end adds texture to the creamy smooth vanilla and sweet strawberry flavors. Seconds after swallowing the bite, you get a warming sensation and a slow burn hits you in the back of the throat. There’s no burning in the mouth or on the lips, and the taste makes you want to take another bite. After 30 or 40 trials and errors, Russitano and Wishneski have come up with a total of five flavors added to their vanilla base — strawberry swirl, chocolate swirl, raspberry, blueberry and ginger.
“I’m very excited about our product line, and I think it’s going to be a big thing,” Russitano said. He’s spent countless hours on the Internet doing market research and running the numbers. The next step is to get financing and start marketing the product to the larger chains so that more people can get a taste of the Hotscream. “We want to hit all the TexMex restaurants, maybe Taco Bell even, and get a following of loyal customers. Our goal is to have people come in these places and ask for our products,” Russitano said. Once that happens, Russitano said there is no limit to what they can do with their basic recipe — from ice cream and sauces we could move on to salad dressing and butter. “There’s really no limit to what we can do with these flavors,” Russitano said.

I think it appropriate to review both sauces at the same time because they are, in a way, a point and counterpoint to the strange idea of putting figs into a barbeque sauce. When I received the sauces, I was honestly intrigued by the idea of figs. Being a good southern boy, a do love figs like I should, especially the candied and jellied kind that goes well on toast.

JD’s South Philly Hot Sauces makes a line of barbeque and hot sauce products that feature figs in the ingredient list.

The first, and mildest of the sauces is JD’s South Philly Figgin’ Hot Grilling and Dipping Sauce. It is important to note at this point that Figgin’ Hot is not figgin’ hot, nor is it a barbeque sauce. In fact, I’m not really sure what it is.

Figgin’ Hot is a figgin’ sweet. It’s a very sweet sauce that might work well served atop a block of softened cream cheese with crackers. It might do well mixed into a fruit cake or added to some holiday cookie dough. This might actually taste good added to some salsa and spooned over roast chicken. I did partake of the “dippin’” part of the sauces claim, and I wasn’t really impressed.

The one thing that Figgin’ Hot does not work well at, is a barbeque sauce or grilling sauce. Ironic, isn’t it? Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying the Figgin’ Hot doesn’t have it’s place in the kitchen, I’m just saying that it won’t work well mopped over grilling meats, and it definitely cannot be a featured sauce. After tasting the Figgin’ hot on many different foods, I came away with any uneasy feeling, a confused feeling. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but I knew there was something not right about it.

Figgin’ Hot’s cousin in the South Philly Family is the Xtreme XXX BBQ Sauce. The XXX sauce definitely ventures into the realm of hot where the Figgin’ was afraid to go. My mouth did have a little bit of a hum after eating this sauce. However, I’m not conviced that the XXX deserves its triple X name. Maybe, maybe not. In the scope of the sauces produced by JD’s South Philly, XXX is at the top of the list, but the heat doesn’t really deliever the amount of heat one might expect for the name triple X.

The taste is tangy and sweet, much like a regular barbeque sauce. The texture is not really barbeque-like, nor is the overall palette. This one could be classified in it’s own category called “tangy with a crunch.”

The crunch that I refer to is that tell-tale sign of fresh figs: the seeds. All fig lovers are aware of the seeds, so it’s no surprise. However, the crunch is not something that’s usually expected for a grilling sauce or barbeque sauce.

I tried this one on grilled chicken and on some mammoth hot dogs. It tasted pretty good on the dogs and as a sauce for dipping french fries, but still something was sticking in my craw about the whole experience.

After waiting a while to make my judgments on these two sauces, it finally dawned on me what the confused feeling was that I had been feeling: the figs. I’m sorry to say that these sauces feature an ingredient that is their downfall. Figs just don’t have a place in barbeque sauce. I’m sorry, but it’s true. That unmistakably unique flavor that figs carry just doesn’t work well with barbeque or grilling sauce.

The general populace, myself included, expect a tangy and tart sauce that is very smooth. JD’s seems to buck this trend with it’s thick and lumpy sauces.

The Figgin’ Hot Grilling Sauce seems to have the most promise as a product, but the Xtreme XXX BBQ Sauce doesn’t really know what it wants to be. A barbeque sauce, a hot sauce, or a all purpose slather?

I can appreciate a sauce bottler to want to stray from the basics and make something original, but perhaps JD has gone a little too far out into space with the figs.

JD’S SOUTH PHILLY HA-HA-HOT SAUCES
PO Box 54879
Phillidelphia, PA 19148
(215) 778-1890

Are you a collector looking for a certain bottle? Do you have a collectible bottle you’re looking to sell? Have anything else that may be of interest to hot sauce collectors in general? If so, drop the HSB a note here and we’ll post it in the Hot Sauce Collector’s Corner. If you have a bottle to sell or trade, send us a note as well and we’ll see what we can find for you.

