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When I first tried this sauce, I didn’t know what to expect. The label advertises “Caution: Very Hot!” but also touts flavor before fire. Is this a burner, or exaggerated advertising? Only time will tell. The packaging is very similar to my review of the Warm Garlic and Shallot sauce I had reviewed previously; as before, I’m not a huge fan of the look. But, that aside, my previous experience with Sweet Sunshine was good enough that I was eagerly anticipating testing this one.
Ingredients: Sugar, Water, Vinegar, Ripe Red Savina Habanero Peppers, Mustard Seed, Ancho Peppers, Corn Syrup, Cayenne Peppers, Habanero Peppers, Molasses, Modified Food Starch, Salt, Worcestershire sauce, Natural Flavors, Onion, Spices, less than 1/10 of 1% sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate.
The smell is of red savinas, which is a fantastic welcome to any sauce. That’s mixed with a whiff of vinegar and a blast of sweetness. The scent doesn’t raise any heat alarm. But, taking a few drops, the first thing that’s obvious is this sauce packs a nice punch. One thing I like about Sweet Sunshine in general: truth in advertising! Their Warm sauce can best be described as warm, and their Atomic deserves a caution label, as it’s much hotter than most people like. It’s probably even be much for the medium-loving chilihead; though if you tend to bathe your food in Mega Death, the heat won’t bother you a bit.
Through the grapevine (and after I tasted it) I saw this sauce described to me as “~100,000 scoville.” Not to mince ratings; I understand that different heats come across differently. But I put this in a taste test next to Dave’s Original Insanity and Blair’s After Death. It didn’t match the heat of either of those offerings, and they’re tested at ~50,000 SHU. But, on the plus side, Sweet Sunshine gives a solid burn with absolutely no chemical, extract taste.
The flavor is a mixed blessing. The heat is nice, and as I mentioned before, it’s a natural, Red Savina heat rather than an extract fueled fire. The Red Savina taste is well pronounced, and the vinegar is well balanced. But there is a lot of sweetness; sugar is the first ingredient, and it’s the most prevalent flavor. To my taste, the flavor profile is a bit out of whack. I just don’t care for the blend of sweetness and heat - the excess of sugar detracts from the rest of the flavor medley. All in all, the flavor profile just isn’t what I’d hope it to be.
On Food
After searching for uses of a scorchingly hot sweet sauce, I turned to a plate of ham and eggs. I applied a decent amount, and set to work. I built up a nice little sweat, though nothing too uncomfortable. The meal confirmed the heat level for me: a good level for someone who likes things hot, and way to much for the chili-novice.
All in all, it made for a palatable, hot way to start the day. Sweet Sunshine’s Atomic sauce doesn’t make my list of favorite breakfast sauces, but it’s passable. It would probably also be good used as a barbecue sauce, and anything else where a lot of heat and sweetness is desired.
Packaging - Bright, Gaudy and Confusing. 5.0 out of 10.0
Aroma - Red Savina and sugar. 7.0 out of 10.0
Appearance - thick, dark and saucy. 8.5 out of 10.0
Taste - Overly sweet and unbalanced. 6.5 out of 10.0
Heat - Hot as a low-end extract sauce with none of the extract flavor. 8.5 out of 10.0
Overall Rating: 6.7 out of 10.0 - Plenty of heat, but too much sugar spoils the flavor profile.
Sweet Sunshine
615-469-6847
Chilehead Comments:
Posted by: John - Categories: Uncategorized
Permalink: Review: Sweet Sunshine Atomic Sauce
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19 Comments »
Bret thats why I love you 
THIS IS FUN IT’S LIKE BEAT YOUR HEAD AGAINT’S THE WALL.
DARN I FORGOT TO PUT MY HELMET ON.
thats because your slllllllow
Looks like I am late to the party!
HEY. Ok have to go down to the floor and do some work. Darn
Bret on 2/17/2007 at 3:20 pm said:
THIS IS FUN IT’S LIKE BEAT YOUR HEAD AGAINT’S THE WALL.
MAybe if you stopped hitting your head on the wall you’d hear your phone ringing 
ERROR: Cannot quote comment ID #76759 as it can’t be found in the database.
I must be retarded and blind. What thread is missing?
Gary on 2/17/2007 at 4:40 pm said:
I must be retarded and blind. What thread is missing?
Well that makes two of us Gary. Not sure what the hell happened.
Oh well……you snooze you lose.
Good review Gary,
I’ve been meaning to give this line a try.
They are one of my “friends” on MySpace.
I will take your review under advisement when I order.
Gary on 2/17/2007 at 4:40 pm said:
I must be retarded and blind. What thread is missing?
Gary you can not use the r word. You will burn in hell.
Uncle Big on 2/17/2007 at 4:51 pm said:
Good review Gary,
I’ve been meaning to give this line a try.
They are one of my “friends” on MySpace.
I will take your review under advisement when I order.
Sorry John, good review to you, not Gary.
God I’m so confused today. What the hell?
Again, good review John.
Bret on 2/17/2007 at 4:55 pm said:
Gary you can not use the r word. You will burn in hell.
Sorry Bret. I’ll try to be more respectful to retards in the future.
Gary on 2/17/2007 at 1:13 pm said:
Nice review John. Nick sent me a bottle of this same sauce, as well as the “Hot” version which I cracked open last weekend and started to do a review on. Since trying the “hot” I’ve been looking forward to trying the “Atomic” because I really really liked the hot, almost as much as Brittany’s new hair cut. For me, the sweetness of these sauces is what makes them really appealing. They make a great great grilling and/or dipping sauce for steak. Enough said, I’ll get into details on the review.
Yeah, if you like sweet, very hot sauces, this is a good one to try. My thing with this one is it’s all sweet, with no balance. It’s kind of like coating a red savina with sugar and taking a bite.
I’m sure it is a personal preference thing, since I alwas tend to like the super-hots with a tomato base much better than those with a molasses base (like my significant preference for Jersey Death over Mega Death.)
Now, the warm garlic and shallot I adored; there was so many good flavors that melted together nicely - that was a sweet one too, but much more balanced.
No problem!
Uncle Big on 2/17/2007 at 5:06 pm said:
Sorry John, good review to you, not Gary.
God I’m so confused today. What the hell?
Again, good review John.
Oops, meant to quote this. Mistakes aplenty!
Sorry we hijacked your thread for awhile…. Nice review by the way 
Okay, I just tried the “atomic” Sweet Sunshine on a grilled NY steak (it’s 85 degrees out here in California, of course the grill got fired up) as a dipping sauce and I agree with John whole heartidly. For some reason, this particular version of their sauce misses the mark. It’s as if “sweet” and “heat” are in a really lame battle for dominance and it just takes all the fun out of it. Try the “hot” version, it has a better balance.
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Nice review John. Nick sent me a bottle of this same sauce, as well as the “Hot” version which I cracked open last weekend and started to do a review on. Since trying the “hot” I’ve been looking forward to trying the “Atomic” because I really really liked the hot, almost as much as Brittany’s new hair cut. For me, the sweetness of these sauces is what makes them really appealing. They make a great great grilling and/or dipping sauce for steak. Enough said, I’ll get into details on the review.