Label: This Jam comes in a standard industry based Jam container that takes the shape of a somewhat abnormal hexagon figure. On the front of the Jar is a cool label of a hurricane atmospheric convection swirl that looks like it was taken from outer space using the nasa technology. Above the hurricane is a chili pepper wearing sunglasses. Below the title, Hot Pepper Jam, is Gombey’s Sweet Slow heat from Bermuda. On the back of the label the heat scale indicates very hot with 4 out of 5 chili pepper slots are filled. I guess Bermuda Factory wanted to indicate this was a Category 4 hurricane.
A tip is given that says, “Try it with roasts, pasta, and seafood dishes and that you can glaze it, spread it, sauce it, dip it, share it, gift it” [Yum Yum ]

Ingredients: Cane Sugar, Premium Hot Peppers, Premium Sweet Peppers, Vinegar, 100% Pure Citrus Pectin, Vitamin C, Calcium Mineral Supplement.

Apppearance: The Jam from the outside of the container appears to be very sturdy. I am thinking that alot of pectin has been used in this Jam. Seeds are visible as well as an abundant amount of chopped up scotch bonnets and sweet green peppers. This arrangement really appears to make the Jam seem very floral which is unlike most Jams that I have tried. The color is light orange.

Odor: After I open the lid I am hit with a maximum sustained force aroma of habanero and fresh green peppers. The smell is of a natural fruity pepper flavor with a small hint of sugar or natural fruit flavor. The sugar doesn’t seem to smell artificial as some candies may. A more finer odor such as chopped fruit or a fruit salad appears to hit the olfactory bulbs. There is not a hint of extract at all, nor any smokey flavor.

Taste: I decided to go with the usual chicken and rice tonight. I know everyone may be getting tired of this dish, but I really took a gamble here. I wanted to use it on crackers but I decided let’s try it on an actual meal. My reasoning was if it appealed to me on something I am not use to having a Jam on, then hell it has to be good! After trying the first piece of chicken I taste a sweet but not too sweet natural pepper flavor. The consistency is smooth and not as rigid as I first thought based on the appearce when I was peeking in through the outsides of the jar. The peppers are embedded in a gelatinous mold that retains the fruit flavor of the natural flavors of the pectin but yet still the flavor of the scotch bonnets and sweet green peppers can be tasted. There is no taste whatsoever of vinegar which is really a great thing for any Jam.

Heat: The heat didn’t hit me at first. After finishing my meal I then began to feel it. The pectin reserves the initial heat phase but then it builds after the meal is completed. Overall, this will not burn most of you but if you have enough of it, like I did, then maybe you will feel some heat. I would say this product is not as hot as another Jam I have had by Sweet Agony. However, this Hurricane Force Pepper Jam is hot enough to feel some heat, but not in anyway as hot as having a scotch bonnet red hot sauce.

Final Thoughts: This Jam is really a great tasting product that is very versatile. I used it on chicken and rice but I would love it on ice cream, crackers, cakes, stir fries, chicken tacos, grilled chicken, etc. The finest ingredients have to be used for this product and when they say “Premium” they mean it! The heat is there but I really don’t think it is a category 4 by any means. I would rate it as a Cat. 2 which would be like Hurricane Frances that hit Florida in 2004. If you sustain enough of this then yes you will feel some heat but I doubt it will make you go running for the faucet.

Packaging 10/10
Aroma 10/10
Taste 10/10
Appearance 10/10
Heat 6/10

Overall 9.2

Bermuda Jam Factory
Suite 1427
48 Par-la-Ville Road
Hamilton HM 11
Bermuda
1-441-799-8842
OR 1-441-747-JAMS (5267)

Label: Acid Rain–The label is yellow consisting of black and red text with Hatari presenting ACID RAIN, hot sauce piquante. Underneath there is a rain cloud dumping some Acid Rain onto a tree. Under the tree is a caption, “Our Beyond Belief Hot Sauce”. The bottle is 4.4 oz, slightly smaller than the usual 5 oz industry bottle.

Bottle description: Acid Rain–If you’re one of the folks who just like their food HOT!, this sauce was made especially for you. Unlike some hot sauces, ACID RAIN, is loaded with flavor. It is not only a blending of some of the hottest peppers in the galaxy, but some of the most flavourful ingredients, as well. You are just going to love it. Do not sprinkle on lakes or forests. 2 thumbs up for the biology theme!

Ingredients: Acid Rain—-Habanero, piquin, ring of fire, peri-peri, tepin and jalapeno peppers, garlic, ginger, spices, salt, lemon, lime and orange juices and vinegar.

Appearance: Acid Rain—- Acid Rain is of reddish brown color that appears to be smooth and thin. There are some seeds visible as well as some of the other spices. If I had to pick I would go with it being on the slightly more brownish side than red, in terms of color.

Odor: Acid Rain—- The smell of this sauce is truly amazing. Piquin seems to be the main odor about, but I can sense the garlic, the sweetness of the lemon, lime, and O.J, as well as a trace of habanero. The blending is really amazing.

Taste: Acid Rain–The flavor was a perfect blending of the peppers mentioned in the ingredients. The ginger I felt really was a great addition to the sauce bringing all the flavors together. The sauce went great with pizza. I love the taste of the piquin and wish other sauces would include this ingredient. The flavor is versatile enough where it can be used on other foods and I really stress trying this on pork chops. It is phenomenal.

Heat: Acid Rain– At first the flavor is way too great to notice any heat but after consuming enough of it, the heat does build. It is a not a tongue lasher by any means but you will feel some kick after a few minutes.

Final Thoughts: Acid Rain– This sauce is in my top 20 and for a reason. The flavor is truly remarkable and unlike many others on the market. The sauce is versatile enough to be used on poultry, pizza, tacos, veggies, etc. However if you are looking for something of strong heat then you will have to look elsewhere.

Packaging 9/10
Aroma 10/10
Taste 10/10
Appearance 9/10
Heat 6/10

Overall 9.5

Label: Acid Rain Limited Edition– The bottle is the same size as the original Acid Rain. However, it comes in a nice wooden collectors case with the same Acid Rain cloud sprinkling polluted rain onto a tree. The label though is a bright orange and again the text is black and red. The one difference is that there is no caption, HOT SAUCE PIQUANTE as the original, and there is a number 10 added to this label. Under the tree is a caption, “The Hottest Sauce Anywhere!

