From the South West comes this Hickory Smoked Chipotle Sauce, courtesy of Dartmoor Chilli Farm, who are located in the heart of the National Park. They have quite a range of sauces from the extreme Dynamite to the relatively mild Mango and Pineapple. The Chipotle Sauce sits in their medium designation.
The label on the outside is functional rather than trying to be funny and witty as many of these tend to be, with a summery photograph of the Devonshire countryside.
The innards of this 150ml bottle are dark brown in colour and given the apple content, the sauce mixture is a little pulpy though has no chilli seeds within it, but it still pours freely from the bottle.
Ingredients: Apples, Onions, Tomatoes, Sugar, Molasses, Cider Vinegar, Hickory Smoked Fresh Chillies 4%, Lemon Juice.
On the nose there are no huge chilli vapours to burn the sinuses, simply a sweet smoked aroma which is really rather pleasant. Once the flavour hit your tongue, there’s the earthy and smoky flavour that exudes across the mouth.
There’s a hint of heat, but a mass of flavours, it’s meaty, almost like eating a steak. At £3.50 a pop, Dartmoor Chilli Farm’s Chipotle Sauce represents good value, though it’s easy to get through a bottle rather quickly, it’s one I enjoy heaping on rice dishes for a little bit of pick-me-up chilli smiles, so fans of this type of sauce will want to give this one a look – and while you’re there make sure to check out the chilli chocolate which can be fiendishly heat deceptive.
Bottle kindly supplied by Dartmoor Chilli Farm
| Flavour | *********~ |
| Heat | **~~~~~~~~ |
| Packaging | *****~~~~~ |
| Value | *****~~~~~ |
| Overall | ********~~ |