The Hot Sauce Guide
Organized categorically by how much I liked the sauce, then in rows in descending order by heat. More info on ratings at the bottom of the page.
5/5 Perfection. A fiery orgasm of the mouth.
| Heat:9/10 | Blair's Sudden Death |
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Blair's reputation for kicking ass is upheld. The sauce tastes a little different than the After Death and Death sauces, but tastes very similar. An absolutely wonderful sauce, very fresh, peppery taste despite the high heat level. |
| Heat: 8/10 | Blair's After Death |
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Red and Orange Habeñero, Cayenne and Chipotle peppers as well as lime juice and cilantro give this little fiery bottle and lot of heat as well as make it the freshest, most flavorful hot sauce ever. It goes well over everything. To this day, my favorite sauce of all time. Heat: 8/10 |
| Heat: 7/10 | Blair's Death |
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This is basically a milder version of After Death. The flavor is the exact same, but the heat level is a lot less. This allows the sauce to be used in pretty copious amounts, allowing you to better savor the fresh flavor of the sauce. Otherwise, this is basically identical to After Death. |
| Heat:7/10 | Krakatoa |
| This is a "Pure Red Savina Habanero Mash." Nothing but habs and some vinegar. If you're like me and absolutely love the taste of habeneros, then this is the sauce for you. Nothing to interfere with full flavor of the habs. Could probably be used as substitute for Red Savinas in many recipes. Also one of the hottest all-natural hot sauces out there. | |
| Heat: 6.5/10 | Dave's Hurtin' Habañero |
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Who knew that the same guy that put out such a worthless sauce as ultimate insanity could put out this powerful sauce. Normally I wait 'til I'm almost finished with a bottle before I review it, but I've been pretty impressed with this one. Kinda a hard flavor to compare anything to. Tastes something like a marinade, but not the strong soy or Worcestershire type, almost like a jerk flavor. I really don't know what else to compare it to. The blend of pepper and dry spices is just right, though. |
| Heat:6/10 | Gecko Gary's OuChiptole |
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This is a delicious hot sauce. It combines the taste of fresh peppers with a smooth blend of dry spices. This compares to Hurtin' Hab pretty well, but I think it has a little more distinct flavor (and it doesn't get much more distinct than that). I've heard that Gecko Gary's line has won a ton of awards, and I believe it. I'm interested now in trying some of there other products. |
| Heat:5.5/10 | Gib's Hellbañero Fire |
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Wadda sauce! Gib's blends Cayenne, Jalepeño, and Habeñero peppers with ripe red tomato paste and just the right spices to give this sauce a southwester-style red hot flavor that goes great on wings and on damn near any meat. The consistency reminds me of a barbecue sauce with real heat and little sweet. |
4/5 Damn good.
| Heat:11/10 | 357 Mad Dog |
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Wow, the heat in this is absolutely out there! Despite that fact that habaneros and cayennes are pretty far back on the ingredient list, the other flavors balance out to taste, surprisingly, like a real pepper, not an artificial taste I was worried it might have. Oh yeah and it's really fucking hot. Despite it's sparing use, the flavor is strong enough that you can taste it in small quantities. I've uses it so far to make some killer chex mix. Be careful, this is the real deal, complete with a release on the side of the bottle. |
| Heat:10/10 | The Bomb: Beyond Insanity |
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I bought this sauce online after I'd heard good recommendations for it. Very hot!!! Despite orange juice being the #1 ingredient, the flavor is not citrus-like at all, but instead it has a flavor that compliments barbecues, or for that matter, any dark meat. Mix it with some A1 and French Dressing for some killer wings sauce. |
| Heat:10/10 | Viscous Viper |
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This is very hot but unlike a lot of very hot sauces this has plenty of flavor to boot. The mustard, pepper, and variety of fruits give it a Jamaican flavor, but with a sweet, less citric flavor than sauces like Pain is Good, and more distinct than Jamaican Hell Fire. The heat is very potent, but it's flavor is potent enough that this can be used in small amounts to obtain desired flavor. My bottle had a tough life: it's label came off early, and it was accidentally broken prematuratly, even though I was close to the bottom. Hot sauces have made me cry a lot, but never have I felt so close to tears without even eating any. Looking back, I consumed this bottle so quickly it's almost alarming, especially considering it's heat level. |
| Heat:9/10 | Predator: Great White Shark |
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This is a fruity, fresh-flavored hot sauce not unlike Viscous Viper. Peppers, fruits, and mustard are the prime ingredients and define the flavor. Very "Jamaican." I'd say the flavors are not quite as distinct and not as hot as the Viper, and say I'd give the Viper a slight preference, but still this is a very good hot sauce. Worth the money to pick up if you have the chance. |
| Heat:8/10 | Pure Poison |