Bottle description: Acid Rain Limited Edition–ACID RAIN is the hottest sauce anywhere. It is our normal ACID RAIN with the addition of a new pepper that recently has been discovered in Africa. Hatari Brothers International has purchased all the land that this pepper grows on and we have named the pepper “HATARI” which is Kiswahili for DANGER. Use at your own risk and good luck.

Ingredients: Acid Rain Limited Edition—-Hatari Peppers, Habanero, piquin, ring of fire, peri-peri, tepin and jalapeno peppers, garlic, ginger, spices, salt, lemon, lime and orange juices and vinegar.

Appearance: Acid Rain Limited Edition—- Acid Rain Limited Edition has a more deeper red/brown color than its predecessor. While I don’t see any extract oils in it, I am curious if there is some in here. There are some seeds visible as well as some of the other spices which was seen in the original Acid Rain. Again the consistency is smooth and thin.

Odor: Acid Rain Limited Edition—- The smell of this sauce is deeper than the original Acid Rain. Can this be the Hatari? There is less sweetness than the original. There is definitely a stronger habanero odor to this one. Not as much garlic odor is present and there is a trace of an extract. I honestly do smell some extracts but it is not overwhelming.

Taste: Acid Rain Limited Edition– I did taste some extract in this sauce and I felt the flavor wasn’t as rich as the original Acid Rain. However, the flavor is still decent enough that it is enjoyable. I felt the habanero flavor of this sauce was greater than the original which seemed to be piquin. I feel the flavor lacking versatility limits its use on foods. This would make a good wing sauce.

Heat: Acid Rain Limited Edition– This sauce is clearly hotter than the original Acid Rain. It hits you in a shorter period of time as the original Acid Rain, which took time to build up. This sauce is not a mind blowing blaze as some of the sauces that contain extracts in it, but it is fairly hot enough for those of you looking for something a few notches up in the scoville scale but not all the way up the mountain.

Final Thoughts: Acid Rain Limited Edition– This sauce is a notch hotter than the original Acid Rain, but the flavor is clearly not the same. The collector’s case makes this a nice addition to any collection. The flavor isn’t downright bad, but it is not the same quality as the original Acid Rain. I am skeptical about the addition of a Hatari pepper that was discovered in Africa. I honestly feel there is some extract in this sauce as I was able to smell it and taste it in some way.

Packaging 10/10
Aroma 7/10
Taste 7/10
Appearance 8/10
Heat 8/10

Overall 8.0

Hatari Bros
4432 – 10 Street NE
Calgary, Alberta T2E 6K3
Phone: (403) 735-6022
Fax: (403) 735-6019

Label: The label is wrapped around the standard 5 oz. bottle that is the one true mainstay of the hot sauce industry. A tough guy face is centered onto the label. I know there were rumors before about this, but I have to agree with Anthony that the face does remind me of Bam Bam Bigelow, the late WWF wrestler. The label is set really well with Uncle Big’s appearing in black text to be followed by Killer Hot Sauce below in red text. The description is long but the focus is on “this sauce has the most flavor of the super hots”.

Ingredients:Hatari, Habanero, Scotch Bonnet, Peri Peri, Piquin, Tepin, Birds Eye, Cayenne Peppers, Natural African Oleoresin, Molasses, Tomatoes, Lemon, Lime and Orange Juice, Vinegar, Garlic, Sea Salt, Onion, Herbs, Spices, and Honey (Basically everything is thrown into this one!)

Appearance: The color is reddish brown and there are no dark oil extracts that are visible. Looking closely I can see a few of the spices and there are a few seeds present. The sauces does appear to be smooth when looking through the bottle.

Odor: When opening the cap I am pretty pleased with what my olfactory senses cue on to. I am able to smell a mix of deep peppers with a trace of molasses. There is a slight smell of extract but it is no way overbearing as other extract sauces in the industry.

Consistency: The sauce when administered to my taco is of smooth consistency without any pulp. The deep brown reddish color remains even when poured onto my food.

Taste: At first bit of my chicken taco I didn’t notice much flavor but there was an automatic burst of heat. A few seconds later I was able to taste some of the deep pepper flavor of all 7 peppers that were used for this sauce. The flavor is not bad. If you like hearty rich hot sauce Uncle Big’s provides a great flavor. This is something not along the lines of a Caribbean red sauce.

Heat: For the heat of this sauce I am going on the record and saying that this is probably the best tasting hot sauce I have tried. I have had the Mother of All Hot Sauces about a month ago and not only is the heat of Uncle Big’s stronger, but the flavor is also more defined and pleasing. I know this sauce has been compared to Blair’s Megadeath, in terms of heat. I am so far gone that I would have to try Blair’s Megadeath since it has been a while since I have had it. After eating 6 tacos though with a good amount on each one, I did begin to feel the heat. However, I am not normal anymore so don’t use me as an accurate guideline.

Final Thoughts: If you are looking for a great tasting extract sauce that you can use as either an additive or use straight then this is the one for you! Uncle Big’s is a Killer. There is no other that will provide the intensity of heat with the flavor that it kicks out to your taste buds. I tasted Big’s Pain and I will go back for more suffering.

Packaging 8.5/10
Aroma 8.5/10
Taste 9/10
Appearance 8/10
Heat 10/10

Overall 8.5

Uncle Bigs Killer Hot Sauce Review
Hot Sauce Maker Interview #2 – Uncle Big
Wesbite: Uncle Bigs Killer Hot Sauces
Toll Free (Orders Only): 1-866-93-FIERY (1-866-933-4379)
Droolin’ Devil Fine Foods/Uncle Big’s Fiery Foods
#5 – 801 7th Ave N
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
S7K 2V5

Review: Kauai Hot Sauce Guava Passion Fruit Sauce

Initial Thoughts: I was really excited to have this product in my unopened supply. I have tried one product in the past from Arturo’s Hot Sauces of Hawaii. This was Lanai’s Pineapple Papaya and is one of my top 20 hot sauces. While it is not true that it is an exact hot sauce, since the pepper content is very small, it is still a great product to have for a dipping marinade, a direct topping to a stir fried dish, steamed dish, dessert, or anything else that you want a great sweet flavor too. There is something about Arturo’s products that is quite unique. I believe it is the combination of ginger and lemongrass extract.

