First, I recommend this article in The Smithsonian, The Gut-Wrenching Science Behind the World’s Hottest Peppers. Recently due to my foolishness I took a teaspoon of Dave’s Ultimate Insanity Sauce. The problem is that though my tongue has developed a very high tolerance to capsaicin, my stomach has not. Tasting a teaspoon of Dave’s Ultimate was actually tolerable in regards to the sensation in my mouth, but my stomach did not agree.
With that out of the way, for the past few months I’ve been sampling seven purportedly very hot sauces with a group of friends on various dishes. The seven are:
- CaJohn’s Trinidad Scorpion Hot Sauce
- Dave’s Original Insanity Hot Sauce
- Dave’s Ghost Pepper Naga Jolokia Hot Sauce
- Dave’s Ultimate Insanity Hot Sauce
- Mad Dog 357 Ghost Pepper Hot Sauce
- Melinda’s Naga Jolokia
- Pure Habanero
I will give each hot sauce up to 10 points, broken down by 5 points for spice and 5 points for taste.
Dave’s Original Insanity Hot Sauce gets 6.5, 4.5 for spice, and 2 for taste. These sauces are the real deal in terms of industrial scale heat, but they often lack subtle flavor or texture, and exhibit an almost chemical sensation. Hot, yes. Delicious, not so much.
Dave’s Ultimate Insanity Hot Sauce gets 7. Like the Original, but with 5 points for spice. To be frank I didn’t find this sauce much spicier than the Original, but my tolerance might be cranked up.
Dave’s Ghost Pepper Naga Jolokia Hot Sauce goes up to 7.5. It’s not as spicy as the first two, with a 4, but the flavor is also a 3.5. This actually tastes like a sauce, rather than an emulsion of capsaicin in oils. The flavor is astringent and simple. The ingredients highlight garlic pulp and I can believe it.
Melinda’s Naga Jolokia get’s a 7.5. 4.5 for flavor, and a 3 on spice. Melinda’s has a mild sour taste which slams you at the same time as the spice, and the garlic and carrot leave you with vegetable and aromatic aftertastes. This is a delicious sauce indeed.
Pure Habanero is also a 7.5. It’s a little spicier than Melinda’s, but not as flavorful. 3.5 for spice and 4 for flavor. I would say that its taste is simpler and less complex. I doubt it is “pure” habanero, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the range of ingredients is far smaller than Melinda‘s (I couldn’t find them listed on the bottle).
Mad Dog 357 Ghost Pepper Hot Sauce ranks at a 6.5. It balances heat and flavor, 3.5 and 3 respectively. But I have to say that the simple vinegar and sweet complement to the spice doesn’t do much for me.
CaJohn’s Trinidad Scorpion Hot Sauce is a 7. 3.5 for both flavor and spice. It remind’s me of Mad Dog 357, but the vinegar and sweet are muted by the addition of tomato.
I’ll probably order Melinda’s Naga Jolokia, Pure Habanero, and Dave’s Ghost Pepper Naga Jolokia Hot Sauce again. I’m looking for more sauces to taste, so put in your recommendations below.
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