Christmas - it may be cold and snow outside (well, more like 45 degrees and raining in Michigan) but that’s no reason it can’t be hot inside. Particularly at Christmas dinner. So, making quick use of my sister’s most welcomed gift of an assortment of fine hot sauces from Sweat ‘N Spice, I broke out the Lava sauce from Loco Luna immediately.

The sauce is a medium-thin, dark reddish brown with lots of bits. It separates easily in the bottle, but comes into form quickly with a bit of shaking. Lots of peppers and garlic, with a hint of vinegar, on the first smell. But, there’s a lot of complexity hiding down in there.

Ingredients: Habanero and other chili peppers, garlic, worcestershire sauce, cane juice, lime juice, salt, vinegar, tomato sauce and other herbs & spices.

Dinner for the evening was Leg of Lamb, with a 3 potato Au Gratin, corn souffle, and green beans. The meal was even more stupendous since I didn’t have anything to do with it’s preparation - food always tastes better when someone else did all the work! I doused the lamb and corn with Lava Sauce, and dug in.

This sauce may have been custom made for lamb. The flavor was simply perfect. The pepper taste is always in the background, melting sumptuously in with strong notes of garlic, Worcestershire, spice, and a small hint of sweetness. It has a roundness and complexity that is rare, and the balance of an Olympic gymnast. Each taste brings a new cascade of subtlety, with nooks and crannies to be discovered. The sauce accented the flavor of the meat every step, working in perfect harmony to bring out all the savory, spicy notes of the lamb. The heat is medium to medium-mild, right about a 5 on the HSB heat rating scale. But, that just means that more and more can be applied! This is unquestionably a sauce that should be bought in bulk, since the 5 oz. size disappears way to quickly. Before I knew it, the bottle was 3/4 gone in only one meal.

I can’t think of a meal this sauce wouldn’t be great with. I can’t wait to try it on eggs, steak, chicken, and pork. I also think it’ll be a standout on sausage; fresh kielbasa and Lava sauce comes to mind as a can’t miss winner.

Conclusion: Loco Luna’s Lava sauce is a must try. The flavor is out of this world. It’s not a big burner, but that just means you can share the joy with novice chiliheads. The only complaint I have is that the bottle isn’t nearly big enough!

Packaging - Nice and clean, Very attractive. 8.8 out of 10.0
Aroma - Pepper and garlic, simply lovely. 9.5 out of 10.0
Appearance - reddish brown, a little thin but not bad. 7.6 out of 10.0
Taste - Simple put: amazing. 9.5 out of 10.0
Heat - Medium. 5.0 out of 10.0

Overall Rating: 9.4 out of 10.0 - Ding Ding Ding! My top five hot sauce list has a new member!