Yesterday afternoon I arrived home to see a package on my floor! This package contained PexPeppers' Blackberry Supernova sauce, Revenge BBQ, and some other goodies. Today I will be reviewing the Blackberry Supernova.
First off, the packing job Pex does on his products is fantastic. Each bottle was wrapped in it's own sealed air-cushioned bag. I really appreciate the extra time taken to ensure that I don't get a soggy box delivered to my door.
Color & Appearance:
Oh boy the color. From inside the bottle in bad lighting it looks simply like a deep red sauce, but once you pour the sauce onto a spoon you can really see the purple hue come into play. It is a gorgeous almost ripe plum color that really pops out on a white spoon. I imagine this would be extremely provocative over a slice of cheesecake. Little bits of pepper and crushed seeds move around the bottle as you shake the sauce. This reminds me of watch NesQuik in my chocolate milk as a kid. This happens only temporarily as the sauce is obviously thicker than milk, and thankfully so!
On the Nose:
When smelling this sauce the first sensation is an immediate sting on the nasal passage ways that works it's way into your sinuses if you take a deep breath. However, shortly after this feeling you get the sense of a citrus element and floral honey. Much like the HornetBomb Sauce I reviewed previously. The smell lingers in your sinuses and the smell permeates to your throat if you take multiple deep breaths. You can feel the heat where ever the smell "sticks to". The smell's flavors travel well, and the fruity-sweet elements can be smelled from a foot away before the pour.
Texture:
Very smooth save for some fine pepper pulp and the occasional seed fragment. Pours extremely easy after shaking. Coats the inside of the bottle after being shaken, allowing small pieces of pepper to stick to the side and leaving a film wherever it touches. Feels smooth between the fingers, and almost immediately makes your skin tingle.
Heat Profile:
1st Spoonful - Immediate Habanero type heat that attacks the roof of your mouth and the center-back of your tongue. This begins to subside after a minute or so
2nd Spoonful - surprisingly this mellows the heat from the sauce, and changes the heat profile. It brings the heat to the back of the throat, and allows more of the flavors to come through on the tongue.
3rd spoonful - Increases the intensity of the burn and allows you to get a major endorphin rush if you do not have a tolerance built up
4th+ Spoonful - not recoomended, no additional flavor is brought out, and the heat profile doesn't change, save for intensifying the heat and prolonging the exposure. After consuming 7+ spoonfuls of sauce trying to identify a flavor I can honestly say this is about 20% short of having the heat of a mild superhot.
Flavor Profile:
This sauce has a very deep, and complex flavor that takes multiple spoonfuls to fully appreciate. On the front there is an immediate 7-Pot flavor that fills the mouth for a short period before the heat comes in. As the heat mellows the first flavor the come through is a mellow sweetness, which I attribute to the blackberries and honey Pex uses. As the sweetness from the honey fades a warming sense comes up the back of the throat and into the sinuses and the smell of flowers and a very slight citrus note is present. The blackberry flavor is muted in the background in this busy palette. The busy palette is completed with a deep savory tone that isn't found in any of the ingredients he lists. I endured 7 spoonfuls to come to the conclusion with Pex that it is probably the honey and blackberries mingling to create a savory undertone.
On the Finish:
As you come down from the heat, and the other flavors start to leave you...take a deep breath and exhale over your tongue. You will not be disappointed. This sauce has the finishing aroma of a dessert wine. Savory and sweet on the back & tip of the tongue.
Overall:
This is a super complex sauce with a pleasantly busy palette and a heavy hitting heat level.
Heat: 8.5/10
Flavor: 8/10
Note: I would have given this sauce a 9/10 on flavor had the blackberries been more prevalent.
Let me know if ya'll would like to start seeing some video reviews. It might be worth investing into a Video Camera.
Cheers!
First off, the packing job Pex does on his products is fantastic. Each bottle was wrapped in it's own sealed air-cushioned bag. I really appreciate the extra time taken to ensure that I don't get a soggy box delivered to my door.
Color & Appearance:
Oh boy the color. From inside the bottle in bad lighting it looks simply like a deep red sauce, but once you pour the sauce onto a spoon you can really see the purple hue come into play. It is a gorgeous almost ripe plum color that really pops out on a white spoon. I imagine this would be extremely provocative over a slice of cheesecake. Little bits of pepper and crushed seeds move around the bottle as you shake the sauce. This reminds me of watch NesQuik in my chocolate milk as a kid. This happens only temporarily as the sauce is obviously thicker than milk, and thankfully so!
On the Nose:
When smelling this sauce the first sensation is an immediate sting on the nasal passage ways that works it's way into your sinuses if you take a deep breath. However, shortly after this feeling you get the sense of a citrus element and floral honey. Much like the HornetBomb Sauce I reviewed previously. The smell lingers in your sinuses and the smell permeates to your throat if you take multiple deep breaths. You can feel the heat where ever the smell "sticks to". The smell's flavors travel well, and the fruity-sweet elements can be smelled from a foot away before the pour.
Texture:
Very smooth save for some fine pepper pulp and the occasional seed fragment. Pours extremely easy after shaking. Coats the inside of the bottle after being shaken, allowing small pieces of pepper to stick to the side and leaving a film wherever it touches. Feels smooth between the fingers, and almost immediately makes your skin tingle.
Heat Profile:
1st Spoonful - Immediate Habanero type heat that attacks the roof of your mouth and the center-back of your tongue. This begins to subside after a minute or so
2nd Spoonful - surprisingly this mellows the heat from the sauce, and changes the heat profile. It brings the heat to the back of the throat, and allows more of the flavors to come through on the tongue.
3rd spoonful - Increases the intensity of the burn and allows you to get a major endorphin rush if you do not have a tolerance built up
4th+ Spoonful - not recoomended, no additional flavor is brought out, and the heat profile doesn't change, save for intensifying the heat and prolonging the exposure. After consuming 7+ spoonfuls of sauce trying to identify a flavor I can honestly say this is about 20% short of having the heat of a mild superhot.
Flavor Profile:
This sauce has a very deep, and complex flavor that takes multiple spoonfuls to fully appreciate. On the front there is an immediate 7-Pot flavor that fills the mouth for a short period before the heat comes in. As the heat mellows the first flavor the come through is a mellow sweetness, which I attribute to the blackberries and honey Pex uses. As the sweetness from the honey fades a warming sense comes up the back of the throat and into the sinuses and the smell of flowers and a very slight citrus note is present. The blackberry flavor is muted in the background in this busy palette. The busy palette is completed with a deep savory tone that isn't found in any of the ingredients he lists. I endured 7 spoonfuls to come to the conclusion with Pex that it is probably the honey and blackberries mingling to create a savory undertone.
On the Finish:
As you come down from the heat, and the other flavors start to leave you...take a deep breath and exhale over your tongue. You will not be disappointed. This sauce has the finishing aroma of a dessert wine. Savory and sweet on the back & tip of the tongue.
Overall:
This is a super complex sauce with a pleasantly busy palette and a heavy hitting heat level.
Heat: 8.5/10
Flavor: 8/10
Note: I would have given this sauce a 9/10 on flavor had the blackberries been more prevalent.
Let me know if ya'll would like to start seeing some video reviews. It might be worth investing into a Video Camera.
Cheers!
