I’ve never selected a hot sauce of the month for Sweat ‘N Spice without first trying it – that is, until this month. For some reason, I’d never had the chance to try Uncle Brutha’s Fire Sauce No. 9, though I did know that it was a good one based on the sheer number of months it had been continuously nominated (by different people) for the sauce of the month. Also, the well received review by Thakswet (way back in 2005) gave me confidence in the selection of Uncle Brutha’s Fire Sauce No. 9 for the July Hot Sauce of the Month. But after posting the hot sauce of the month winner yesterday, I decided to crack into a bottle of it for myself (finally).

A time tested favorite for hot sauce: tacos! More importantly, tacos from Tehuitzingo – a local hole in the wall taco shop that sells some of the best carnitas tacos I’ve come across here in the city.

Smell: When I first cracked open the bottle, I was surprised by the strong smokey smell of the sauce. The ingredients nor the name of the sauce mention anything about smokey – in fact the only hint on the packaging is that on the list of awards it was the fact that this sauce took first place as the Best Smokey sauce at the 2005 Cajun Hot Sauce Festival. With such a strong smoke smell, it’s hard to distinguish the other ingredients, but after a few whiffs the aromas of the Serrano peppers, cilantro and garlic come through.

Taste: Well, as you can see I liberally doused the sauce over the carnitas tacos and dug right in. WOW – why hadn’t someone forced me to try this sauce sooner? Initially, the strong smokey smell had me worried that it would overpower the flavor of the sauce but it actually serves to enhance the flavors of the other ingredients. The smokiness makes your taste buds salivate while the heat of the Serranos will cause a minor running of the nose – though you may finish the bottle before you have to reach for a tissue. I couldn’t taste the ginger in the sauce – though the garlic and cilantro play in the peripheral background on the taste buds. The words “Smokey Southwestern Chile Verde” best describe this sauce.

Overall: As you can see, I went through 3/4 of the bottle on lunch time tacos alone. I also used some this morning on my eggs, but the smokey flavor was a little too much on plain scrambled eggs (though still very good). I would emphatically suggest that any chilehead that has not already given this sauce a try go out and buy yourself a few bottles. Maybe even a case if your like me and put away 3/4 a bottle in one meal. Uncle Brutha’s Fire Sauce No. 9 has quickly established itself on my list of top 10 sauces to recommend to chileheads. In fact, just writing this review has made me want some more tacos to finish the rest of the bottle on…

Uncle Brutha’s Gourmet Hot Sauce
323 7th Street SE
2ND Floor
Washington, DC 20003