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