This is the tale of two sauces…When I first laid my eyes on this wonder, I was impressed how simple yet cool-looking the label was. I was reminded of like an Old Skool style chopper, one taken out of the early 70s. In fact, my first thought was “Man, this would make one killer-looking gas tank”. Bright, eye catching, but not full of all the extras that every one seems to be doing lately. Very, very slick.

Ingredients: Habanero pepper, Dry mustard, onion, garlic, flake sea salt, lemon, lime and orange juice, Tumeric, Spanish paprika, vinegar.

After I was done staring at the bottle, I actually opened it up. The first whiff I got was a combination of garlic and Tumeric, which though I do like, I thought it was odd because the first ingredient is habanero. I had a feeling this wasn’t going to be the hottest mustard sauce. So I poured it onto my trusty tasting spoon to see a beautiful sea of orange with nice sized bits of habanero. I mean, these pieces of habbie stood out like pepperoni on a pizza. My hope that this would be mean-ass was slowly being restored. I took some more whiffs, and the onion and dry mustard were coming out, followed along side the garlic and Tumeric. Tumeric reminds me of fresh ginger, most often used in Indian curries, and I was happy to see it in here. It’s also used a lot in prepared mustards, so I knew these guys were really aiming at a more mustard sauce than just regular mustard kicked with habanero. That’s a tough trick to pull off, and I’m skeptical until proven otherwise.

I took the taste, and I was just blown away. I can’t remember the last time I had a sauce where more that one flavor attacked as one. The habanero and orange juice hit together, followed right behind with onion, mustard and Tumeric. The finish was garlic and the paprika, with a real faint hint of vinegar. Very well orchestrated. And what was really cool was when my whole tongue was covered with flavor the heat came. It was a slow build, but when it peaked, it hits you. So I grabbed a handful of pretzels, and just doused them. Awesome. Then I made chicken cakes (ground chicken, bread crumbs, parsley and egg) pan-fried them and served them with garlic mashed potatoes. This is where the mustard stood out, bringing out the flavor of the chicken, and the orange, lemon and lime rounded out the sauce’s flavor. And again, the habanero joined the party finishing each bite with a well placed right-hook. I was really having fun with this sauce, so I started putting it on everything, from scrambled eggs to hot dogs (killer), pasta and my kid’s chicken nuggets (I even tossed a little on fresh banana, not too bad). Very rounded, well constructed, and beautifully finished.

So on to my Five Point Scale.
Appearance: From the label design to the sauce itself, a thing of beauty. The colors are outstanding.
Smell: 5-If you took fresh orange, habanero, garlic and Tumeric, tossed them in a blender, this is what you’d get. Very fresh, very crisp with over-tones of garlic and Tumeric.
Flavor: 4.5-Straight out of the bottle you taste more of the habanero. Heated up, you get the mustard. Either way, it packs.
Heat: 4-The label says it’s a “7”, but I’m going to say its more like a higher “5”. To my grandmother, it’s a “10”.
Overall: 4.75-This is a true all-around hot sauce that delivers flavor while kicking you a bit in the rump with heat. If I could afford it this would be the sauce I’d be giving away to my friends to try who are afraid of high-end hot sauces. Yeah, the heat is there, but the flavor gets there first like a tidal wave. Great stuff to have, so get some, and as always, treat every meal like it was your last!

Droolin’ Devil Fine Foods
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7K 2V5
306-244-2205
www.droolindevil.com