I think the Carolina Reaper looks like a primo. However, the creator Ed Curry has reportedly been clear that previous to seeing the tail / stinger on his creation he had never before seen a pepper
"Currie knew he had something special as soon as he laid eyes on the Reaper—it was the first pepper he’d even seen with a stinger." - http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/09/so-god-made-the-worlds-hottest-pepper/279749/
Kind of a weird thing to say because the Carolina Reaper displaced the Butch T Scorpion in the Guinness World Record category for hottest pepper in the world and the Butch T has stinger. So do other scorpion peppers. Kind of why they are named scorpion peppers.
papadaca said:
DO you all think this is a cross between a Bhot Jolokia and a red Hab?
No I do not. In fact, I have had a great laugh at watching that information get changed at Wikipedia (along with the name of the pepper). Someone is clearly playing games. The Wikipedia account keeps changing. It is really kind of funny though because Ed Curry's account seems to change, Puckerbutt distributor's view seem to change, and the Media has made some of the most insane claims. Here are a few that I have found.
“This is a variety developed by selective breeding, between a red Habanero and a Naga from Pakistan by Ed Currie and PuckerButt Pepper Company of Rock Hill, SC. - http://www.chileseeds.co.uk/products/smokin-eds-carolina-reaper-5.php
As the above source is using the trade marked name, I -think- they are in contract with Puckerbutt and likely have the best information. As I recall, the naga from Pakistan was one of the earliest claims.
“I will say that they are Asian/Sub-Asian descent and both are HOT” – From an Interview with Ed Currie
India is part of Asia, so I guess the bhut part fits this one. But I am none too sure a person would think Asia or Sub-Asia when they think Habanero. Also, although most people consider Habs hot I am none too sure that in the context of discussing the worlds hottest pepper that a person would use all caps on the word HOT to describe a habanero. Just seems at the lower end of the super hots. So no, I do not think a habanero was in the mix cause the creator seems to say it was not.
“It was by trying to grow a sweet pepper that Currie claims he accidentally created the world’s hottest.” - From an Interview with Ed Currie
On the other hand, Mr. Curry has been clear that he was not trying to create the world's hottest pepper. He was trying to create a sweet pepper, not a hot pepper at all. So why would he use hot peppers at all in that effort?
“I said I was going to grow the hottest pepper in the world and that I was going to cure cancer,” - From an interview with Ed Currie
That quote is especially confusing because he was speaking about the Carolina Reaper. So now we have he was trying to make a sweet pepper and he was trying to make the hottest pepper in the world.
“Ed Currie took a sweet hot pepper from the Caribbean and worked to make it hotter.” - From an interview with Ed Currie
That quote could apply to a habanero, but it kind of sounds like line breeding / selective breeding more than cross breeding, so it kind of bumps the Bhut you asked about. A side note to this quote is I had no idea the Caribbean was in Asia and Sub-Asia. Oh well, live and learn.
“They were a Soufriere pepper from the Caribbean island of St. Vincent and a Naga pepper from Pakistan” - From an Interview with Ed Currie.
OK, now we are in both the Caribbean and South Asia. But this confuses the hell out of me because Soufriere is a town on Saint Lucia Island, not Saint Vincent.
“It is a hybrid between a Habanero and Naga Viper, both of the Capsicum Chinese family.” - From a contracted distributor of Puckerbutt Pepper Company
Now the Habanero theory is back, but the Bhut is right out. Also right out are any claims of the other pepper being from Asia, Sub Asia, or anywhere really. You see the Naga Viper was created in England. Another odd thing is that if I am doing math right, the Naga Viper did not yet exist when Mr. Curry has said he first bred the Carolina Reaper. So thinking he might want to let this contracted distributor know they got a thing or two wrong. Like the name of his pepper, the copyright term, and the word is chinense not Chinese. See why this issue is so confusing?
“His record-breaking Carolina Reaper has been ten years in the making, having meticulously worked on stabilising [SIC] and testing the pepper, which is a crossing between Sweet Habanero and Naga Viper chillies. ” - From Guinness World Records
Now you might be thinking the distributor got it wrong, but why on earth would Guinness World Records get it wrong?
I could continue, but I think my point has been made. I do not believe the Carolina Reaper is a cross between a Hab and a Bhut because I have no reason to believe such. Almost every source contradicts another. This includes Guinness World Records, Contracted Distributors, major media sources and Ed Currie himself.
Winston Churchill described Russia as: “ a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma”. That is how I have come to think of the Carolina Reaper Pepper. Love the pepper. Have no ill will towards its creator. Curing cancer great. Just confused as hell by the contradictions.