Product Name: The TearJerker Original Ghost Pepper Sauce
Style: Superhots
Manufacturer: Danny Boy's Hot Sauce Co.
Country of Origin: USA
Website: http://www.dannyboyshotsauceco.com
Ingredients: Water, Apple Cider Vinegar, Tomato Sauce, Diced Tomatoes, Ghost Chili Peppers, Ghost Chili Powder, Sugar, Salt, Onion Powder, Garlic, Xantan Gum.
Label/Packaging: This label is eye catching. It has a lot going on, but it is interesting. The skull in the background looks menacing. It comes with a warning right on the label. It also says all natural no extracts, I like that. So far so good.
Appearance/Aroma: The appearance is a nice reddish-orange color, a little on the runny side, and I can see seeds. The aroma is very strong of vinegar. It smells sweet but the vinegar is a little overpowering so you can barely make out the peppers.
Body of Review:
After reading the ingredients of this sauce, I am expecting a very vinegary almost Louisiana style sauce. While it is vinegary, it is nothing like Louisiana sauces. This sauce is hard to explain. It does have the tang of the apple cider vinegar, but it also has the heat on the back end. I thought the tomatoes would be more prevalent, but it's really just vinegar and peppers. I have not had a Bhut Jolokia mash yet, but this is what I imagine it tastes like. The heat is first in the throat, then the sides and tip of the tongue. Not searing, not scorching, but plenty enough to know it's there. After repeated tastes on a spoon I feel a little sweat starting. For the masses this will be plenty hot enough. I find that people, myself included, either love vinegar-based sauces or do not. While I am not a huge fan of them normally, I love the taste of this one. Maybe it's because it's apple cider vinegar, maybe its because of the taste of the ghost pepper, but I like it. The consistency is where I see some flaws in this sauce. I think it's a bit too runny, which doesn't surprise me as water is the number one ingredient and vinegar number two. My other issue is that I am getting bits of hard seeds in there. I don't know, maybe if it were processed longer or cooked longer that would eliminate them. When I tasted this sauce the first time I immediately thought this would make a good wing sauce. Let's see how it turned out.
Heat Level: 7
Applications: I mixed half the bottle with 3 tbls of butter and some seasoned salt. All I can say was when mixed this way the only thing The TearJerker had me crying about was the lack of heat. When eating it straight the heat is there, but mixed with butter, not so much. I would recommend it more as a dipping sauce or condiment, though it did give the wings a nice tang. I ended up adding some Scorpion powder to bump up the heat and then it tasted pretty good.
Appearance Score: 4.5
Aroma Score: 4
Taste Score: 4.5
Mouthfeel Score: 3.5
Heat Accuracy Score: 4
Overall Score: 4.1
Notes: The aroma, heat, and appearance of this sauce are good. The taste is terrific. The mouthfeel/texture is the real downfall for me with the seeds. I'd also like to see it a little thicker and maybe just a touch hotter. However, there is a Black Label XXX version that probably takes care of that. Overall, if you like vinegar-based sauces, give it a try.
Style: Superhots
Manufacturer: Danny Boy's Hot Sauce Co.
Country of Origin: USA
Website: http://www.dannyboyshotsauceco.com
Ingredients: Water, Apple Cider Vinegar, Tomato Sauce, Diced Tomatoes, Ghost Chili Peppers, Ghost Chili Powder, Sugar, Salt, Onion Powder, Garlic, Xantan Gum.
Label/Packaging: This label is eye catching. It has a lot going on, but it is interesting. The skull in the background looks menacing. It comes with a warning right on the label. It also says all natural no extracts, I like that. So far so good.
Appearance/Aroma: The appearance is a nice reddish-orange color, a little on the runny side, and I can see seeds. The aroma is very strong of vinegar. It smells sweet but the vinegar is a little overpowering so you can barely make out the peppers.
Body of Review:
After reading the ingredients of this sauce, I am expecting a very vinegary almost Louisiana style sauce. While it is vinegary, it is nothing like Louisiana sauces. This sauce is hard to explain. It does have the tang of the apple cider vinegar, but it also has the heat on the back end. I thought the tomatoes would be more prevalent, but it's really just vinegar and peppers. I have not had a Bhut Jolokia mash yet, but this is what I imagine it tastes like. The heat is first in the throat, then the sides and tip of the tongue. Not searing, not scorching, but plenty enough to know it's there. After repeated tastes on a spoon I feel a little sweat starting. For the masses this will be plenty hot enough. I find that people, myself included, either love vinegar-based sauces or do not. While I am not a huge fan of them normally, I love the taste of this one. Maybe it's because it's apple cider vinegar, maybe its because of the taste of the ghost pepper, but I like it. The consistency is where I see some flaws in this sauce. I think it's a bit too runny, which doesn't surprise me as water is the number one ingredient and vinegar number two. My other issue is that I am getting bits of hard seeds in there. I don't know, maybe if it were processed longer or cooked longer that would eliminate them. When I tasted this sauce the first time I immediately thought this would make a good wing sauce. Let's see how it turned out.
Heat Level: 7
Applications: I mixed half the bottle with 3 tbls of butter and some seasoned salt. All I can say was when mixed this way the only thing The TearJerker had me crying about was the lack of heat. When eating it straight the heat is there, but mixed with butter, not so much. I would recommend it more as a dipping sauce or condiment, though it did give the wings a nice tang. I ended up adding some Scorpion powder to bump up the heat and then it tasted pretty good.
Appearance Score: 4.5
Aroma Score: 4
Taste Score: 4.5
Mouthfeel Score: 3.5
Heat Accuracy Score: 4
Overall Score: 4.1
Notes: The aroma, heat, and appearance of this sauce are good. The taste is terrific. The mouthfeel/texture is the real downfall for me with the seeds. I'd also like to see it a little thicker and maybe just a touch hotter. However, there is a Black Label XXX version that probably takes care of that. Overall, if you like vinegar-based sauces, give it a try.