Looking for…

Old Tabasco Labels
I’m looking for a WW2 era (1941-1945) label for Tabasco brand, or a good scan that I can use for an Army Cook’s exhibit. Prefer 2 oz size. ~ Dave

Melinda’s Reserves
I would like to complete my collection of Melinda’s XXXMAS Reserve and the XXXXTRA Reserve. I need the following years…

XXXMAS: 1998, 1999, 2001 to the present.
XXXXTRA: 1998 & 2000.

I also have an extra ‘95 1st edition XXXMAS if anyone is interested.
Thanks ~ Randy

Numbered 3 A.M. Reserve
I am looking for a 3 AM. A numbered one, to replace one I opened due to finding that the wax was cracked and thought was ruined. It does make a good chili though, that’s for sure. The bottle I have is #8220, anything near that would put things right, but I ain’t picky. The 2 AM I got at the same time is looking a little out of place since the 3 got moved to the fridge. I have an extra Le Million that I would be willing to part with if anyone is interested. ~ DK

Dave’s 2001 Private Reserve
Looking for a 2001 Dave’s Private Reserve to complete my Dave’s set. ~ Adam

Blair’s Caldera
I am seeking a Blair’s Caldera, with the number not really mattering whether is 49 or 499. I have a limited amt. of cash, but will consider trading my Dave’s Private Reserve for 1995 and/or 1996 for it as part of the deal. ~ Joe

Blair’s Beyond Death - 1993
If you have a bottle of Blair’s Beyond Death (circa 1993 - seen here) that your willing to part with, we’ve got a collector that’s looking to add this prized bottle to his collection. Leave a comment and we’ll put you in touch.

Selling & Available…

Blair’s First Reserve on eBay
Auction description: This is indeed one of the rarest of any of “BLAIR’S ” reserves. This was purchased from BLAIR when he was at a show at the New Scotland Avenue in Albany, New York about 8 years ago. He had told us that they had just finished the batch the week before and there was no name on the reserve. Auction here.

Defcon 0’s - Signed and Numbered
The Creator of the award winning Defcon sauces is furiously working on Defcon 0 - their hottest sauce yet. A limited number of Defcon 0’s are available now (signed and numbered) if you ask him real nice. Website here.

More ‘hot’ eBay Auctions
- RARE Blair’s Caldera Reserve Hot Sauce #355
- Dave’s Private Reserve Hot Sauce 1997
- Blair’s 2005 HOLIDAY RESERVE #46
- Blair’s HOT SAUCE Caldera Prototype Stage 1
- BLAIR’S 2005 HOLIDAY RESERVE #51

Reminder - please send your requests for collector’s items and/or for sale notices using the contact form. Leave a comment if you have a bottle that some is looking for (or you could use the form as well) and we’ll put you in touch.

Previous Collectors Corners
Edition #1
Edition #2

Hot seasonings are, well, hot. Each major hot sauce manufacturer has at least 2 dry seasonings within their product line and there are several companies that make only ‘hot’ dry seasonings. So what’s my point? Well, in addition to the BBQ sauces, salsa and hot sauces I’ve been recieving for reviews lately, I’ve been sent a staggering amount of dry seasonings. Here’s a quick look at 3 so far:

Wewoff Salt & Jalapeno

Ingredients: New Zealand Natural Sea Salt & Jalapeno Pepper.

Pretty simple ingredient list for a not so simple taste. This is the first Jalapeno Salt I’ve encountered that actually tastes like jalapeno peppers.

There is a little bit of heat, but not anything my grandma couldn’t handle. Excellent for mixing into guacamole, your morning eggs or just sprinkling on anything you can find. Come in an easy pour zip lock bag.

Wofford Enterprises, Inc.
PO Box 1738
Venice, Ca 90294

Ashes

Ingredients: Salt, Spices, Garlic, a Select Blend of Dehydradated Vegetables, Red Savina Habaneros and Flour.

Spepper made waves when they introduced their Salt & Pepper combination, but CaJohn has come up with a combination just for Chileheads. Ashes is mix of CaJohns Fire Salt and Fire Dust.

The red savina give ashes a fairly high heat rating, but it’s not a hiccup alarm heat. It’s a great all-in-one dry seasoning that you can sprinkle on any food.

Great on X-mas leftovers! I used some Ashes this morning on 1lb of bacon, I simply rubbed Ashes into one side of the bacon before cooking it up and it turned out beautifully.

Pilarcita’s Hot & Spicy Mexican Seasoning

Ingredients: Chili powder, kosher salt, garlic, black pepper, paprika, onion, lemon & orange peel, herbs & spices.

Bea & B Foods really know their way around dry seasonings, specifically dry Mexican seasonings. My afinity for the Carne Asada Marinade is well known, but lesser known is how much I enjoy Pilarcita’s Hot & Spicy Mexican Seasoning. Simple ingredients and moderate heat make this seasoning a wonderful addition to morning eggs, rubbed on your holiday turkey or sprinkled on chicken breasts before they hit the grill.

I just had a chance to try Creepin’ Quag hot sauce, from Chef Bud of Sizzlin Sauces, LLC.

