The sauce is a thin, orangey-red color, similar to how tomato soup looks, yet it coats very well. There is actually no tomatoes in the sauce.

When smelling Ass in Antarctica Hot Sauce, it is easy to detect slight citrus notes, and very little else. There are hints of staleness, much like that of dried, crushed peppers that have been in storage for far too long, but you can’t bring yourself to trash it, since the cayenne, despite the staleness will most likely retain its heat, and really the heat is one of the cayenne peppers few redeeming values. Continue Reading

If you’re looking at a bottle of Mad Dog 357 Hot Sauce, you’re staring down the barrel of a 357 — literally. That’s what’s on the label, along with a few “bullet holes” and several warning and disclaimers. Not to mention the notification that this sauce reaches 357,000 on the Scoville scale.

As much as I love hot sauce, “This Sauce Is Very Hot — Use It At Your Own Risk” is a warning I take seriously. A quick scan of the ingredients reveals that both habanero and cayenne peppers lurk within — a warning in and of itself. A closer inspection reveals that the cayenne peppers are 160,000 on the Scoville scale. Continue Reading

I told a friend of mine that I was reviewing a hot sauce called Hog’s Ass, and he said, “Is that supposed to be a funny way pronouncing ‘hot sauce’?” I said I hadn’t considered that; to me it was just a funny name. Then he asked me if it tasted like hog’s ass. I’m not sure if he meant a cut of pork butt or something else, but I quickly realized that we were both missing the point. As far as I’m concerned, hot sauces are for dipping, splashing, or cooking; rarely is one very suitable for all three. 

Hog’s Ass Hot Sauce is.

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When the results of the 2010 Scovie Awards, the world’s leading recognition for hot and spicy products, were announced, Chef Wayne Howey of Tropical Island Gourmet was excited to get the call from the competition organizers. Palm Beach Gardens-based Tropical Island Gourmet Co., which distributes a wide assortment of bottled sauces and Spice Blends, has received a First Place 2010 Scovie Award.  In the industry’s most rigorous blind tastings, a panel of the country’s top culinary experts sampled hundreds of the world’s most lauded gourmet foods, and the top scoring products each won a coveted Scovie banner.

First Place in the Medium Hot Sauce category was awarded to Tropical Island Gourmet’s top selling “Fire Ant Juice” which is manufactured by Sauce Crafters  in Riviera Beach Fl.  Over 600 products from around the world competed for top honors.  Continue Reading

What are the hottest peppers and how is it determined which one is the hottest? A method of testing peppers is called the Scoville test. This method of testing a pepper’s pungency units was invented by Wilbur Scoville in 1912. Mr. Scoville determined his test results by taking the extracts of many types of chili peppers and diluting them in a sugared water solution until none of the heat remained. The testing was accomplished by a panel of 5 “judges” who would taste these solutions and then tell Mr. Scoville when they no longer felt any heat. This testing was very subjective as your can imagine and results were not very consistent. The hottest peppers, such as habaneros, have a rating of 300,000 or more, indicating that their extract has to be diluted 300,000-fold before the capsaicin present is unnoticeable.

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The habanero pepper is believed to have originated in Cuba with the name inferring its heritage translating to meaning “from Havana.” You will feel like you just got bit by a snake as the name infers as the heat continues to spread and the fire burns from the habanero. While this isn’t the hottest sauce I have ever tried, it provided a perfect amount of fiery blend. The Snake Bite Hot Sauce is made with crushed tomatoes, distilled vinegar, water, Tabasco, habanero powder, red pepper flakes, cayenne, mustard powder, salt, black pepper and onion powder.

I used the Snake Bite on a few different foods. Because it contained crushed tomatoes, I thought it would be tasty on steak, which it definitely was. It was also a great addition to several Mexican dishes, including chicken enchiladas.

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