For those of you who have not heard about this company there really is an Arturo. Arturo Montoya arrived in Hawai’i more than forty years ago, armed with a Velzy longboard and an incurable longing for his family’s 500-year tradition of mouthwatering Mexican recipes. But on his first trip to a local grocery store, the only Mexican food he found was a collection of pasty tortillas languishing in the frozen food section next to slabs of New Zealand beef.

To someone with a 400-year tradition of Mexican-style cooking, those tortillas seemed more given to construction than to cooking. Art found himself dependent on the kindness of friends and family on the mainland to satisfy his craving for genuine Mexican flavors.

After years of mourning the times between the periodic care baskets, Art and his partner, Carole Richelieu, took matters into their own hands and began creating authentic Mexican foods right here in the islands. Local folks still remember our Kaka’ako area Tortilla Factory with the Tacqueria in front, featuring a variety of hugely popular recipes. Whether it’s tortillas, great salsa or our outstanding line of flavorful hot sauces, you can count on Arturo’s for exceptional quality and taste every time. Arturo’s: Great Mexican flavors with the spirit of Hawai’i since 1981.

With Arturo’s reputation and my past experience with Lanai’s Pineapple Papaya I knew this would be a great sweet sauce that I would love and probably purchase again. I was just thinking how the guava would taste in exchange for the pineapple. I knew it would be sweet but I wasn’t sure about the heat. Arturo quotes on his site, (www.hotsaucehawaii.com) “This guava and passion fruit hot sauce is one of our best sellers! The passion fruit, known here as Lilikoi, grows in abundance on Kauai. We think it’s an appropriate flavor to represent an island which is at once spectacular and soothing. The sauce makes a great dip and people here are starting to use it in marinades as well. Sweetness and light . . . Aloha from Kauai. 1st Place Winner 1998 Food Distribution Magazine Fruit Habanero. Excellent with lamb chops and other meats or seafood and more… “

Ingredients:Vinegar, Sugar, Guava Preserves, Habanero Chili Peppers, Lilikoi Concentrate (passion fruit salt, sea salt, ginger extract, and lemongrass extract).

Visual:Kauai Hot Sauce comes in the standard 5 oz. bottle that we all know so well. The label consists of an awesome purple sky with green leaves embedded. In yellow is “Kauai” and “Hot Sauce” is in purple font to match the sky. Towards the bottom of the label up front is “Guava Passion-Fruit Sauce Use for dipping, marinating and flavoring” in white font. The heat range says mild and I definitely would agree with that. On the back of the label there is a quote that says, “Lush is the word: great lush valleys, sweet rivers, heavenly scents swept along by a breeze. The Garden isle is a rainbow come to life, and we’ve brought you a taste of it. Mahalo to our friends there who grow the good things in this sauce.” The sauce is of syrup consistency and not pepper pulp or seeds are visible. The color is of a light purple that comes close to matching the purple found on the label.

Aroma: After I cracked open the bottle to get the smell of Kauai I automatically was hit by a sweet flavor that was hard to describe. It didn’t smell like sugar but more of something of a fragance that you might find in a cleaning product! Also, there was no vinegar odor whatsoever which was weird considering it was listed as the main ingredient. I think I might have to check with Arturo to make sure this was not an error when the labels were printed. If this is not the case, then I am going to admit that it is the best smelling vinegar that I have ever experienced. The extract of guava and lemongrass was present and this had to contribute to the smell over the sugar and vinegar, if any exists.

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Application: I decided to go with my usual steamed chicken over brown rice. I figured this would be a good test for the Kauai Hot Sauce, since it was my 1st time trying something with Guava. When I added the Kauai to the chicken you can see that the heat from the meal made the syrup get to thin so it did run to the bottom of the plate. Next time I will let the chicken cool to room temperature before adding the hot sauce to it. This was also the case with the pineapple papaya. I should have remembered but then again I been very busy lately, so I can’t shoot myself. The flavor was absolutely unbelievable. It was similiar to that of the pineapple papaya but without the pineapple. In return there guava preserves really did stand out as well as the lemongrass and ginger extract which really makes this product so great in terms of flavor. The heat was not there at all. I didn’t really taste any habanero peppers whatsoever. However, like Nick says, “You are a beast and probably have no taste buds left so take a break for a week or two to grow some back”. I think this may be right because I remember when I had the pineapple papaya I was able to taste some habanero peppers. The hot sauce guava passion really went well with the brown rice also. I was skeptical about this since I usually tend to believe that wild or brown rice calls for a more earthy or deep rich smokey sauce but I was wrong. The Kauai Hot Sauce actually made the grains of brown rice moist and soft as they are often found to have more of a fibrinous outer coating than the usual white rice. I found myself licking the plate after all the chicken and rice were done! I admit that I often don’t find myself doing such things.

Final Thoughts: All I am going to say is that this is the 2nd product that I have tried from Arturo’s of Hawaii and it is great great stuff. It is really recommended for those of you who want something sweet and unique. I have never been to Hawaii but I would like to check out more of their products. This hot sauce is perfect for almost any addition. The only one downside is that if you are looking for heat then you will have to go elsewhere. You can do what I do and add Bhut Jolokia or Red Savina flakes to it, to increase the heat without changing the flavor all that much. This sauce is great and I do want to try it on ice cream. Probably like a peach ice cream. Marinating with this sauce has to be a great choice too. If you want something sweet and versatile this is the sauce for you!

Packaging 10/10
Aroma 9/10
Taste 10/10
Appearance 9/10
Heat 2/10

Overall 9.5

Arturo’s of Hawaii
1824 Auiki Street
Honolulu, Hawaii 96819
800.715.1811 (phone)

Review: Heat Hot Tar Factor

Initial thoughts: After the fiery foods show I had a meeting with Nick where I picked up a few new items to review. It so happens to be that this was the coldest night of the year. Nick had some great items for me and I was hoping this would be the case because I really wanted to get the heat going! One of them was Heat Hot Tar Factor. I was really excited to try this out because it is a chocolate habanero product. A few reviews back I had done the Hot Chocolate review. I was curious about how other chocolate habanero products would be. Overall, the Hot Chocolate was good but I had mixed feelings about how this habanero could and would be used in the industry given some time. For those of you who are new to the chocolate habanero these are the bad boys that use to give the Red Savina a run for the money in the heat department. (Before the discovery of the Bih Jolokia, A.K.A “Naga Morich”) The name “Chocolate” is a description of the color of the ripe fruit, not the flavor. The flavor is more complex than other Habaneros, a little “earthy”. Some describe it as a little “smokey”. Very hot, a little goes a long way.

