Guest post: Hot sauce reviewes!

This post is written by Martin, my hot sauce loving boyfriend. 

During the past months I have felt an increasing need for exploring the world of very hot food. Diving into this part of food culture seem to me like entering the role playing nerd basement of food, crammed with fat men in geeky t-shirts and women dressed in gothic style clothes, all with a burning desires for sour lips and aching throats. Probably just my strange preception, but nevertheless an irresistable longing for me.

When we visited the U.S we happened on a sauce shop in Friday Harbor, WA. The Flavour Emporium, run by an old military vet who marched me through a tasting of a variety of different hot sauces. I will here review the three ones I ended up with. Take into consideration that I am still a novice in this field, and what I today might experience as pretty hot might be a breeze in a couple of months.

Wicked Cactus Sauce - Smoking Gun

This sauce comes from the St.Louis-based company Wicked Cactus Sauce and this is one of their least hot sauces. It's a chipotle sauce that contains a very smoky flavour. It has a pretty firm consistency and there are a bunch of pulps hiding in the sauce.

I would say that this is a perfect sauce for marinading or grilling with, as a condiment it's slightly too thick and since it packs such a lovely smoky taste you want that taste to be evenly spread. Don't be afraid to use a hefty quantity of this stuff, the taste won't disappoint and it won't burn you.

Pain is good - Garlic Style Batch #37

Now this sucker is a slightly different matter. While it's not one of those absurdly hot sauces I'd say that most people would experience it very hot. The sauce is based on Habaneros, has a runny feel and apart from the distinct taste of garlic a solid vinegar backdrop. Lots of pulps in there as well.

This sauce doesn't mess around, it comes swinging for you with full force trying to knock your teeth out, but has the redeming factor of the heat not lasting that long. It's my least favourite of the three, but it works well as a spicy condiment and a swirl of this in a stew or chili will put the heat level up a few notches a least.

Vampfire Hot Sauce

Straight from the murky swamps of Louisiana comes this occult sauce. It's a plain concept in my eyes, much like a stronger version of Tabasco. Smooth all through and maybe with the most syntetic taste. It's by far the cheapest of the bunch. I think it lives up to it's name, the heat isn't intense and you have to use quite a lot to feel it, but when it comes creeping upon you, sweat pushing out from your skin, then you know that Dracula is sucking you blood from inside.

Hopefully this will be a reoccuring little guest apperance from me on Fanny's blog, and if there is anyone that enjoy reading about this stuff I will be happy to share more of my ventures into the heat.