I had never heard of this company prior to receiving it and it took me some time to get around to it but I am glad I eventually did. The reason I left longer to review was that I thought this was going to be a lot hotter than it was. The packaging certainly led me to believe that this was going to be in the upper tier of some pretty potent super hots.

What I got was a very very hot sauce that kept my tongue intact as well as my larynx. That was quite impressive for a company that just seems to be on the start-up. There is nothing ground breaking or original here. Just a fine sauce. I would say it is hotter than After Death but not hotter than the Mother Of All Hot Sauces. I realize that is a pretty wide berth to cover but it is accurate. The heat builds slowly, burns intensely, and then smolders gently. How perfect is that. Extract was listed in the ingredients but the taste was not noticeable (Another common trend among Canadian made sauces that contain extract).

Ingredients: Habaneros, Hatari, Cayenne and Birds Eye Chili Peppers, Natural African Oleoresin, Molasses, Tomatoes, Vinegar, Lime Juice, Garlic, Herbs, Spices.

Now what I love about this sauce is the versatility (besides my arch nemesis ingredient of molasses being in it) of the ingredients. The low vinegar quotient really lets this sauce be more useful around the kitchen than the heavy vinegar sauces. Add some tomatoes to boot in here and you have a great addition to a pasta sauce. Something you definitely can’t do with a heavy vinegar based sauce. The applications are wide and varied.

I added this sauce liberally to some chicken, rice and peas. Maybe a little liberally……. But in the end I was left with an extremely pleasing burn that blended perfectly with all the food. It was thin enough to mix in and the deep red colour added some nice vibrancy.

For an up and coming manufacturer they are definitely on the right track. A few changes here and there and they can really get somewhere in this sauce. I am looking forward to trying the rest of their line-up.

Packaging 7/10 – A distinct logo would really help them out – Don’t let the over exaggerated warning on the bottle scare you away
Aroma 8/10 - Smooth, pleasant, almost smoky flavour
Appearance 8/10 – Great texture, vibrant colour
Taste 8/10 – Pleasant taste, addictive burn
Heat 9/10 – Caution is advised but not as much as the bottle states
Overall 8/10

Fire-n-Spice
1336-12 Avenue S.W.
Calgary, Alta. T3C 0P5
Phone: (403)228-4556
Toll Free: 1-866-540-1818
http://www.fire-n-spice.com/