Review: Marie Sharp’s Beware Comatose
Initial Thoughts: Before hearing about Marie Sharp’s hot sauces I was still new to the field. I was a hot sauce newbie, rookie, virgin, or anything else you want to call me. I thought initially that any sauce having a first and last name would not be that good. My initial impressions were based on the idea that gourmet hot sauces had to use something extravagant. For example, Insanity, Death, Pain, Burn, Sweat, Sexy, Humor, Political, Dogs, Agony, and many other great adjectives that we all know about. When I saw theand read BEWARE I really thought that I should use only a tiny drop of it at a time. If you seen me at Defcon, do I really look like the type to use just one drop at a time? Nah, not me.
Ingredients: Habanero pepper mash, Capsicum oil, fresh carrots, key limejuice, garlic, salt, onions, N’awlins Cajun & Creole spices & ginseng.
Visual: Marie Sharp’s Beware comes in the standard 5oz. bottle that we are all accustom to. The label really makes this sauce stand out from others on the shelf. It includes a white cap with a red plastic seal wrap. The label is red also and very closely resembles the color of the sauce. The label is supported by yellow trim on both the top and bottom of the label. The red background with the yellow trim really makes the text stand out. The text is in white lettering. I remember when I first seen this sauce on the shelf. To me it really gave me flashbacks of Plastic Man. See below for the plastic man pic I found! The sauce has a deep orange-reddish color. Its consistency is great. It is not super thick nor is it watery thin. This makes it great as both a cooking ingredient and to put directly on top of your favorite dish. Seeds are viewable from the outside of the bottle as well as some pepper pulp. To me this is a requirement for a sauce that I consider to be versatile.
Aroma: Ok it is now time to see how Marie smells. Always give her a good shake before breaking her seal. (Stop thinking perverted!) Putting my nose close to the lid I am able to smell a lot of carrots and onions. It actually lacks a lot of that rich habanero fruity flavor that we are all use to. There is no trace of any extracts whatsoever which is a good thing. I am willing to bet that there will be no metallic taste. Any signs of the lime or garlic are too slight to my nose. In a way this sauce kind of smelled a little bit like underarm perspiration, due to the carrot and onion mix. It got me worried that Marie could have such an odor, but this is only a disguise!
Taste: After putting a decent amount onto one slice of cheese pizza I tried it. I was very pleased with this. The combination of the tomato sauce when it entered my mouth with this sauce really did me right. I didn’t taste like carrots or habanero. It just improved the slice of pizza in terms of flavor and heat. I tasted no extracts either as predicted. I found myself adding more of this to the crust. On the crust I did notice the carrot and habanero flavor. I also noticed a much more sharper zing than when having it with the cheesy part of the pizza. I would really use this with a little tomato sauce mixed in, as a base for many Italian dishes. I felt a little heat with this but it was not over bearing. The taste of this sauce is not as what it smells like coming out of the bottle. I was really tricked with this.
Application: I decided to try this sauce on pizza. I figured with pizza I would get a decent test for this sauce. With sauce, cheese and bread ingredients you are combining many flavors all together. If it goes well with pizza then it should go well with many other dishes as well. Plus the Patriots game was on and I wanted something to just munch on without having to cook up a meal. I rarely cook much for myself anymore. So I have to do some of my own advertising and say, “Hey any single ladies out there?
Final Thoughts: If you are looking for a great tasting Habanero sauce you can’t go wrong with this one! This is Marie Sharp’s Hottest Sauce. If you are looking for a great tasting sauce that is not overbearing with extract flavor this is a must for your collection. This is a sauce that I would keep in my car or inside jacket pocket when going out. It makes a great addition to any foods being Mexican, Italian, Asian, Thai, or anything else that you may venture onto. Overall this sauce is great if you want a sharp potent flavor if you are using it as a topping. If you want great flavor cooking with it is a great choice too. If you are looking for a smokier rich flavor you are going to have to mix something with this one. I mixed it with CaJohns HDH hot sauce and it did the trick! This is a very tricky sauce but it worth trying and adding to your collection. Marie Sharp does make Belize proud with this product!!
Packaging 9/10
Aroma 7/10
Taste 8/10
Appearance 9/10
Heat 8/10
Overall 8/10
Marie Sharp’s Official Site
#3 Pier Rd.
Dangriga, Belize
Central America
Tel: (501) 522-2370
Fax: (501) 522-3504
Twenty Questions with Marie Sharp