Please welcome Newman to the HSB with his first review! Having never heard of Habby Habanero’s, I’m glad to read a review of it, has anyone else ever tried this sauce? Welcome to the HSB Newman!
Packaging works on me. The clever anecdotes and design always work their magic, just as the marketing guru behind it had planned.
As for Habby Habanero’s? Its package is no different. The distinctive style of Tropical Heat, with its cabana-suit clad spokesman/gangster, cried out to me from the Jungle Jim’s shelf. I was completely content keeping this “funny for all the wrong reasons” sauce in my collection unopened as a conversation piece forever. Until I read the ingredients.
Ingredients: Peaches, Mustard (Distilled Water, Mustard Seed, Salt, Spices), Brown Sugar, Habanero Peppers, Vinegar, Spices.
The peaches threw a curve ball into the mix, and as a rule I like to see the peppers a little higher on the list. So I must admit that I was skeptical at best.
Bouquet (smell): After cracking open the bottle, the entire room filled with a distinct ““ and unexpected ““ aroma of curry. No peaches. No peppers. No mustard. Just curry and plenty of it.
Texture: It pours much thinner than it moves in the bottle, so there’s not much “coating” action, and the visible spices are all that stick to the plate.
Taste: I made a pot of Haitian rice under the guise that this sauce would have a tropical personality. I was wrong. After the first bite, I definitely recognized the curry flavor but it took a decided back seat to the peaches. The habanero, however, is practically lost in this strange mix. I found myself wondering if the little heat that was present was simply from the curry and the peppers just get smothered in this flavor log-jam. But, the silver lining is that it could make a really nice glaze for baked chicken or on top of jasmine rice.
Medal Round (Ratings):
Package: Weirdly A Gold
Heat: An Easy Bronze
Taste: A Bronze
Overall: It scores a bronze
Habby Habanero’s Food Products
P.O. Box 8798
Jacksonville, FL 32239
904.333.9758
MSRP: $5.95 (5.7oz. Flask)