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Yum! This sauce is very hot, maybe a little less than After Death. It has a bit of a sweet/fruity flavor from orange juice concentrate. The habs, it's first ingredient, add their flavor and heat to this brew. The flavor is a lot smoother than some of the other sauces such as After Death or Viper, and while the flavor is still very unique it's a as 'sharp' as the flavors of some other sauces. |
| Heat: 7/10 | Marie Sharp's Green Habañero |
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This is one that turn out to be a lot more potent that I had originally anticipated. While green habañeros are the second ingredient (after Nopal Pickley pears) they are definitely the controlling ingredient. If you like habañeros, then you'll love this sauce. It also contains onions, garlic, and lime, for a very 'green' taste. |
| Heat:7/10 | Mad Dog Liquid Fire |
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Another brilliant Dave Ashley creation. Very smooth consistency. The taste is hard to beat too. The taste was a real surprise, I didn't have that high of expectations for something with Tomatoes and Vinegar as the first few ingredients, but the flavor isn't too tomatoey. This is one of the mildest hot sauces to use 'concentrated pepper extract,' probably because with the relatively mild peppers in it, the extra little kick was justified. |
| Heat: 6.5/10 | Kiss of Fire |
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I bought this sauce with hopes getting something unique and interesting; it's not common to see a sauce with Scotch Bonnets as the 1st ingredient. I wanted different, and damn did I get it. It's packaging is even unique: a 12 sided bottle with an embossed foil seal on the top. It's flavor is very much a very much a fresh peppery sauce, but different, and with plenty of heat. |
| Heat:6/10 | Mountain Man Fire Roasted Habañero Sauce |
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This is one of the best examples of a straightforward pepper sauces I've ever owned. This ingredients are only fire roasted habs, vinegar and salt. The fire roasting gives the peppers and unexpected flavor, something like sweet but not quite. For an all-natural sauce it is quite hot too. The thick consistency is a plus. The flavor tends to lend itself to pretty much any meat or chili. |
| Heat:5/10 | Jamaica Hell Fire 2 in 1 |
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This is an interesting hot sauce with a surprising flavor. The consistency is something like apple butter apple butter, without the sweet and with a healthy dose of heat. Jamaican peppers (presumably Scotch Bonnets), pimentos and tomatoes are the key ingredients. |
| Heat:4/10 | Ass-Kickin' Cajun |
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When I first opened this sauce, I was a little apprehensive. I've never been a huge fan of most Cajun sauces, I find most to be too thin and too bland of a flavor. That and my other experiences with Southwest Specialty Company sauces have been a mixed bag. So I was surprised when this turn out quite good. Unlike most 'Cajun' sauces, this did have a strong presences of black pepper and other spices, and was noticeably thicker than most Cajun sauces, while still having a smooth consistency. Very good! |
| Heat:4/10 | Hooters Hot Sauce |
| Probably the only product on this page that I've never owned a bottle, but I've probably consumed a few bottles. The flavor is very good. The combination of chile peppers and brown sugar give it a slightly sweet flavor, but with some heat that goes great over wings, and, well, about anything else (though it probably wouldn't be good on Mexican ). |
3/5 Good
| Heat:9/10 | Mad Dog Inferno |
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If you like garlic, and strong garlic at that, this is your sauce. This has to be made to be used as a cooking additives, because any more than a small amount spread over food gives it an overwhelmingly garlicky taste. However if used sparingly, it does give a good burn and a pleasant flavor. |
| Heat:9/10 | You Can't Handle This Hot Sauce |
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The ingredients list on this read like a copy of the Mad Dog. The flavor comes out about that way too, except it's a little less garlicky and a little sweeter. It also has a very thick consistency. Definitely packs some punch, and a good addition to any hot-food lover's collection. |
| Heat:9/10 | Submission |
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I leave all my hot sauces out on display, and so cool bottle art is definitely a draw for me, and I have to say this is a winner. What really turned me on to this hot sauce was the combination of Habaneros and Scotch Bonnets in one sauce, not to mention Oleoresin, onions, garlic, etc. Hab's and 'Bonnets in one hot sauce was too much to say no too! Over this is a decent hot sauce, but the flavor is a little to artificial and doesn't really stand out in the world of hot sauces. I believe it's also sold as "The Hottest Fucking Sauce." |
| Heat:8/10 | Crazy Jerry's Mustard Gas |
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Not a whole lot too this sauce, it is basically a hot mustard, but with a less spicy flavor than other mustards like Guldens, but plenty of heat. It is so thin that it would probably go well mixed in with other mustards, but it also is fine alone if you are tough enough to use enough. |
| Heat:7/10 | Liquid Axe |
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Like "Mountain Man" and "Krakatoa," this sauce is a simple habanero sauce. I believe it's just habs and vinegar. However, this one has a sweeter tastes (thanks to apple cider vinegar), and a very smooth consistency. Over I like. Interesting sauce, I was really surprised how it tastes, not at all like the ingredients would have you believe. Reminds me a little of Jamaican Hell Fire sauce |
| Heat :6/10 | Pain is Good Batch 37: Jamaican Hot Sauce |
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This is a pretty flavorful hot sauce. The pineapple juice concentrate and tomatoes give it a sweet/fruity and slightly citric flavor. The flavor of the black pepper is really potent too. The consistency is chunky, but not really too thick. My only complaint is that that flavor is too strong to be used really copiously, and the flavor doesn't complement very many different foods. |
| Heat: 6/10 | Melinda's XXXXtra Reserve |
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I was a bit apprehensive of this hot sauce to begin with, after the extreme disappointment that was their original hot sauce. The flavor of this is very similar, but because it is hotter and more Habañeroy, it can be use in less copious amounts, so the heat and pepper flavors are more apparent and the citrus flavor is less strong. Goes great on fish. |
| Heat: 4/10 | Tabasco |
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This seems to be the only hot sauce that can be found in every restaurant and every convenience store in America. The consistency is thin for my preference, the flavor is good and it's modestly potent. Very much a straightforward pepper sauce (I think that Tabasco peppers and vinegar are the all that it is made of) |
| Heat:4/10 | Ass-Kick'n Original |
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Another Soutwest Specialty Sauce. Not bad, not great. Consistency is thick, flavor is peppery and fruity, but carrots are in there, so that brings things down a little bit. Not as hot as Melinda's XXXXtra, but the flavor is something similar to it. I figured this was closer to a 3 than a 2, but think of it as somewhere in between. |
| Heat:3/10 | Tabasco Jalapeño |
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A smooth, light, fairly mild sauce with that fruity jalapeño taste. This goes pretty well on a variety of foods. Not the best tasting sauce out there, but it's pretty popular and mild enough for everyone to enjoy. I just had the chance to taste there habenaro and chipolte sauces, and while the habanero wasn't bad, the chipotle was yum, look for a review as soon as I can get a hold of a full bottle. |
| Heat:2/10 | Huy Fung Sriracha Hot Chile Sauce |
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A milder, sweet-then-heat type of sauce. My cousin, a fellow lover of hot foods, bought this for me after he tried my After Death and was appauled that I ate anything that hot! It's mild enough that it can be thrown in copious amounts over anything, but too much will give some burn. Goes well over ham, Chinese, hamburgers, etc. Use as a ketchup substitute. |
2/5 Worth having tried, but not something I'd go for again.
| Heat:9/10 | Spontaneous Combustion |
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I wouldn't say this is a good sauce, or for that matter a bad sauce, just a boring sauce. The flavor is like most Louisiana-style hot sauces, basically a pepper flavor, except the is only a hint of it. The consistency is watery, and the nature of it doesn't lend to use in copious amounts, which is what it would take to get a decent sample of the flavor. I've had this bottle open for over a month now and have barely managed to get past the neck of the bottle. Not the best money I've ever spent, but not a bad sauce. |
| Heat:9/10 | Widow: No Survivors |
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This is one with which I've been very disappointed. The ingredients looked good, the consistency and color enticing to the hot sauce appetite. Unfortunately, the Worcestershire flavor tends to overwhelm this sauce, making it entirely too strong (in a not-so-good sorta way). This sauce is pretty good on dark-meat roasts, but I can't find too many other foods that it doesn't just overwhelm. |
| Heat:6/10 | Orange Krush |
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Kinda a funky spicy flavor with some pretty strong heat. Goes real well on pizza or vegatables. My big complaint is that there are just too many different dry spices mixed in. For the price, it's not my first pick, but it's not a bad sauce. |
| Heat:5/10 | Habanero Hot Sauce from Hell |
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Depsite the bottle's claim that it's "Beyond Hot" and that it's "The World's Hottest Hot Sauce," it's obviously far from. This is a very watered down, not unlike every other Cajun hot sauce out there. Like most of it's Southwest Specialty Foods brothers, it has carrots in the ingredients. I don't know who thinks carrots actually taste good in hot sauce, but you're just nasty. So are your hot sauces. This isn't a great hot sauce by any means, but certainly not terrible, just un-interesting. |
| Heat:3/10 | Try Me Cajun Sunshine |
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Just another average "Cajun" hot sauce. Not a lot to say about, just another sauce bought at the average grocery store that wants to be a Tabasco subsitute. |
1/5 Should've spent my money elsewhere.