I thought that this would be an interesting product based on the name and appearance of the product. I have never had anything from Hot Tar before. As always I love trying new things, especially from new companies. I was thinking that this would be something I would like but not exactly sure where it would stack up in the evergrowing hall of fame that I have created within my mind. Lately I have been so lucky to try alot of great new products.

A bunch of fresh chocolate habs!

Ingedients:Cooked Seasoned Chocolate Habanero Peppers & Distilled Vinegar.

Visual: The Hot Tar is stored inside an 8 oz Jar. I was curious as to why a hot sauce would ever be placed in Jar. I am still left wondering why? Does anyone have an answer? I am happy though that 8 oz. are being made available. The more the better and that is a key selling point to customers, well sometimes. The sauce seemed to be watery thin before opening. The color is of chocolate which made me certain that the ingredients were basically what they claimed to be in that of hot chocolate habaneros and vinegar. Seeds are visible inside the jar which is always a plus for me. When I have natural sauces I like them to be as natural as possible showing fleshy pulp and seeds. When it is time for extract I don’t mind seeing the black oil. The label of Hot Tar is pretty cool. The text “Heat Factor” comes in white font while “Hot Tar” comes in Orange and Red font. The way they did it kind of reminds me of the declining popular show “Fear Factor”. I was hoping that the sauce would have been somewhat thicker. The name “Hot Tar” kind of makes you think that you are going to possibly be in store for something as thick as molasses or a bbq sauce. When I opened up the lid however there are fleshy parts of chocolate habs floating around.

Aroma: The aroma was really quite good! There is a very deep rich smell to the chocolate habanero that is unique from other habaneros that I have had in the past. The aroma was similar to Hot Chocolate not that long about, but something was more appealing to it. I think that it may have been due to the fact that it didn’t have a sharp almond extract smell to it. While I did like the Hot Chocolate aroma the almond extract didn’t live up to its taste as the odor may have indicated. This Hot Tar sauce doesn’t have that sharp flavor but a more natural sweeter smell to it that says, “I don’t want you to really know how I taste before you eat me” I was able to smell somewhat of a sweet flavor. It is hard to describe it. Perhaps if you can think about how warm cocoa pebbles would smell like, then that is probably fits the description of how I sensed this product upon holding my nose to the lid of the jar.

Application: I decided to go along with something that calls for that rich smokey flavor and tacos was the obvious choice. Hot Chocolate I used on ribs so I thought lets go with something new this time. Upon tasting a good amount of this sauce on a chicken taco I didn’t feel the heat initially. I really liked that there wasn’t an overbearing vinegar taste at all. I thought that there would be since the ingredients were just Chocolate Habs and Vinegar, however I was wrong which turned out to be a good thing! The flavor is somewhat sweet but still of natural peppers. The heat did build after I had few tacos and it did last for some time. There was no fruity flavor with this sauce and is what I anticipated from my prior background of using Hot Chocolate. However, the taste wasn’t as bitter as Hot Chocolate which was a great thing!

Final Thoughts: Overall, this is a product that I did enjoy. I wouldn’t add it to my top 20, but it is really a great sauce and probably the best hot chocolate hot sauce that I have had in terms of an all around product. A few flaws in this product are that the name “Hot Tar” indicates that the product may be thick, which in all reality it is quite thin. My point is that when adding this sauce onto my tacos I just dumped it out on top of the taco. All the fleshy parts of the habanero went onto the taco while the watery part when all the way to the bottom of the taco only to spill out when I went to pick it up and eat it. I think that this product is to be used only for the fleshy parts to be used. Therefore, that would make the actual 8 oz. really turn into 4 oz. perhaps. I didn’t do all the math yet but I am sure it is half or less. However, maybe there are other recipes out there where the liquid portion of this product can be use. Another flaw was the application out of the jar. While it is only a trivial matter, pouring out of the jar can be a messy time, so a spoon is required. However the main thing is that the flavor and heat of this sauce was great. I used 4 oz. of it (half of the jar) on 4 tacos and I had a nice small burn going, but it didn’t linger for an extended period of time. Personally I would have made the sauce a little thicker, but I am not a manufacturer, not yet at least.

Packaging 7/10
Aroma 8.5/10
Taste 8.5/10
Appearance 7/10
Heat 8/10

Overall 8

Hot Tar, Inc.
P.O. Box 786
Cairo GA 39828

Review: Hot Mama’s Spicy Mango Habanero Sauce

Greetings and Saluations to the HSB and chiliheads worldwide. I am here at school now with a student out. What can I possibly do? Looking around I see Hot Mama’s Manganero Sauce and my boredom has now ended!

Initial Thoughts: I have alot of mixed thoughts right now about this product. I have never tried a product of Hot Mama’s. As a true chilihead I can’t really stress how excited I get when I have the chance to try a new product, yet alone a new company! It really gets me that good nervous feeling. I have only tried one mango sauce in the past and it was very good. This was Blair’s Q Mango. I used it to glaze chicken wings that were baked since I was cooking for some company and couldn’t go to extreme measures. They came out very well and I got great reviews from my friends. However, I wanted to try a mango sauce that I could use as a topping for either a meal or a quick snack. I didn’t know how a mango sauce would taste straight out of the bottle. I feel this product will taste good based on the ingredients. However, the size of the bottle is a little overwhelming at 10 oz. and sometimes I think that a bigger product means less of a quality since it allows the company to sell more for less. I hope this is not the case with Hot Mama’s. Also I am glad to see that Hot Mama is from Belize. Right now I am thinking that this will be a product that I will enjoy.

