Melinda's Naga Jolokia Pepper Sauce Review

I'm a big fan of the ghost pepper. In fact, this afternoon I made myself a burrito with my favorite ingredients: large flour tortilla, Meijer fat free refried bean, cheddar cheese, egg beaters whites and about a half ounce of  Dave's Ghost Pepper Hot Sauce.  Needless to say this burrito caused mile hallucinations - the proverbial "red ghost". Ok, now I'm getting off track. Time for the hot sauce review!


Given my intense love for peppers that also substitute as elephant deterrent and military grade weapons naturally I was quite enthusiastic when I came across a bottle of Melinda's Naga Jolokia Hot Sauce, which claims to be the "World's Hottest" on the side of the bottle (it's not). 


The bottom line is that while Melinda's is certainly hot, my review would rate it only about 3 out of 5 stars for the following reasons:

• Naga Jolokia peppers are the #1 ingredient. This is a must. The sauce is certainly hot. I dare you to take a 1/2 ounce shooter and not feel the pain. 
• It goes down hill from there; the next ingredients (in order) are: carrots, papayas, lime juice and vinegar (and also passion fruit and citric acid). What?! While a splash of those elements in my Bloody Mary might suffice to make the drink unique, it ends of giving the sauce a citrusy taste that I personally do not find desirable. 
• It's a product of Costa Rica! Perhaps this explains the fruit cocktail blend? I want my ghost peppers from Bangladesh and India!
• Overall  Melinda's Naga Jolokia Hot Sauce is interesting and worth a try. It is not as spicy as Dave's Ghost Pepper Sauce. 
• One thing that really baffles me is that on their website they refer to it as "Melinda's Naga Jolokia Habanero Pepper Sauce". There are NO HABANEROS in it!

Try Melinda's Naga Jolokia Hot Sauce if you dare!





Scoville Units: 577,000

Dave's Naga Jolokia Ghost Pepper Hot Sauce Review

Ok, admittedly I have never been a fan of Dave's Insanity Sauce. Granted, it has its perks: you must wash your hands after touching and it makes death seem like a desirable alternative to suffering through the pain of a spoonful. However, I've never thought much of the flavor, nor that it complimented any food particularly well.

That said, my heart skipped a few beats when I unwrapped a bottle of Dave's Naga Jolokia Ghost Pepper Hot Sauce for Christmas. Apparently my father does not think much of his son to purchase him death in a bottle in memorial of Christ's birthday.

Here is my review of Dave's Ghost Pepper Hot Sauce:

1. The #1 ingredient is Naga Jolokia (Bhut Jolokia/Ghost) peppers, which are some of the hottest peppers in the entire world. How amazing is it that  a Ghost Pepper sauce is becoming mainstream in the US!!?
2. There are only six ingredients, which include salt, oil and roasted garlic - all of which make the flavor enjoyable certainly relative to Dave's Insanity Sauce. 
3. The texture is thick and satisfying and there appear to be NO ARTIFICIAL COLORS!

Overall my review would be to give Dave's Ghost Pepper Hot Sauce 4.5 out of 5 stars. The flavor is good, the burn is completely intense (and it sticks) and I absolutely love that Dave's would help to popularize death peppers in the states! Unlike habanero sauces, which better compliment Mexican and Latin American foods, I would recommend using it sparingly on Asian foods, such as stir fry. It may compliment Thai as well as the burn is sustained for quite a long period after consuming. 

Try it if you dare:

Dave's Ghost Pepper Naga Jolokia Hot Sauce 5oz

Scoville Units: 650,000 (yikes!)

CaJohns Select Habanero Puree Sauce Review

Recently I purchased CaJohns Select Orange Habanero Puree at Spice Merchants in Traverse City, Michigan while I was doing some Christmas Shopping with my lovely wife. With a sticker price of $9.99 this certainly was not the cheapest hot sauce, however what attracted me to this particular bottle were a few things:

1. The bottle (image below) was simple, attractive and allowed the customer to see how thick the sauce was.
2. There were only FOUR ingredients: Habanero Chiles, Distilled Vinegar, Citric Acid & Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), to preserve color. 
3. It was the only habanero sauce in the store (makes it easy to stand out in a crowd, huh?)

You are probably going to laugh at me when I say this, but despite eating habanero hot sauces for many years, I always get a little bit of nervous tension before I try a new sauce. I think crazy things like, "Oh my God, what if I can't take it!". I should know better. 

While the CaJohns Select Orange Habanero Puree does not have as good of a flavor as the El Yucateco XXXtra Hot Kutbil-ik Habanero Hot Sauce, it is extremely satisfying. My review of CaJohns Select Orange Habanero Puree would be to give it 4.5 out of 5 stars!The flavor is of pure, freshly diced habaneros and with NO WATER, the has an extremely satisfying thickness (it almost comes out in chunks so watch it when you pour into your burritos or salsa!). 

You can order it on Amazon. Based on flavor, texture and freshness I would strongly recommend:

CaJohns Select Orange Habanero Puree

El Yucateco Exxxtra Picante Salsa Kutbil-ik-de Chile Habanero Sauce Review

If you are a fan of the hottest hot sauces then you've no doubt seen the milder "commercial" El Yucateco brand sauces at your local grocery store. There are three versions that are sold commercially that I have seen, the   El Yucateco Red Habanero Hot Sauce (Habanera Roja), the El Yucateco Green Chile Habanero Hot Sauce and the El Yucateco Chipotle Hot Sauce.

About two years ago I went on a hot sauce experimentation binge trying to locate the hottest hot sauce. That is how I stumbled across the  El Yucateco Green Chile Habanero Hot Sauce, which I found to be the most extreme sold in stores. It was really good and it has been very interesting to me that the "green sauce" often comes up in conversations with people I meet (I usually volunteer discussing hot sauces as I'm such a freak about them). 

While the green sauce - weighing in at 9,000 Scoville units - is no lightweight, both in intensity and authentic flavor it is simply crushed by El Yucateca's lesser know brother, the brown El Yucateco XXXtra Hot Kutbil-ik Habanero Hot Sauce. In my opinion the reason that it is sooooo much better must be for two reasons found in the ingredients:

1. The brown habanero sauce's #1 ingredient is habanero peppers, whereas in the green habanero sauce it's water. I don't like my beer watered down so why would I like my habanero sauce watered down?? Ha, truthfully the brown sauce is aesthetically more authentic, thicker and more flavorful.
2. The brown habanero sauce contains tomatoes and what appears to be black pepper, whereas the green does not. 

The bottom line here is that the El Yucateco brown habanero sauce has a better flavor and - at 11,600 Scoville units - leaves your tongue afire yet begging for more.

While the Exxxtra Picante Salsa Kutbil-ik-de Chile Habanero Sauce from El Yucateco may not be the hottest hot sauce there is certainly something to be said for flavor and overall appeal. In this regard the brown habanero sauce remains my favorite hot sauce and I certainly recommend that you try it! My review of El Yucateco XXXtra Hot Kutbil-ik Habanero Hot Sauce would rate it 5 out of 5 stars!

I searched all over and Amazon appears to have in stock and at some of the best prices:

El Yucateco XXXtra Hot Kutbil-ik Mayan Style Habanero Hot Sauce - 4 oz


Try it and let me know what you think!!


Here is what it looks like: