Retro Review – Ass in the Tub Hot Sauce

Ingredients: Cayenne Pepper, Water, Salt, Acetic Acid, Oleoresin Cayenne, Starch, Caramel Colour

Packaging: Not much left to the imagination here. The name and picture say it all. There is a little marketing blurb here though that will cast doubts of heat levels to even intermediate chili-heads. It reads:

Caution: This pepper sauce is seriously hot. In fact, this is about as hot as it gets. It may sound like we’re bragging, but really we’re just giving you advance notice that it’s going to burn on the way in and…well, you get the picture. It’s a moving experience.

First impression: So in my constant foray for hot sauces I was able to pick-up some Ass in the Tub Hot Sauce in Kensington Market in Toronto. I already knew the reputation of the “Ass” series but the $2.00 price tag encouraged the purchase. Well the whole line of “Ass in…” has been around for quite some time. Each one claiming to be hotter than the last. The first one I tried out of the series was hot but didn’t leave a lasting impression in the heat department. Then I tried Ass in Antarctica a little after that and although it burned pretty good the taste was lacking. Ass in the Tub is in the middle portion of the heat scale since it is a cayenne based sauce with cayenne extract to boot.

Aroma: Sharp, Notril Hair Recoilement, Ass!!

Appearance: Red, Runny no discernable particles.

Initial taste and Conclusion: So you want to taste what capsaicin tastes like with losing your tongue or stomach lining? Give this sauce a try. Doesn’t really matter what you try it with, It always tastes the same. It doesn’t taste very good and the one redeeming quality it has is that it only infects the food it has come in touch with.

The heat doesn’t linger but the initial burst of heat is quite intense. For those of you just getting into hot sauces I would recommend it to sample the extract flavour, but honestly there are much better extract hot sauces to be initiated with.

Admittedly I do use this sauce a lot and I don’t know why. Perhaps it is the principle of finishing off the bottle just because. If you see this bottle on clearance grab it for your collection. It’s one you won’t have to worry about not opening.

Packaging 7/10
Aroma 3/10
Appearance 5/10
Taste 3/10
Heat 6.5/10

Overall 4/10

Produced in Costa Rica For Rasta Fire Brands
722 Martin Behrman Ave.
Metaire,LA 70005
1-800-886-6354 or 504-831-0087