Frostbite Hot Sauce
Spurred by the comments of a reader, I moved my scheduled review of Frostbite Hot Sauce to this week. Frostbite Hot Sauce is made by CaJohns and is marketed as a hot sauce/drink mix. Luckily, I had a half bottle of Jose Cuervo Margarita Mix to finish off. If you haven’t yet tried it, it’s a tasty concoction of Jose Cuervo, margarita mix and Grand Marnier – all you have to do is pour. Perfect for drinkers and lazy people. Plus you only have to buy one bottle, instead of 3.
Now, the scoville rating of Frostbite is supposed to be 1,000,000 – but in all actuality Frostbite isn’t that hot. The high scoville rating comes from the Aquaresin of Capsicum that’s mixed in to the vinegar, water and salt. The bottle is clear, and you can see from the shot glass, that the liquid is pretty clear outside the bottle as well.
Although I wouldn’t recommend it to beginners, I applied Frostbite directly to my tongue. The heat lasted only a few minutes and was pretty tolerable. Now that I knew exactly the heat level I was dealing with I stirred about 8 drops into my margarita. WOW – now that made it a mean margarita! The Frostbite mixed with the margarita drink mix very well and distributed even heat to each sip. Not like when I tried the Caliente Lager from Spanky’s – all the hot sauce settled to the bottom and the last sip almost killed me.
Frostbite is now being made with a list of drinks (see below) attached to each bottle, so that it’s evident to buyers that Frostbite should be used as a drink mix. I doubt applying it directly to food would add any heat worthwhile. If you buy/use Frostbite like a regukar hot sauce, your going to be disappointed. If you use Frostbite as a drink mix (recommended) you’ll find yourself drinking more then a few spicy martinis or beers.
Suggested drink recipes :
"Kicked Up" Margarita
3 parts Jose Cuervo Tequila
3 parts Lime Juice
1 part Triple Sec
3-4 drops Frostbite Hot Sauce
Put into blender with equal amount of ice and liquefy. Salt rim of glass.
Classic Frostbitini
2 1/2 oz. Vodka
a dash of Vermouth
3-4 drops of Frostbite Hot Sauce
Shaken, not stirred of course. Garnish with a jalapeno stuffed olive.
Siberian Amigo
3 oz Vodka
1 oz. Silver Tequila
3-4 drops of Frostbite Hot Sauce
Garnish with a lime wedge.
Frostbitten Cosmopolitan
3 oz. Vodka
1/2 oz. Triple sec
2 oz. Cranberry Juice
Splash of fresh lime juice
3-4 drops of Frostbite Hot Sauce
Garnish with a lemon twist.
"Hot" Appletini
1 part Absolute Vodka
1 part DeKuyper Sour Apple Pucker
1 part Apple Juice
2 drops Frostbite Hot Sauce
Pour all into shaker, then strain into Martini Glass.
Fierce & Frostbitten
1 part Coffee Liqueur
1 part Creme de Cacao
1 part Creme de Menthe
2 parts ice
1 part Vodka
5-6 drops Frostbite Hot Sauce
Blend vodka, Creme de Menthe, Creme de Cacao and ice until crushed and drink
appears smooth. Then add the Coffee liqueur on top.
Hot & Chilly Chocolate Mint
3/4 oz. Myers Dark Rum
1/2 oz Peppermint Schnapps
1 oz. Creme de Coconut
1 oz Chocolate Syrup
1 oz Heavy Cream
5-6 drops Frostbite Hot Sauce
16 oz. crushed ice
Combine ingredients until smooth and creamy in blender. Serve in specialty glass. Garnish with whipped cream and cherry.
I’m mildly surprised that there’s no Bloody Mary recipe. Perhaps it’s too obvious.
I bought a bottle of FrostBite a couple of months ago, and use it more for food than drinks. Ever have a cucumber salad with sliced red onions and garlic? Try using FrostBite in place of the normal vinegar. Wow! Great kick! Make sure you warn the partakers, though, or they will have a nasty surprise!
Try putting it in the brine of anything pickled, dill pickle chips spiked with Frostbite are great on burgers. Frostbitten olives are great in martini’s, put a few drops on the lemons or limes you suck on after shots of agave, just use your imagination!
