Scott, the owner/creator of Lucky Dog Hot Sauce was nice enough to send me bottles of the hot sauce that he has been working on and will be putting into production in the near future. He has two varieties, which go by Orange Label and Green Label. They have a real cool label and the tagline of "Foods Best Friend" is quite appropriate! Scott put a note in with the package and mentioned that although these are the final recipes, he used only mild cayennes for the dried component, while the final recipe calls for a mix of mild and hot cayennes, so it will have a little more bite to it. Thanks for sending me these sauces! Here's a review.
Green Label
Ingredients: Vinegar, Fire-Roasted Hot Peppers, Roasted Garlic, Onions, Carrots, Salt, Sugar, Dried Hot Peppers, & Lime.
After opening the bottle and giving it a smell, I was greeted by a nice, smoky, chipotle-like aroma. The pepper composition is apple wood smoked Jalapeño and Serrano, complimented by dried Cayennes. I can already tell I'm going to enjoy this. I shook some out onto a spoon; the consistency is like a fairly thick puree. It's definitely not thin, but I didn't have a problem getting it out of the bottle and onto a spoon. You can see some pepper flakes and seeds (I'm told that the seeds won't be visible in the final production) .
Now for the taste test. Wow! This is an treat for my taste buds. I'm immediately hit with a dose of sweet, smoky green peppers and roasted garlic. This is vinegar based, but the flavors really shine through and don't make me feel like I'm sipping on a bottle of distilled vinegar. I can taste a little bit of lime juice too; its quite subtle, and tastes like fresh squeezed juice. As far as heat, there's some there, but its not very spicy (in chilehead terms). I'd peg it somewhere around a medium to hot store bought salsa in terms of heat. The heat that you do get lingers nicely on the lips for about 5-10 minutes.
After tasting this sauce the first thing I thought was how great this would be on tacos. The smoky, roasted garlic flavor would be the perfect compliment for chicken or pork tacos, enchiladas, or fajitas. It would also work very well with grilled chicken or pork chops.
Overall this is a very very delicious, flavorful sauce. This 5 oz bottle will be gone the next time I make southwestern or Mexican food...if it lasts that long.
Orange Label
Ingredients: Vinegar, Fire-Roasted Hot Peppers, Roasted Garlic, Onions, Carrots, Salt, Sugar, Dried Hot Peppers & Lime.
This sauce uses virtually the same ingredients as the Green Label sauce, except that it has Habanero Peppers and uses a base of cider vinegar (Green Label uses white vinegar). The smell reminds me of a rich, fire roasted salsa. These peppers weren't apple smoked, so I have a feeling this will be more of a versatile sauce that will work with virtually any food. The consistency is quite similar to the Green Label, a fairly thick puree.
After tasting this sauce, you can definitely tell there's Habs in there. I got a nice mouthburn that hangs on for a few minutes, but isn't overpowering, which is good, because too much heat would ruin the flavors of this sauce. The dominant flavors in this are fire-roasted peppers, garlic, and a distinct tone of carrot that I didn't taste at all in the Green Label.
Fireroasting the peppers really adds depth that makes this sauce good for all-around use. Although I enjoy hot sauces that use fruit to add complexity and balance the heat, they are sometimes limited in application. This sauce is something that I will use for everything from Pizza to Burgers to Fettucine Alfredo.
Green Label
Ingredients: Vinegar, Fire-Roasted Hot Peppers, Roasted Garlic, Onions, Carrots, Salt, Sugar, Dried Hot Peppers, & Lime.
After opening the bottle and giving it a smell, I was greeted by a nice, smoky, chipotle-like aroma. The pepper composition is apple wood smoked Jalapeño and Serrano, complimented by dried Cayennes. I can already tell I'm going to enjoy this. I shook some out onto a spoon; the consistency is like a fairly thick puree. It's definitely not thin, but I didn't have a problem getting it out of the bottle and onto a spoon. You can see some pepper flakes and seeds (I'm told that the seeds won't be visible in the final production) .
Now for the taste test. Wow! This is an treat for my taste buds. I'm immediately hit with a dose of sweet, smoky green peppers and roasted garlic. This is vinegar based, but the flavors really shine through and don't make me feel like I'm sipping on a bottle of distilled vinegar. I can taste a little bit of lime juice too; its quite subtle, and tastes like fresh squeezed juice. As far as heat, there's some there, but its not very spicy (in chilehead terms). I'd peg it somewhere around a medium to hot store bought salsa in terms of heat. The heat that you do get lingers nicely on the lips for about 5-10 minutes.
After tasting this sauce the first thing I thought was how great this would be on tacos. The smoky, roasted garlic flavor would be the perfect compliment for chicken or pork tacos, enchiladas, or fajitas. It would also work very well with grilled chicken or pork chops.
Overall this is a very very delicious, flavorful sauce. This 5 oz bottle will be gone the next time I make southwestern or Mexican food...if it lasts that long.
Orange Label
Ingredients: Vinegar, Fire-Roasted Hot Peppers, Roasted Garlic, Onions, Carrots, Salt, Sugar, Dried Hot Peppers & Lime.
This sauce uses virtually the same ingredients as the Green Label sauce, except that it has Habanero Peppers and uses a base of cider vinegar (Green Label uses white vinegar). The smell reminds me of a rich, fire roasted salsa. These peppers weren't apple smoked, so I have a feeling this will be more of a versatile sauce that will work with virtually any food. The consistency is quite similar to the Green Label, a fairly thick puree.
After tasting this sauce, you can definitely tell there's Habs in there. I got a nice mouthburn that hangs on for a few minutes, but isn't overpowering, which is good, because too much heat would ruin the flavors of this sauce. The dominant flavors in this are fire-roasted peppers, garlic, and a distinct tone of carrot that I didn't taste at all in the Green Label.
Fireroasting the peppers really adds depth that makes this sauce good for all-around use. Although I enjoy hot sauces that use fruit to add complexity and balance the heat, they are sometimes limited in application. This sauce is something that I will use for everything from Pizza to Burgers to Fettucine Alfredo.