Ingredients: Mango Sugar, Select Red Habanero Peppers, and that is all that is listed. (I tried locating more info at their website but am thwarted in my attempts to do so)

Visual: Hot Mama’s Manganero comes in a 10 oz. bottle. The color of the sauce inside the bottle is tangy orange. Remember the drink Tang? It looks like a thick version of that. However there are nice ground up red habanero fleshy pieces that are embedded in the solution. Hot Mama didn’t go skimpy with the amount that she used either. Seeds are not visible. I am hoping that the habanero flesh gives the sauce some decent heat. The label is black with a yellow oval in the middle of it that contains a pyramid, a mango, a habanero, and some woman wearing a jungle headpiece. It seems a little weird to me but maybe this is Hot Mama’s formula; or equation for a great product. Overall the label didn’t appeal to me as some of the others I have come across in the past. However, as the old cliche goes that “You can’t judge a book by its cover”, so we will have to just wait until the Belizean Pyramids are unleashed before making a final decision on this product.

On back of the label I am glad to see that there are no preservatives in this product. The back of the label reads, “Add a touch of Belizean Spice with every meal. Selected fresh mangos are used to make this delicious sauce. Can be used on chicken, pork, seafood, beef, and vegetables. As a snack- put Hot Mama’s Manganero over a block of cream cheese and serve with chips, crackers, vegetables. etc. Don’t hesitate to spice up your life with Hot Mama’s Foods!”

Aroma: I give Hot Mama’s Manganero a twist and I open the cap and I smell mainly sugar and mango. The mango flavor is quite good but I really don’t pick up on the scent of the habanero chili. I am thinking the fruity odor of the mango and the sugar added is just a little too much for the habanero.

Sending an S.O.S to The Truth… This was created by the Goonie Creator, himself.

Application: I was in the mood for some chicken tonight as I am trying to stay health conscious. I felt that the mango would be a nice addition to the beautifully steamed white chicken over rice! The orange color should just do it right! I decided to heat the mango sauce up a little bit. Personally, I feel that the mango with a little heat always enhances its flavor just a tad. Remeber when I mentioned those glazed chicken wings of Blair’s Q Mango Heat. That was my first Mango Sauce and I enjoyed it so why not continue with what works, right?

The flavor of the mango, warmed up, really did add a great addition to what really would just be plain ole ordinary tasting chicken and rice. The flavor was just right and the sweetness wasn’t overbearing. It was hard to taste the habanero but the heat of the habanero was there. I mean we have to think rationally here. This is a mango sauce, not CaJohns, “The Legend”!! While the heat wasn’t overbearing by any means it was there and quite good for a Mango sauce. To get a little more heat than what came with the product, I decided to sprinkle Blair’s Death Rain Nitro onto the chicken 1st. Then I coated the top of it with the Mango Sauce. I just wanted to add a little more heat to it.
**Please be aware that my rating on taste and heat is based soley on the Mango Sauce in a trial run I did before adding the Death Rain Nitro.

Final Thoughts: Hot Mama’s Manganero Hot Sauce is definitely worth trying and adding to your collection. The quality is good and the quantity, (10 oz.) is the right bargain for you people who like to get alot of bang for the buck. The sauce is what a mango sauce should be, sweet, but not too sweet, hot but not pepper dominant, and good quality mangos being used. I definitely will dance with Hot Mama again in the future!

Packaging 6/10
Aroma 7/10
Taste 8/10
Appearance 9/10
Heat 5/10

Overall 7.5

Hot Mama’s Foods
Mile 58 Western Highway
Unitedville, Cayo District
Belize, Central America
Phone: 011-501-824-3475
Fax: 011-501-824-3649

Review: Miss Hatties Hot Sauce

Initial Thoughts: This is a first for me. That is trying a hot sauce from Down Island Traders. I am thinking that it should turn out to be one of my recent favorites. I have had one red scotch bonnet before in the form of Lottie’s Original Barbados and it was quite good containing flavor and heat. Scotch bonnets are often confused with the habanero, as they are closely related, but not cultivars. They are a pale yellow-green maturing to yellow, orange or red and have bell-shaped squashed-looking ribbed pods. Scotch bonnets have a somewhat smoky apple-cherry and tomato flavor (if you are able to discern a flavor under all of that fiery heat). Scotch bonnets are grown mostly in Jamaica and Belize. If Miss Hattie is as near as good as Lottie’s Original Barbados I will be satisified tonight.

Ingredients:Authentic Caribbean Seasonings, made with locally grown Scotch Bonnet Peppers and Papaya.

Visual:Miss Hattie comes dressed in a yellow label which includes some typical island decorum of fish, fruit, and some green plants. The bottle is 5 oz. in size. The bottle has a red cap with some nice white shapes on it. There is a black bandana holding the cap on. When I look at her past the label I see a very beautiful fiery red sauce with some pulp in it. There are seeds to which is a favorite of mine. The sauce appears to be soft and not thick nor thin. So far I am impressed with that I have observed.

Aroma: Well I go to pick Miss Hattie up. I always try to get a smell first. I take the black bandana off so I can remove the red Cap. I give the bottle a shake. I now remove the cap and I am very pleased to smell the Scotch Bonnets. They are so fresh and ripe. The papaya gives a nice sweet smelling odor. The smell is not overbearing at all but fairly pleasant. It is neither too strong nor too weak.

Application: So I decide that we will go out for pizza tonight. I know a great place nearby that makes the perfect pie. I put Miss Hattie’s onto the pizza and it really goes well with pizza. The red scotch bonnets cover the cheese so well that I am so ready for her now. I place my mouth over the slice and take a bite. The first bite is a nice suprise. Miss Hattie’s tastes so good with the combination of the crust and the tomato sauce and cheese. I am not sweatng but I can feel that there is some heat to this hot sauce. I mean any sauce with nice bonnets and papaya would sure to be hot in some way. I consumed the entire bottle on 6 slices.

Final Thoughts: Miss Hattie will provide you with a great addition to many types of dishes. This sauce has a great flavor. The papaya mixed in weakens the heat levels down making it not as hot as some other purer forms of the blended scotch bonnet that may be around on the market. It is all natural and comes in a nice decorated bottle. If you are looking to get a bottle I definitely recommend calling her distributor to get one because you definitely don’t want to miss out on Miss Hattie!! If you want a sauce that you can do alot of for flavor this is the one to have. It reminds me somewhat of Marie Sharp’s Belizean Heat or Fiery Hot but without the carrots.