| Heat:10+/10 | Dave's Ultimate Insanity |
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Red Habeñero and and unnamed red pepper extract give this thing it's heat, and vinegar gives it's ungodly flavor. If you plan on using this as a gag, go ahead and buy this sauce. Otherwise, it's pungent flavor ruins everything it touches. It evens stains the metal on the side of the refrigerator. |
| Heat:8/10 | Endorphin Rush |
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Blah! I'd heard very positive and very negative reviews of this, so when I got the chance to buy it I couldn't say no. One very negative comment I'd heard maid a comparison to a musty raisin-flavored hot sauce. I think that describes it right on. This tastes very artificial, not a hint of pepper anywhere in this sauce. Actually reminds me a little of Mad Dog with the ingredients way out of balance. Can't recommend. |
| Heat:5/10 | 911 Hot Sauce |
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The first ingredient in this is onion. That's about how it tastes. The strongest flavor is far and away the onion, the other flavors (scotch bonnet, mustard, etc.) help even the flavor out a little, but not enough to give it a good tastes. This is just a sauce that something isn't right about. It kinda has a hint of fruit (lime maybe?) that give it a hint of a Jamaican flavor, but it's the overwhelmingly onion-y flavor I can't say I like. I ended up selling this bottle to a friend after only a few samples. |
| Heat: 3/10 | Island Blaze Habanero |
| (no picture available) | I picked this up at a local grocer. It was advertised as "Super Hot" and had Habeneros as the first ingredient. To be honest, I was much disappointed. It has to be used in very copious amounts to get any kind of bite out of it, and when you do that, the flavor is overwhelmingly citric. If it was hotter or less citric, it'd be a wonderful sauce. But its' not. |
| Heat:3/10 | Melinda's Hot Sauce |
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This sauce is almost a carbon copy of Island Blaze, only maybe a little hotter. Even the ingredient list is almost identical, except for a little rearrangement on some the lesser ingredients. Both even have the same plastic piece in the neck that stops up the sauce. |
On my heat scale: 1~ketchup(no heat) 4~Tabasco(low-medium) 10~100k Scoville+ sauces, i.e. Da Bomb, Dave's, etc. Also this should be taken as a very rough guideline for heat. I've found that as I sample more hot sauces what may have blown me away at the time seem more mild now, so my older reviews may have an over inflated heat rating. Also, I'm very distrustful of Scoville ratings, and I've found that by comparing my thoughts of certain sauces to other peoples, that it's pretty common for there to be a pretty significant range of heat between different batches of the same sauce.
Some things I look at in a sauce:
Key Ingredients and Flavors: Peppers, spices and herbs, fruits and fruit juices, extracts, and vinegars all must work together to make a good flavor.
"Distinct" Versus "Smooth": Some sauces' flavors work to produce a variety of flavors at one time. There sauces give you many different flavors on different levels. You can taste each unique spice. Smooth sauces, on the other hand, have one flavor that is the sum of all the ingredients. I don't usually favor one type over the other, but the level of 'distinctness' or 'smoothness' has to work well with the flavors.
Unique: It gets boring if all the sauces taste about the same. While I won't rate a sauce lower if it tastes like one I've tried a million times, the one that stands out for being unique in one way or the other will definitely be rated higher.
The Wish List:
Gecko Gary's Original
Alberta Crude
Blair's Mega Death - MUST TRY
Dave's Insanity - Every hot sauce lover has tried it. I normally wouldn't bother, but I figure I might as well find out what the big deal is.
Some other hot sauce review pages that meet my approval: http://www.geocities.com/alienzombie13/hot_sauce.html
http://www.nettally.com/saints/hotstuff.html
http://easyweb.easynet.co.uk/~gcaselton/chile/sauce.html
