In the past, I would have never thought that I’d be thinking about Marie Sharp’s and Blair’s hot sauces in the same train of thought but as of Saturday, my list of favorite hot sauces just got turned upside down. The package arrived on Friday and I had Laura bring it to me when she picked me up for my birthday dinner, but I forgot the bottle in the car and had to wait until the following day to try it out. Which turned out to be even better because we decided to cook up some tacos for the group. We went to the market early on Saturday and I got some chicken which I promptly threw into some Pilarcita’s marinade - a few hours (and beers) later, the chicken was ready for the grill and we had the taco bar fully stocked.

Ingredients: Habanero Chili Pods, Naga Jolokia, Vinegar, Hawaiin Red Salt. (typo on the label with the spelling of Hawaiian)

I cracked open the bottle and took a big whiff - pure peppery goodness. My mouth started to water at just the scent of the sauce and I eagerly poured some on my unsuspecting taco. Consistency - combined with the pure pepper flavor, the consistency of this sauce really reminds me of a good bottle of Marie Sharp’s - but with better flavor. I’ve always regarded Marie Sharp’s as my go to habanero hot sauce (for the basics) but now, I can’t fathom using Maries when I’ve got a bottle of Pure Death around.

It’s thick enough to hold a point

Heat wise - it’s not that hot when you compare it to the likes of After Death, Mega Death ect… but it’s got a good notch of fire power. The habaneros get you straight away and set the stage for the building heat of the Nagas - about 3-4 bites into your food and you’ll start to sweat and your eyes will being to water. No hiccup alarms here - just a nice heady burn with a good bit of afterburn. I’ve already killed 1/2 the bottle and in writing this, I’m staring at the remaining bottle and pondering it’s lunch time application uses.

I would highly recommend this sauce to any chilihead (new or old) and to the HSB regulars, I recommend you buy it by the case.

Gardner Resources, INC.
Highlands, NJ 07732
www.extremefood.com