Packaging 10/10
Aroma 9/10
Taste 8/10
Appearance 8/10
Heat 6.5/10

Overall 8.5

Want to get yourself some of Miss Hatties Hot Sauce? Looks for it on the Hot Sauce Search Engine

If you got the chance to see my review on Sweet Agony Habanero InCINNerator Cinnamon Syrup you should be able to discern that I am quite interested and motivated to try and create a habanero syrup of my own. My goal is to be able to come up with some recipe that will produce a syrup hotter than the current spicy syrups on the market. Also, I am looking to retain the flavor of the syrup, which is not an easy thing to do. I eventually want to try to make strawberry habanero syrup, pineapple habanero syrup, apple cinnamon habanero syrup, cherry habanero syrup, and just about anything else that I can think of that would make a nice addition for a dessert. I did some experimenting with the addition of extracts into syrups and my efforts went down like Monica in the oval office. I was left with nothing but a bad taste in my mouth. (LOL).

I shall not be stopped in my efforts to create such a product! Goonies never say die.

Habanero Maple Syrup
Kellogg’s Eggo Original Maple Syrup (23oz)
20 Orange Habanero Chili’s

This is all the grocery items that you need! Of course if you wanted to add any natural flavoring extracts such as peppermint, vanilla, cinnamon, etc. feel free to experiment.

Using a cutting board or dish cut the stems off the habanero peppers. Be sure to wear gloves when doing so as some people may forget only to find out later that they have an irritation to their skin. Also, that you may forget to wash and touch your eyes or private parts which would not be recommended either.

Next you want to cut the habanero’s into half. This will allow the oils to infuse into the syrup when simmering. Feel free to remove the seeds at this point. You can leave them in if you want but then you will have to strain the syrup after a few days when removing the chili’s from the syrup. I am going to leave them in.

In a Medium saucepan, combine the syrup and habanero chilis. Using a spoon, mix well, then bring to a rolling slow boil. Once you see a few boil bubbles lower the heat Let it simmer for approx. 15 Minutes or until the chili’s are soft. If you are using a ceramics stovetop, watch out not to spill any sugar or syrup on it, as this stuff burns in fast.

The Habanero Bath!

Put the syrup with the habaneros into the mason jar or other glass container, pour with boiling-hot syrup (caution – don’t burn yourself). Leave enough room to put a small bowl as a weight on top to keep the peppers down, all covered with in the liquid. Let the syrup cool before closing the container and let it sit for a few days. After a few days go by strain the peppers and seeds and you should have a very hot great tasting habanero syrup ready for desserts!

Review: Sweet Agony InCINNerator Habanero Cinnamon Syrup

Well finally the Northeast is in for some snow! It seems like a Valentine’s Day Blizzard may be upon us as early as Tuesday. I am hoping this is a typical 2 day nor’easter in that Long Island gets the 1-2 feet posting across the entire island. We seem to get about one of these storms per season. I also can use a day off, during this week, so Wednesday would be a great day to be off, being it is the middle of the work week! I will be alone though, as I have no Valentine this year. Please reserve your tears though. I have plenty of sauces to review so I will not be without a cause! I just finished Hot Mama’s Manganero and I am now in the mood for some dessert!

I remember not that long ago reading about an Ice Cream called “Cold Sweat” that was made in Angier, NC. USA Today 7/3/2006 Posts,

ANGIER, N.C. (AP) — This ice cream comes with an unusual stipulation — customers must sign a waiver before tasting it because it’s so hot.
Cold Sweat, a flavor sold at Sunny Sky’s, an ice cream shop on N.C. 55, is made with three kinds of pepper and two kinds of hot sauce.

“It tastes like fire — with a side of fire,” said Scott McCallum, a regular customer, who was eating the more sedate butter pecan flavor.

“I thought it was a cool idea, but I didn’t think he’d make it that hot,” McCallum said of proprietor Scott Wilson.

I remember calling the shop in Angier, NC around the autumnal season of 2006 to get more information. I was told that Cold Sweat Ice Cream consisted of a mixture of Blair’s and Dave’s Hot Sauces as the base with peppers added in. I personally said to myself, “Sure this must be some hot spicy ice cream but why would I want to taste that as the base of the ice cream?” What happened to flavors like chocolate chip mint, black cherry, butter almond, rocky road, etc? Without these flavors to choose from it kind of takes the fun out of eating cold ice cream. I definitely got off the phone and was discouraged. I was not willing to invest a pretty penny in having Cold Sweat shipped to me with dry ice.

Initial Thoughts:So my ideas of having a spicy ice cream became pretty much discouraged until I ventured into The Hot Sauce Shop located in Ronkonkoma, NY. (I did a review for the store not too long ago). Upon looking around the store I was able to learn about a company called “Sweet Agony”. Their website is www.sweetagony.com. They are a small company in that they only offer 4 types of Jams; cranberry, peach, raspberry, and blackberry. Their two dessert syrups are Habanero Syrup and Habanero Cinnamon syrup. They have won awards for both syrup products at the 2005 scovie awards.

1st Place
Prepared Sauce – Sweet Sauce
Sweet Agony InCINNerator Habanero Cinnamon Syrup

2nd Place
Prepared Sauce – Sweet Sauce
Sweet Agony Habanero Syrup

I was back to thinking, “Yes Yes Yes now I have something spicy to put on my ice cream that will taste good! I can have my normal ice cream cones, sundaes,etc and just add this syrup to it without changing the flavor of my dessert”. I was also happy to see the cinnamon added. I was already thinking of red hots and atomic fireballs! Those things were great as a kid and they had some heat to them, especially if you are in 4th grade. (lol) I was really happy to see that Sweet Agony won awards for their products. It gave me hope that just because Sweet Agony is not as recognized or as popular as some other companies in the industry, that they can still win an award for a great product! Maybe I seen Rocky too many times but sometimes it’s cool to root for the underdog!

Ingredients:High Fructose, Corn Syrup, Sucrose, Habanero, Cinnamon. (I hope my science students would be able to recognize that this is definitely a sugary product!)

