Posted February 16, 2008 by Nick Lindauer in Reviews

Review: Cindy’s Cin-Fully Hot Hot Sauce

Bottle Description: After the great success of her award winning Cin Chili mix, Cindy decided it was time to heat things up a bit. Cindy’s Cin-Fully Hot, Hot Sauce, is the result of months of Cin-Ful research. Discover what Cindy did. One drop makes you feel a little cin-ful. Two or more, will bring out the devil in you!

Ingredients: Various Peppers, Vinegar, Spices, Salt, Sugar, Dehy. Onions & Garlic.

I picked this bottle of hot sauce up at our local liquor store (Spec’s) for $6.99 and after chatting with the checker on the price of the sauce, headed home to give it a try. Truth be told, I didn’t get to try the sauce until the following day ““ after the party that I had to buy the liquor for (go figure). Every time I hit the liquor store, I check out the hot sauce selection because they are known to get some local sauces in stock from time to time and I was surprised to see Cin Chili had a hot sauce ““ so I didn’t hesitate to buy 2 of each.

Appearance: The label closely matches that of the Cin-Chili packaging so the brand recognition through their product line is evident. The sauce itself looks tasty ““ nice distribution of the ingredients. The sauce is of moderate viscosity ““ not thick but not watery.

Smell: This sauce smells familiar. I wouldn’t be surprised if this was something that I’ve tried previously under a different label. Or maybe it’s just the primary ingredients that remind me of a sauce I’ve had before. At any rate, there’s something haunting about this sauce ““ the vinegar smell is there, but it’s more of the base of the smell. As I sit at my desk huffing off the bottle, the familiarity hits me ““ it smells like a Bloody Mary with heavy Worcestershire sauce.

Taste: Straight to the tongue, the pepper is a bit over bearing ““ the black pepper that is. I take back my earlier reference to a Bloody Mary ““ this sauce now reminds me of a marinade. I don’t know which one, but I’m definitely going to be using this as a marinade in the near future. The heat is medium at most ““ even for a beginner. Again, it’s the black pepper that I’m tasting more then anything else in the sauce. The garlic and onions which are usually one of the first things that I can tease out are on the back burner and only make their presence known in the aftertaste.

On Food: As I mentioned earlier, the Ex & I had to go to a PhD party (wild *sarcasm*) the night before and we brought her favorite Mac & Cheese and Ribs. She insisted that no one would eat the ribs since it was a semi formal party, but I brought them anyways. I figured if I was going to be stuck at a party without my kegerator, I’d at least bring something for me to eat. Well, needless to say, we didn’t bring any ribs home and as of this writing (a week later) we’re still working on finishing the leftover mac & cheese.

So, long story short ““ I tested this sauce on some Mac & Cheese and it worked well. The starchyness of the pasta tempered the black pepper and the sharpness of the cheese (Gueryere) lent itself nicely to enhancing the overall flavor of the sauce. On such a medium, the black pepper wasn’t nearly as strong and I was getting the overtones of the onions and garlic a bit more.

Overall: This isn’t a sauce that I would put on just any food, but when it can be paired properly I think it’s an excellent choice. I would love to use this in a nice Bloody Mary or as a marinade ““ which I’m sure to be doing with the next bottle.

Collector’s Sauce

SPICE OF LIFE HOT SAUCE
Hot cruise”¦hot cruisers”¦and even hotter (sorry what happens on a cruise ship, stays on a cruise ship). What better way to remember The Spice Of Life Cruise, then with a Hot Sauce commemorating the event! January 17-21, 2008, was the date for the first annual Cin Chili cruise. Cindy wants to thank everyone who attended and is looking forward to next year. What better way to work and play. The Spice Of Life”¦more than a phrase, it’s a lifestyle.
Ingredients: Red Savina Habanero Chiles, Vinegar, Onion, Tomatoes, Lemon Juice, Salt, Garlic.
If you want to customize anything special on the bottle, email Cindy at [email protected] and tell her what you want on it. Space is limited on the bottle.
Price: $8.99