…
Party on party people, let me hear some noise.
DC’s in the house, jump jump for joy.
-Tag Team
I was pretty excited when a little package arrived from Defcon sauces today. There has been a lot of talk at the Hot Pepper Forum of how Defcon uses a proprietary, non-ketone based extraction method, and I was very interested to try it.
I tore into the package and admired the attractive bottle. It’s a very limited run of bottles, 23 in total if I understand correctly. The number starts with batch 1, and I got bottles #107 and #123.
#107 is going on the shelf for keeps, and #123 is for consumption.
Upon ordering my Zero, I got a warning from the Defcon Creator to be certain to keep it off my hands - “you’ll have to go to the bathroom eventually.” So I decided to step up my precautions a bit, and to cover the counter in plastic wrap (to avoid an unpleasant surprise for the wife), as well as opening and handling the bottle with latex gloves.
I was surprised upon opening the bottle to find a plastic dipstick attached to the cap. The
I wasn’t quite sure of the heat level, as to my knowledge a scoville rating hasn’t been established yet. The bottle separates very quickly, so I gave it a good shake, used a toothpick to put a few drops on some American cheese, and gave it a try. The heat came on very slowly, building over a course of 5 minutes to a reasonable crescendo. It left as slowly as it came, and after a total of 10 minutes the burn was gone.
The taste was definitely unique, and not at all bad. It doesn’t taste strongly, but is definitely lacking the chemical taste I usually associate with extract sauces. All in all, it’s pretty palatable stuff. A little braver, I decided to try a reasonable sized amount on a tortilla chip, to see how hot the stuff really was.
The heat came on more quickly this time, and built for a solid ten minutes. It was hot, but a different sort of hot than I’m used to with extracts. It was almost as if, in building so slowly, your mouth gets a chance to adjust the heat gradually, sort of like slipping into a hot whirlpool a bit at a time. Still, this is not a test I’d advise for novices. All said, the burn lasted a solid 20 minutes, but never put me into serious pain, and there was no sweat to be found.
Still curious about the heat level of Defcon Zero, I decided to put my engineering degree to use and run a little test, comparing it to a known sample. So, I broke out the Blair’s Mega Death, rated at 550,000 scovilles, and gave it a taste on a tortilla chip. The initial burst of heat from the Mega Death was appreciably hotter than the hottest point of the Defcon Zero; however, the Mega Death burnt out for me in less than 5 minutes. As a control, I tried another similar sized drop of Defcon Zero, and had the same experience as the other try: slow building, lower heat that lasted a good 20 minutes.
This raises an interesting question that I’ve always wondered: does a higher scoville rating necessarily manifest itself as a hotter peak sensation, or can it be that a hotter sauce just burns longer? Is it the maximum heat point, or the integral of heat over time, that makes a scoville rating?
Conclusion:
Defcon 0 is a great option for those looking for the heat of an extract without the chemical taste. The flavor is pleasant, and the heat level is significant. This is not a sauce for those looking for the maximum heat possible at the cost of all taste; rather, this is a sauce the serious heat lover can enjoy the taste of. Add to that a limited edition, nice looking bottle that’s hand signed and numbered, and you’ll have a real quandary on your hands: open it and taste the goodness inside? Or save it and appreciate the collectible? Buying two turned out to be a great decision.
Overall Rating: 8.6 out of 10 - Heat and inoffensive taste; what more do you want from an extract?
** The first batch of Defcon 0 is now sold out **
DEFCON SAUCES, LLC
P.O. BOX 720
MILLBURN, NJ 07041
- Related Posts:
- Defcon @ Peppers, Unveils the “Pony”
- Defcon Day A Success
- Defcon Zero Batch 4 - A First Look
- Defcon Day #3 - The Aftermath
- Defcon Hats Now Available!
34 Comments »
I think it great that the ZERO’s sold out and they didn’t even make the defconsauces.com website! There are some serious chiliheads around (I also have two bottles, one which I will try and get to experiment with this weekend).
Thanks guys, we’re kind of proud about our little bottles of liquid heaven. I’m amazed how fast this stuff went, and you’re right, I never even got a chance to get it on the website. As I said on “The Hot Pepper”, the next batch should be ready for the Fiery Foods show in March, and will probably have its unveiling there first. The packaging with be much more appeasing to the eye and will definitely look good on anyone’s “Shelf of Doom”. Stay tuned…
Surprisingly, none on ebay yet. I figured there would be someone who would part with one of theirs. Especially since there were only 23 made, and the Creator has one, and many of us bought 2 - there must be a demand for it.
John, I like your Scientific-Method style of hot sauce reviews.
I am too pumped to get my ZERO now. But as Nick said, I am in a quandry. Eat or save? I couldn’t get two as I got the last bottle he had in stock. I would never sell it though. I am not interested in profit but more for something cool(or not!) and unique. Ah! I will eat the other DC stuff I have and taste the ZERO when it comes out for production
I just received my ZERO today. It’s a itty-bitty tiny bottle; kind of surprised it was so small. I’ll be saving this one in my collection..the #1 is hot enough for me.
I don’t know if I said before but these guys are having an (tasting & signing???)event on Jan 22 at St. James Gate in Maplewood, NJ. I’ll be there
(oh, and I’ll trade my ZERO for a B-99: any takers?)
“Pharmacist Wilbur Scoville developed the Scoville Organoleptic Test in 912. Simply stated, the test designates a number based on the level of dilution required to completely disarm a pepper. Diluted measured amounts of chili pepper, with measured amounts of a sugar-water mix, are combined until the burning sensation is gone. A panel of tasters perform this test. The Scoville heat scale is measured in multiples of 100 units.”
Therefore, the Rating is based upon intensity of heat, rather than duration.