Visual: Sweet Agony comes in a standard 5 oz. industry based hot sauce bottle. The label appears to have some orange and red flames beind the title “Sweet Agony”. I am unable to make out if these are just flames or if there is an actual mouth behind it. The InCINNerator is a great name for this cinnamon based syrup. The nutritional facts are listed on one side of the label as their description is on the other side. Their description states, “Combining the heat of habanero and the sizzle of cinnamon, Sweet Agony InCINNerator Syrup changes your perception of sweet and heat.”

The syrup is a raspberry/magneta type color and has a thin consistency. No seeds, pepper pulp, or ground cinnamon is visible. This looks like a normal syrup that anyone might use on their pancakes, waffles, cakes, ice cream, etc. However the label “Sweet Agony” makes it clear to the novice that this syrup has some kick to it. There is not a trace of any extract oils either which might be good and bad. Good in that it won’t have a metallic taste, bad in that it may be very mild in terms of heat. We will find out shortly though!

Aroma: I give Sweet Agony a little dance and the cap goes pop! It is a beautiful aroma! I could sniff this all day for sure. The combination of sweetness, cinnamon, and a trace of habanero goes really well. It smells like hot tamales or red hots (the candies, lol) have been melted down and some habanero powder has been added to it! I am already wondering how good this must taste on ice cream, and many other of my favorite desserts. I am thinking of grandma’s jello with fruit cocktail embedded in it, with whip cream on top and then a drizzle of this! The hell with the drizzle actually, we are about to have a blizzard here perhaps, I would rather go with a downpour of this stuff!.

Application: Well tonight since I am getting ready for the possibility of seeing a blizzard I was in the cold white scenic mood. I ventured out to my local Carvel Ice Creamery and had my buy one get one free coupon ready! I ordered two large fat free Vanilla Sundaes, one with strawberries and wet walnuts, the other with black cherries and crushed oreos.

Politically speaking I believe they are normally referred to as maple walnuts, since they are walnuts in maple syrup. To me it sounds easy enough. However, whenever I say this to the teens or college girls working behind the counter always respond, “You mean Wet Walnuts?”. I really don’t want to sound perverted but I really do let a chuckle out everytime I hear this. Hey Gimme a break here, Valentine’s Day is here and I am Single! The Ice Cream Shop really can turnout to be such an pervy place, depending on how your hormones are flowing that day or evening. Think about it, whip cream and cherries! Enough said.

The syrup is added to the sundaes and it really goes along perfect with the wet juices from the strawberries and Wet Walnuts. It gets disguised very easily and I am really anxious to dig in now with my shovel and start plowing some of this ice cream away. When I first dig in I taste the sweetness of the strawberry syrup and then the cold hits in of the vanilla ice cream. The strawberries are so moist that the Sweet Agony Habanero Cinnamon syrup almost gets absorbed by them.

All the flavors are there and the cinnamon hot syrup flavor is becoming blended into the ice cream. It is as close to euphoria as I have gotten recently. The heat is there. I try to cool down so I keep eating more ice cream! The flavors of the InCINNerator on top of the walnuts, strawberries, and vanilla ice cream is really something special. I am eating this so quickly I have these lovely juices dripping down my mouth and towards my chin. I really am about to straddle the entire pint container onto my face. This is so good that everyone has to try it really. I don’t care if you like your ice cream to be normal, but if you are a true chilihead you have to try this at least one time for the experience of both cold and hot at the same time!! The heat for the black cherries was awesome. Same thing goes with the crushed oreo cookie topping! It is good on everything!

Final Thoughts: Sweet Agony InCINNerator Habanero Syrup is clearly a product of outstanding quality. I have no doubts as to why this product won a scovie award in 2005. This syrup is so good it really belongs on ice cream, jello, cakes, fruits, pancakes, waffles, canoli’s, and any other type of dessert you can possibly think of. I am even going to try this on my raisin bran cereal! Hell, this would make a nice addition to a bowl of cinnamon toast crunch! The heat is there and the combination of the sweetness and the cinnamon flavor are all blended perfectly. A little of this syrup on a toasted cinnamon raisin bagel might make you want to purchase this by bulk (LOL). This is an outstanding product.

I am so much into this hot syrup that I am in the process of now trying to create syrups of blistering heat! I tried to take 5 oz. of normal grocery store maple syrup and add 3 drops of Hotternell’s 4MILL. Extract to it. The heat was there but the flavor of the syrup was killed instantly. It seems that extracts will not work with syrups! I am now in the process of purchasing syrups and I will simmer the syrup slowly for 20 minutes to infuse fresh habanero’s into it. I will let it cool and then drain the habs out a few days later. I am hoping I can get a much hotter version, of Sweet Agony, without losing the flavor of the syrup.

If I find out that this process works believe me when I say that Naga Morich Strawberry Syrup is in the works!! I am growing at least 24 Bhut Jolokia plants this season.

Packaging 8/10
Aroma 10/10
Taste 10/10
Appearance 10/10
Heat 8/10

Overall 9

Review: Hot Chocolate: A Fine Habanero Sauce

Initial Thoughts: I remember not too long ago I learned about the Congo Habanero, also known as the Chocolate Habanero. I gained interest to learn more about this pepper as a result of a forum where inquiries were being made as to the hottest chili peppers in existence. There were arguments being made that the Red Savina made it into the guiness book of world records, having a 577,000 SKU rating, due to the testing crop having received super optimal growing conditions. Arguments were being raised that there were a few species of habaneros that were just as hot as the Red Savina. The main argument was the Orange Yucatan, Fatalli, Red Scotch Bonnet, and Chocolate Habanero were all just as hot as the Red Savina.

The hottest topic of late has been that of the Bhut Jolokia (Naga Morich) which has been tested several times and the results are coming back indicating that the Red Savina is no longer the hottest chili pepper in the world. Bhut Jolokia’s seem to be averaging around 1 Million SKU when being tested. The Red Savina has been retested under normal growing condtions with SKU ratings of around 250-350k making it just as hot as the Fatalli, Congo Habanero, Red Scotch Bonnet, and Orange Habanero.

