Scotty B’s – Berries in Heat Sweet-N-Hot Sauce
Bottle Description: Medium Heat
Ingredients: blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, red raspberries, Serrano pepper mash, vegetable juice, water, sugar, vinegar, lemon juice, salt, garlic, onion powder, spices, corn starch
Container: I got the 12 oz. Berries in Heat, which is needed. Most of Scotty B’s labels are exactly the same but he assures me that this sauce will have a new more unique label later.
Appearance: Is it a smoothie? You can see the berry skins and seeds in the sauce. The appearance of this sauce really makes you want berries in smoothie form. Looking at it, you can’t tell if it’s a sauce or if it’s Jamba Juice.
Smell: Whoah surprise! Of course you get the smell of berries but also onion, garlic and vinegar as part of the after-smell. After assuming that this sauce would be 100% sweet I was taken aback by the garlic and onion. This sauce is almost completely void of Serrano smell. I think is a good thing. Having a berry sauce smell like serranos would not put me in the “let’s eat” mood.
Consistency: Pretty much exactly like BBQ sauce. Slow but not “bang on the bottom of the bottle Heinz ketchup” slow. BTW I HATE those glass bottles for ketchup. HATE!
Taste: Again, very surprising. I wasn’t sure what to expect but on first taste I felt like the berry flavor was hidden underneath a mountain of garlic, onion and vinegar. After refrigerating it for a bit the other flavors died down and I came to fully realize the full berry assault. If it is your first taste chances are this sauce will be hit or miss. I recommend that you give it time.
I had my girlfriend taste it without knowing what it is (I’m the best boyfriend ever) and she remarked that it tasted like BBQ sauce. Then I let my buddy Dan try it and he stood there trying to place the taste of the sauce. I saw the proverbial light bulb go on when I told him that the sauce was made of berries.
This illustrates how sweet the sauce is. The berries and sugar do a nice job of being sweet while being carried on a bed of normal hot sauce ingredients. For that reason, this is a very good but very limited use sauce.
Heat: (6.2/10) The Serrano mash is nothing any of you have to worry about at all.
Field Test: On eggs this sauce is atrocious but I wasn’t too surprised. I hate it when syrup gets on my eggs during breakfast.
On chicken Berries in Heat will let you kiss the sky then come gently down on a berry shaped cloud. The sweetness and the normal hot sauce ingredients really work together when you find the right foods to add it on. Steak is a no no but egg rolls are a big yes yes. Douse your pork in Berries in Heat too.
Final Word: There’s always room in your fridge for a specific application sauce and this one is it. A lot of hot sauces do pretty well across the board but Berries in Heat is fantastic at doing what it sets out to do. I can liken it to a knight in chess. Since only the knight can move in an “L”, it is a very powerful piece.
Overall: 9.2/10. If you find the right outlet for this sauce you will not be disappointed and might make a permanent space in your fridge for it.