The bogness creature lives down in cranberry quag. He’s corrupted everything down below the hollar. So when we were creeping down by the quag, we stole some of his craggily plums and twisted cranberries and that’s how we made this unique sauce.

Made with of course Habaneros, twisted cranberries, craggily plums, and prickly pear cactus. I’ve gotta tell ya, this job sure ain’t easy. We barely made it outta there!

Now, I’m all for creativity. And I’m not usually one who based most decisions on packaging. But I’ve got to tell you, looking at the bad, hard to read design and the cheesy story didn’t do much to inspire me to try out Creepin’ Quag Hot Sauce. But I decided to look past the labeling and give it a try with breakfast.

Ingredients: Red Savina Habanero, Fransesca Habanero, Cranberrys (sic), Daebo Natural Plum, Prickly Pear, Ketchup, White Wine, Dijon Mustard, Honey, Olive Oil, Franks Red Hot, Black Pepper, Lime juice, Kosher Salt, Balsamic Vinegar, Carrot Juice.

Now, the list of ingredients looks interesting. Some potentially great things - olive oil, white wine, honey and Dijon mustard paired with fruit offered an immense amount of culinary promise. But the use of Franks Red Hot (I’ve never seen another sauce listed in an ingredients list) and ketchup kind of threw me for a loop. Is this culinary genius or someone throwing everything in their kitchen into a sauce?

On First Taste
I had Creepin’ Quag on a cracker, and truthfully wasn’t expecting much. It’s hard to find a good fruit based sauce to start with, let alone one with such poor packaging. But, to my surprise, the flavor of cranberries burst through, with a mouth pleasing texture and significant heat! I tried a few more samples, and with each taste found a new, intriguing layer of subtle flavor: a plumy chord, a hint of honey sweetness as well as the rich, lapping, sugary touch of balsamic vinegar. A slight taste of wine reduction can still be found, and I’d swear there’s a bit of ginger lurking in there, though it’s not on the label.

On Food
Pleasantly surprised, I began looking forward to using Creeping Quag on my breakfast of ham and eggs. It was more than up to the task, adding a rich heat that built into a sweat inducing burn. This stuff sure isn’t lacking hotness. The flavor was good, though by then end of the meal I’d certainly had enough sweet stuff.

The whole time I was eating, I was thinking how good Creeping Quag would be lathered over a turkey dinner. It would also make a great addition to a cranberry relish.

Conclusion:
Appearances really can be only skin deep. Creeping Quag deserves a look beyond the label, and is worth giving a try. Good heat, good texture, and an honest to goodness strong cranberry flavor make this sauce worth a taste - if not a look.

Overall Rating: 7.7 out of 10

Sizzlin’ Sauces
PO Box 1753
Conway, NH 03818

Trying to find that right BBQ sauce can be a pretty arduous task. As adventurous as I am I usually take the safe route and go with the tried and tested. There is so much variety and competition out there it can be as confusing as trying to pick a cell phone plan. Chef endorsements, organic, super organic, genetically modified you name it you can find a BBQ sauce catered directly to your tastes buds. It is kind of like going to Hallmark to find that special card just for your Aunts 3rd cousin’s lesbian dog.

Then I had this bottle appear in front of me. It was like a breath of fresh air. No Chef smiling at me, no all organic blurb telling me no vegetables were tortured during the process of making this BBQ sauce. Just a nice bottle with homely pleasant graphics and a great view of the sauce inside. This BBQ sauce begs look at me, taste me.

The ingredient list is fairly extensive. It seems like a lot of work was put into it.

Ingredients: roasted onion, roasted bell pepper, tomato concentrate made from red ripe tomatoes, apple vinegar, corn syrup, soybean oil, vegetable oil, salt, pepper, spice, water, brown sugar, molasses, mustard flour, xanthan, natural flavoring.

The initial smell is very sweet and after the pour you can see chunks of onion, pepper and various spices. Even though you can see the pieces this is no way close to the consistency of a salsa, it is a true BBQ sauce. It pours out smoothly and slowly enough with a nice medium consistency. Enough to coat meat without it being sticky on the hands or running right off the desired food.

My first taste was to add this to some New York Strip Loins. But hunger and time got the better of me so I settled on some hot dogs with regular buns. As it smelt, it tasted as well. Fairly sweet with a zesty aftertaste. There was no noticeable heat. But this never claimed to have any so all is good. It complimented the hot dog very nicely. Also it was the only condiment I used and the great flavour compensated for all the other things I usually top my dog with. Thankfully it didn’t soak right through the bun creating a big mess. It did drip out a bit but I considered that a bonus to sop up with the bread.

I recommend this sauce simply for its great taste and no gimmick factor. It tastes, smells and looks exactly as it is advertised. The next time you are standing in the condiment aisle, skip the grinning Chef, the ultra organic super pasteurized sauce and give this one a try. Great Stuff!

Packaging – 8/10
Aroma – 8/10
Appearance – 9/10
Taste – 8/10
Heat – 1/10

Overall – 8.5/10

Smoke Master Barbeque
12311 Confederate Dr. West
Glen St. Mary, FL
32040