I have had many Red Savina sauces, Scotch Bonnet sauces, and have recently had CaJohns Orange Habanero Select Puree as well as his Fatalli Select Puree. Personally I feel that so far the results are true in that there is no real difference in heat amongst the Red Savina, Orange Habanero, Red Scotch Bonnet, and Fatalli. I wanted to try a Congo Habanero Hot Sauce to see how this pepper fits in the rankings.

Based on the Habanero Chili Database: “The notorious & viciously hot Chocolate Habañero ranks among the deadly few at the top of the heat scale registering upto 450,000 scoville heat units. Indeed the Chile Pepper Institute of New Mexico State University reported that the Chocolate Habanero Chile was the hottest chile pepper they had tested. Also known as the ‘Congo black’ the fruits have a unique, rich flavor unduplicated by any other pepper. The 2″ fruits ripen from an emerald green to a gorgeous, chocolate brown approximately 100 days after transplanting. The ultimate salsa pepper used to make the famous Jamaican Jerk Sauce. The variety is a must for heat lovers.”

Searching for a Chocolate Habanero sauce was not the easiest of tasks. CaJohn’s Black Mamba does have Chocolate Habs but is loaded with extract. I wanted to have a more accurate gauge to see where the Chocolate Hab. ranks amongst the big boys. I wanted to use a non-extract. type of sauce. I finally did a search with a great hot search engine that Nick L. had provided me with! (Thanks Nick! ) I was able to find a sauce titled, Hot Chocolate, which is made by Ocean Winds. I found one on ebay and decided to order it.

My initial thoughts were pretty vague. I never really knew what to expect from this sauce. I was thinking that it would be hot as some of the other habanero sauces I have had before. It was hard for me to get a sense for how this sauce would taste because I have never had a pepper that was brown before. I was wondering if the sauce did have any resemblance to “Hot Chocolate” besides the name and the color. Could it really taste sweet, like chocolate, etc? If so what would I use this sauce on? I really want to go to Starbucks right now! My last experience there wasn’t so good. I remember dating a girl that was allergic to milk and one time I had a hot chocolate and then she called later on that evening and said that by kissing me she got sick from the hot chocolate I had. Well I hope this is not the case with this sauce!

Ingredients:Chocolate Habanero Peppers, Vinegar, Water, Onion, Garlic, Salt, Almond Extract, Black Pepper, Xanthan Gum

Visual: Hot Chocolate comes in a 5 oz. normal bottle. The label can really fool a naive individual. This is because it looks as gourmet as gourmet can be. The label says “Hot Chocolate: A Fine Habanero Sauce”. Below this title is a caption that states “For the Pepper Afficionado”. The label is a chocolate brown color and the text and trim is done in a flashy light golden color. The label reminds me of Willy Wonka and the golden ticket that is needed to get into his palace of goodies! (BTW, has anyone seen slugworth?, lol) This bottle really can give someone the impression that it is a dessert sauce! Looking inside the bottle all you can see is basically a light brown chocolate colored liquid. There is some small pulp floating around but you almost have to use a magnifying glass to observe it. The consistency is slightly thicker than a creamy hot chocolate from your local caffe.

Aroma: I give a choclate shake and opened the cap and was very suprised by the smell! It was definitely an eye opener to me! It didn’t smell like any of the other Habanero sauces I have had before. A distinctive odor definitely hit me, much more pronounced than some of the other Habanero Sauces that I have tried in the past. It doesn’t smell as fruity as some of the others but it is much more rich. There was almost some sweet chocolate like odor to it! I think this is due to the Almond Extract. Well if you don’t know that much about extracts I can tell you that they are strongly scented. Even though it is listed as the 7th ingredient, a little can go a long way! If you don’t believe me try some vanilla extract for yourself! This actually makes me wonder now if there are any hot sauces out there that have a vanilla extract to it! Arrrrghh, it seems that Hot Chocolate has raised me to yet a new search! Anytime a hot sauce can give you ideas, I am almost going to guarantee you that you will enjoy it.

Application: I decided to put this on some brown rice and smoked ribs. My reasoning was that this was a sauce that I wanted to use on something rich and hearty. I felt that the brown rice and flavor of the ribs from the pork juice would go along with this sauce. As I said in my last review, sometimes I am able to judge by color alone as to how I want to match up my dishes with their respective sauce. This seems to be a good rule of thumb, at least for me lately. I could have used Asbirin Extra Strength for this meal but it didn’t seem like the sauce to be used on a very darkly colored steamed dish! I like my ribs and rice to be really hot and have a smokey flavor to it so I thought why not try Hot Chocolate.

After eating a few of the ribs and rice I was very pleased! The sauce did have this flavor to it that was different that the other habanero sauces I have tried. The flavor was more smokey than the Scotch Bonnet, Red Savina, Fatalli, and Orange Habanero but yet the heat was there but it wasn’t pronounced when eating the meal. How weird is this? After I swallowed the food and waited a minute or two the heat did appear. I would say I felt the heat was slightly less than the other ones but please remember the others I am comparing it to are basically as puree as you can get. This isn’t a real puree sauce. When I went back to eat more the flavor was there. I was able to tell that it added flavor to the ribs and the rice soaked in pork juice but it didn’t interfere with the flavor or take away from the flavor of the food. It actually blended quite well enhancing the flavor of the ribs and rice. Howver, it didn’t taste like your normal smokey hot sauce such as a BBQ sauce or a hot sauce with rich color such as Acid Rain or Alberta Crude.

Final Thoughts: This sauce is somewhat of a novelty. I mean that in every sense of the word. Everything from the label to the aroma and to the taste will be probably be new to you. It is a fairly decent tasting sauce with a good amount of heat. Much more experimentation is going to be needed on this sauce. I am going to have to try this on some chicken dishes and tacos. I think honestly it is to be used for mainly smokey flavored dishes. I can’t imagine this on a standard pizza. I think that this could probably even be used as a BBQ sauce offshoot. Cooking with this sauce will lead to many new adventures. Remember in the description of the pepper they said it was great for Jamaican Jerk sauces so the flavor may be enhanced even great with physical heat being added to it. Overall it is definitely worth trying and having in your collection. I am glad I purchased Hot Chocolate.

Packaging 10/10
Aroma 8/10
Taste 7/10
Appearance 8/10
Heat 8.5/10

Overall 8