Dave’s Gourmet Ghost Pepper Naga Jolokia Hot Sauce

I picked this sauce up at the local gourmet food store because it was the hottest sauce that they carried. I’ve tasted all of Dave’s products, from his spicy nuts to pasta sauces, and I appreciate the place in his product line that each one holds. My favorite product from Dave’s line has always been Cool Cayenne. It’s not a killer heat hot sauce and has a smooth flavor.

So like a regular chilehead glutton for punishment, I brought this sauce home. But before I could get into at home, I had to clean out the fridge, so instead I brought this to the office. I left it on the counter with the other 20 or so hot sauces that are there and forgot about it. I didn’t think about it again until my business development director started crowing about how he loved hot sauce and could eat anything. Did he seriously not think about who he was talking to? So I grabbed my little helper and told him to try it. Without listening to my warning, he took a heaping spoonful of the sauce and immediately turned red from head to toe and sweat beads started pouring down his head. But the scary thing was that he didn’t say a word – and he didn’t speak for the rest of the day. We now call it “Shut up sauce” in the office, because it can silence the loudest mouths around.

Like Dave’s Insanity, this is not a sauce to mess with – you only need a drop. It has extract in it, which I’m not a fan of. For me, pepper extract is nothing but a flavor killer. I’d rather have heat and flavor – not just pure heat. Plus I’m not a college kid needing to prove myself – even though I got a great chuckle from shutting up my coworker.

That being said, I wanted to give this Ghost Pepper sauce a try, so I brought it home and put it to the test on dinner. This dinner was simple tuna salad from the local health chain. It’s pure in taste but doesn’t have so much salt in it that a sauce won’t shine.

Dave’s Gourmet Ghost Pepper Naga Jolokia Hot Sauce

The aroma of the sauce is nothing but pain – so much so that it gives me flash backs of the Defcon Wing Eating Competition and the horrific train ride home. Some smells just take you back. There is a hint of smokiness to it due to the roasted garlic and it’s not nearly as abrasive as most extract sauces I’ve come across.

Taste wise – frankly, it’s hard to taste anything with this sauce but heat. Once the sauce filled my mouth, the heat made my tongue sweat and it was hard to discern anything. But after a few moments, I could call out some of the garlic and smokiness – and surprisingly, there was no bitter after taste of the extract. That really surprised me.

30 minutes later, the burn in the mouth was gone – but it had traveled to my core – making my chest and stomach nicely warm and tingly. I can see myself actually finishing this bottle, probably cooking or creating with it, but it certainly won’t be in my fridge untouched so long that it could graduate college.

If you’ve tried Dave’s Insanity and enjoyed it, then definitely try this sauce. If you’ve tried Dave’s Insanity and didn’t enjoy it – you will still enjoy this sauce, just in smaller doses.