Perhaps, ah but duration AND heat bode well for pleasure. Hee hee. Sorry, I couldn’t resist.
Lets see, at $25 for a 1/4 oz.
That would equate to about $200+ for a Reserve or a whopping $500 for an average 5oz bottle.
Dont get me wrong, I purchased one and have no trouble with the $. Just an FYI to say how “into this” some of us are!
DC: I ask….how many pepper does it take to extract 1/4 oz. of your reserve? I bet a whole heck of alot!
just my own FYI: STILL WAITING FOR MY #1 #3AM. no response from the seller since dec. 19. this kind of thing sucks. $705 bucks and now what do I do?
It takes roughly 5 pounds of dried orange habs to produce about 4 ounces of the stuff (oh yeah, that’s about 50 pounds of fresh peppers). The entire process takes about 2-3 months. Most must remember, we are not a factory sized outfit. I make this stuff because I enjoy making it. I wouldn’t go through this much trouble if I didn’t. Do the math on the previously mentioned amounts and time, and you’ll see it’s definitely not for the money.
Creator….Explain the numbering system on 1, 2 and 3, e.g. “L 1710″. Thanks
Thakswet, you may want to contact Ebay. Sounds like something fishy is going on.
Chris K - I like to think of it in terms of cost/use. Based on how it’s going so far, I’ll probably get somewhere between 20 - 30 uses out of the Defcon Zero. A bottle of El Yucateco Red or Green lasts me about 5 meals. So, at ~$1/meal, the Defcon is only marginally more expensive in use than the El Yucateco at ~$0.80/meal.
Hi MSK, the numbering on the bottles are our batch numbers. This will be changing within a couple weeks, as we have taken on a new co-packer. Me and the wife are having a hard time keeping up with the demand for our stuff. Man, I never thought this would happen, and yes, it was very hard handing over the formula to someone else.
Well I think we’d all agree that pleasure is not directly related to the size of the Scoville Unit. Some people like to get bitchlapped by their sauces, others like it slow and steady.
correction: bitchslapped. >.>
DC - are you going to have a co-packer do the extractions as well, or will that operation stay in house?
Hey John S
I totally agree.
The ONLY reason for bringing this up in the first place was to show a true dedication to hot sauce collecting.
I hope nothing else was perceived by the Creator.
As I mentioned earlier, I purchased a bottle.
Similar to Ben and Jerry’s at $3.69 a pint that would be about $14.76 a half-gallon. (Which would appeal less to the public)
The extract will remain our “speciality”, as even though co-packers have non-disclosures and confidentialty clauses, I don’t want to hand over the process that I learned from my 92 year old grandmother who learned it from her mother, etc. Needless to say, a co-packer I don’t think would take the time out to do it our way, with NO electrical machines. Perhaps, down the road a piece, we will be able to further tweak our method, and increase yield size, and thus offer a bit larger of a bottle, but until then…
John S. where do you buy your el yucateco, it cost like $1.67 at any carceneria / smart and final / grocery store( if your lucky)
I received my #1 3AM today.
Yesterday, I tracked down the seller to a person from Peppers.com and call the store for the person. It seemed that the seller really was surprised I found a number to reach her. She asked me to NOT call her there.
Today I received the bottle UPS Air overnighted.
So all ends well.
Thak, you stalker…:-P Nice job bud. Remind me not to bid on any of her future auctions.
Daniel,
Here in Michigan good hot suaces are much harder to come by than out in the west/southwest/mountainwest. Most midwesterners just don’t care to eat hot.
The best I can hope for, from a great grocery store, is Desert Pepper XXX, Dave’s and Endorphin Rush.
Never heard of a carceneria or a smart and final. There used to be a hot sauce store about 30 miunutes from me, but it went out of business several years ago. The closest place I’ve found that carries El Yucateco is a Le Gormet Chef, one hours drive away.
So, paying $4.00 a bottle online is about the best I can do. Unless anyone knows any good places to buy hot sauce in SE lower Michigan?
Thakswet - looks to me like she either honestly forgot she sold it or was trying to scam you.
But I’m glad you got your #1.
I felt like a stalker…doing research on a person was weird. Gleefully, ebay released her name, and she was in a picture on peppers.com, and after 6 unanswered emails and 2 unanswered home calls…the internet got me the number needed. I had to use my Chief Insp. Charles LaRousse Dreyfus instincts. And I still have this funny feeling I was never going to see the actual bottle in hand.
This is just my opinion - The chick was scamming you. She probably figured she could get away with it, and after being refurbished by Blair, probably figured she could do it again for more money…or she had second thoughts about giving it up after seeing it in its restored glory…just a thought
John-I feel your pain. I live in the metropolitan area of Portland, OR. Though El Yucateco is readily available at a grocerie store no more than 7 min. away, there are no known places that close to me where I can find a wide variety of hot sauces except 2 Le Gourmet Chef locations that ar3 45 min. to an hour + drive. There is a Saturday market downtown where a guy has a hot sauce booth, but he pretty unreliable. Some weeks he’s there, others he’s not (not to mention the market is closed from now until Memorial Day). There was a shop on the Central Oregon coast where I bought my first Blair’s reserve, but that is long gone. The only surviving place I know of is on the coast as well, but since I moved to Portland, that’s a good 2 hour drive to get to, and with what they charge for hot sauces, I could save thousands on ebay. This store is the one that puts up the Blair’s collection for $3,000. Which isn’t all that bad for all of them (excluding the newest ones), but buying from them individually is costly. 04 holiday is $599.99…got that on ebay for $137.51. So yeah, I understand why you buy your stuff on ebay/internet stores. Its convenient, and a much larger selection.
thakswet-I’m glad you got your bottle!!!!!
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Interesting. I am going to keep my #119 bottle sealed. (at least for now since I only purchased 1).