Posted January 16, 2007 by Vic in Reviews

Review: Island Spice Scotch Bonnet Pepper Hot Sauce

Yeah it’s bright yellow When I first pulled this bottle out of the box I thought to myself …”Self this looks weird” I shook it up a bit, turned it back and forth to let it run up and down the bottle- it stayed yellow. The sauce has a translucence to it as well and you can see specks of the pepper and the seeds floating all through it. It’s kinda neat and different, I played with it for awhile- the bottle that is.

Ingredients: Jamaican Scotch Bonnet Pepper, Salt, Vinegar, and Citric Acid

The Vinegar is overpowering when you open the bottle and break the seal, and it stays there use after use. The Vinegar actually seems to intensify in the fridge waiting for each use. It’s not all that bad, but you need to have a taste for this type of sauce. If you like the taste of Vinegar with the peppers then it’s your thing, if not beware. Also I found the Island Spice Scotch Bonnet Sauce to be salty straight up. I did the finger test and definitely detected the salt right off the bat. But in this sauces defense, it blends well and hides the saltiness on food.

This sauce made me really think hard on what to try it on first, I went round and round and settled for an old favorite with a twist. We bought some thin sliced Pork Chops and made sandwhiches. We found some cool button top rolls, toasted them, and covered the chops generously with fresh thick sliced American Cheese.

The dinner was completed with some sweet peas and some good old French Fries, yeah not gourmet but it was easy and tasted good. The Island Spice Scotch Bonnet Sauce is thin and chunky, it is no frills in your face basic sauce. I would have to put this sauce at a high end medium heat level, it warms the lips nice and the heat lingers satisfyingly awhile- “I luv you long time!” We topped off the Pork Sandwhich with some Red Onion and Tomato. Mm Mm Good!

Conclusion: If you don’t mind the Salt and like a strong Vinegar based Pepper Sauce then you will enjoy this one. It is a strip down basic bare-bones sauce, Peppers and Vinegar. It adds the heat of the Scotch Bonnets to anything you put it on. I think it has specific uses and would not cross over to things like Mexican or Pizza. But apply it to Chicken and Pork and it’s good to go.

Packaging/Label: 6 out of 10
Aroma: 6 out of 10
Taste: 7 out of 10
Heat: 7 out of 10
Overall: 7 out of 10