What about kicking up a Hot Toddy with a little Frostbit, especially when you are sick. Burn that cold away!!!!
I actually have frostbite as one of the several bottles opened in my fridge, and it is almost exclusively used for my Hot and Sour soup from a chinese place we order from every couple weeks. It makes the soup nice and hot, but i have to add a bit more each time for some reason!? 🙂
After reading this I will definately start using it in the ceasars I make once in a while. (For the Americans, a Ceasar is the same as a Bloody Mary only better 🙂 IMO, you use Clamato Juice instead of Tomato Juice with tobasco which is the customary heat adder but I will start using some frostbite now, and a glob or 6 of worsteshire sauce and a salt rim)
I’m using Frostbite as a base for my Pimp the Sauce entry and tried it in a shot of Goldschlager Cinnamon Schnapps I had on hand. It reminded me of the fireball candy, only with a hell of a kick!
[Comment ID #5422 Quote]
ok this may seem like a strange question, will any of the hot sauces hold up if you use them in canning? I am hoping so, I love canned tuna and was wondering if I could add a drop or two of my fave sauce to it.
[Comment ID #26599 Quote]
Absolutely, as long as you follow good canning practice.
I will pass that along to the canning guru 😀 she is going to think I am nuts… she is my stepmom so she probably already does
The only ting I might add to the process is to put the sauce in towards the VERY end. Capsaicin is very easy volatilized and if it goes in at the start of the process, you run the risk of driving off the heat… not to mention the family 😉
[Comment ID #26858 Quote]
Thank you oh wise Jim, I will be sure to let her know 😀
All this stuff serves to do is melt off your lips the next day. Other then that my taste buds found it quite tolerable, not something i would by myself though.
[Comment ID #26595 Quote]
Hey,
I have to try this.. St. Patricks Day is coming early this yea!! Get me a pot of gold schlager and some frostbite..
Catch Frostbite on the Food Network
Frosty
Today, we’re chilling out with a look at frosty foods. Discover how a Wendy’s Frosty is formed, get a taste of a hot sauce with a cool bite and head to Tastee Freez for lessons in twisting up a cone. Then belly up at Eskimo Joe’s where they’re serving up a cold one with a familiar face and see how Hostess is throwing Snoballs year round. Finally, get a taste of a delicious makeover for a snowman named Frosty.
AIR TIMES:
March 26, 2007 9:00 PM ET/PT
March 27, 2007 12:00 AM ET/PT
March 30, 2007 7:30 PM ET/PT
[Comment ID #83163 Quote]
DVR’d it already. Will watch after 24!
where can i buy frostbite near torrance, ca. trader joe;s? BRISTOL FARMS? WHOLE FOODS? or can i order direct? please advise.
[Comment ID #84148 Quote]
John might have a few suggestions for you as to retail locations near there, but it’s pretty easy to order straight off of the web site at cajohns.com
I first tried Frostbite in a margarita at a Hot Sauce Festival near Houston. I was an instant fan! I now use Frostbite when cooking because I have found that you get the heat at the end of the bite, at the back of your tongue. My customers love it and so do I. This adds a great layer to the flavors in my dishes.
I took a 1/4 cup of my favorite salsa, The Cherry Republic’s Hot Cherry Salsa and added 4 drops of Frostbite Hot Sauce. Took three chips worth, dismally disappointed. Added 5 more, can feel a decent hotness now, but totally not even close to overwhelming. The hotness rating must be part of it’s marketing plan. I give it a 2 out of 5…
we bought frostbite at the ohio state fair, immediately opened it and tried it on a sausage and onions sandwich, nothing to write home about, brought it home had it in a bloody mary, very nice had a good heat that we enjoyed, however 6 months later, i made some homemade mac and cheese in an 11″x9″ pan, added about 5 shakes and woo boy it was hot, my husband grabbed the bottle to show a friend stuck his finger over the top and tasted, he had to look at the bottle to make sure it was the same “not so hot” stuff he bought in August, like a fine wine it ages well, and definitely gets hotter, still not a hot he can’t handle for him it needs to be so hot it burns his tastebuds for hours, but it was hot enough to talk about, and now too hot for me 🙂