Everyone is likely to be familiar with Heinz as a manufacturer, famous for their baked beans and tomato ketchup but now they’ve started branching out in to hot sauce, perhaps riding on its current popularity. It’s a clever move by Heinz because there really isn’t that much competition on the supermarket shelves, having mostly just Tabasco and Encona to compete against. This one, Smokey & Spiced Chipotle & Garlic, sits at the mild end of the series, with Green Jalapeno and Yellow Habanero being its two older siblings.
Ingredients:
Spirit Vinegar, Tomato Puree, Chipotle Chilli (4%), Sugar, Onions, Salt, Herbs, Garlic, Smoked Spices, Peppers, Spice Extract, Thickener – Xanthan Gum.
The labeling on this jar is a touch bleak –it’s done in the typical Heinz style, but in deep matt black, which sort of compliments the colour of the sauce. A claim of a medium heat also seems a bit unlikely, particularly given the choice of chilli but perhaps the sauce will surprise in terms of flavour. However, getting this one on to the spoon from the 150ml bottle is a bit of a struggle given the eye-dropper top; the only way to change this is to take a knife to it (please take care if you do and please change this Heinz).
Finally with a good measure on the spoon, the aroma of the sauce has the opportunity to escape and hit the olfactory system, but if you’re not a fan of vinegar there might be a tad of disappointment. It dominates the odours making it difficult to pick anything else out, except perhaps a hint of BBQ.
Initially on the tongue the sauce has a sweet smokey flavour, it’s certainly not a disagreeable experience, but the bitter vinegar soon overpowers the taste. There’s a pleasant enough tickle heat wise, but it’s unlikely to challenge the seasoned chilli-head, let-alone set the mouth on fire.
Unfortunately there’s really not a lot to recommend here, there’s just nothing stand-out about it leaving it simply average. It’s clearly made from a bulk pulp to a price, but that said it is cheap and is unintimidating to the newbie. There are dozens and dozens of tastier choices out there mind, even if they do cost a few pounds more.
| Flavour | *****~~~~~ |
| Heat | **~~~~~~~~ |
| Packaging | *****~~~~~ |
| Value | *******~~~ |
| Overall | *****~~~~~ |