Posted August 31, 2006 by John in Reviews

Review: Fire Power Hot Sauce

Fire Power, an offering from Infusion Hot Sauce Company, comes in a big 10 oz. bottle with a colorful yellow label that screams, well, vinegar. The label reads “Infusion [tag]hot sauce[/tag] is made with the finest [tag]vinegar[/tag] and spices. Only fresh chilis and whole garlic are used, never reconstituted dried ingredients out of storage.” Elsewhere on the label it reads “Infusion Hot Sauce Company ** Custom Chili Infused Vinegars.” That is certainly something new – a sauce that hypes up it’s vinegar content. It was an unusual enough tack to peak my curiosity.

On First Taste
I gave Fire Power a test on a tortilla chip, expecting an onslaught of vinegar. Instead, I was greeted by a pleasant, medium-hot burn right off the bat, with a luscious blend of pepper flavor, well balanced garlic, and a perfectly rounded vinegar background. Make no mistake, this IS a vinegar sauce…but it has as well balanced a flavor profile as I’ve ever found in the style. It’s a very, very nicely put together recipe that tastes simply fantastic.

On Food
With my expectations drastically raised, I decided to put the screws to Fire Power and give it a try in Tomato Soup with a grilled cheese and bacon sandwich for dipping. There’s nothing I love more than spicy tomato soup, even the cheating kind I made (right out of the Campbell’s can.) But, the dish is particularly harsh to most vinegar sauces. The tomato and warmth just don’t usually complement overpowering vinegar. But with Fire Power’s exceptional balance, I thought it stood a fighting chance.

I used a pretty large quantity of Fire Power in the soup, and dug in wholeheartedly. The burn was very nice – even and building, with medium heat that rolled into a nice, whole mouth burn. It’s certainly not a scorcher, but it can get the job done. Again, the sauce performed admirably. The sauce gave a great flavor to the soup, with a hint of vinegar perfectly offset by wonderful pepper flavor and just the right amount of garlic and spices.

In Conclusion:
I have a new favorite red vinegar sauce, and Fire Power is it’s name. I can’t think of many situations where it wouldn’t work nicely, even in something where you normally wouldn’t think vinegar – like pasta, or in soups. Fire power is so versatile for a vinegar sauce, I’d even use it in a Bloody Mary. For me, that’s a first!

Packaging – Eye catching, but not spectacular. 6.2 out of 10.0
Aroma – Lots of vinegar on the nose. 7.2 out of 10.0
Appearance – Thin, like a typical vinegar sauce. 7.5 out of 10.0
Taste – An emperor in peasant’s clothing! Truly superb flavor. 9.1 out of 10.0
Heat – Medium-hot. 5.0 out of 10.0

Overall Rating: 9.0 out of 10.0 – Flavor rules, after all.