Review Bites - Alaskan Umami Sauce, Heatseekers Hot Embers & Smokey Jolokia Steak Sauce, and HBD 1542
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There is no specific theme to this installment of Review Bites, as all four of the spicy products covered are very different from one another. I review the thick and pungent Sweet & Spicy Hot Alaskan Umami Sauce; the delightful and brow-wiping hot Heatseekers Chilli Smokey Jolokia Original Steak Sauce; the tongue-singing Heatseekers Chilli Hot Embers habanero and bhut jolokia spice mix; and final of their super-hot pepper series, Heartbreaking Dawns 1542 Chocolate Habanero Sauce. For those of you who read these introductions before you dive into the reviews, I'll just spoil the surprise for you and state that I recommend all of these flavor enhancers to a certain degree. Merely read on to find out the details on each one...
Sweet & Spicy Hot Alaskan Umami Sauce
Ingredients:
Brown sugar, cayenne pepper sauce (Cayenne peppers, vinegar, water, salt and garlic powder), vinegar, minced garlic, pure sesame oil, unsulphured molasses, granulated garlic, granulated onion, cayenne, pepper, and sea salt
Thoughts:
For those of you in the know, "umami" is the fifth type of taste detectable on your taste buds (the others are salt, bitter, sweet and sour). Sweet & Spicy Hot Alaskan Umami Sauce certainly embraces this blanket of umami rather successfully.
But what do the sauce makers consider to be an "umami sauce" or even an "Alaskan sauce"? Hot Alaskan Umami Sauce simply defies most avenues of description. The closest thing it would have similarities to would be an Asian style sauce. I think in all fairness, it would be best just to describe it as it is. It's a thick, brown, sugary ooze that requires a spoon to scoop out of the 8 oz. jar (there is no way this could be extracted from a standard 5 oz. woozy bottle most specialty hot sauces come in). It's dense and smooth; and even though it adheres splendidly to food, it's not sticky like honey or a syrup.
Alright, let's jump to the chase and describe the taste. A quick lick of Sweet & Spicy Hot Alaskan Umami Sauce blasted me away to Garlicland by way of a super-sugary rocket. The flavor and burn from cayennes provided the fuel for this hot ride. The molasses adds a bit of sweet darkness while touches of onion, salt and vinegar give it a perky edge. I feel that this strange and unique sauce may touch on territories associated with Asian sauces, BBQ sauces, and even some chile pepper-infused syrups but this has to be personally tasted to be truly appreciated.
If there are any negatives about the sauce would be that has the potential to be too much. I love intense and bold flavors, and this has them in spades; yet a little of this can go a long way. I could see myself breaking out the Hot Alaskan Umami Sauce every four months, but in everyday usage? Probably not.
Rating: 
Website: http://www.alaskasweetandspicy.com
Heatseekers Chilli Smokey Jolokia Original Steak Sauce
Ingredients:
Vinegar, Apple, Water, Onion, Sultanas, Chillies: Chipotles (smoked Jalapeno) & Bhut Jolokia, Fresh Lime Juice, Sugar, Salt, Worcestershire Sauce, Soy Sauce and Spices. (Contains Wheat and Soya Beans)
Thoughts:
Here's a LONG overdue review for Candice Burns and her Wildfire Chilli from Australia (who also makes hot sauce and seasonings under the Heatseekers moniker), but I think it is well worth waiting for.
Texture and consistency it's a fairly thick blend, has a lovely brown color with a semi-pulpy mix and is accented with oodles of seeds. What's the taste like? Smokey Jolokia Original is a REALLY delicious sauce! Without exaggeration it's one of the most flavorful steak sauces I've ever put in my mouth. A stand-alone nibble of the stuff reveals smokey, oniony, and sweet notes, medium tartness from vinegar with a vibrant, dark chile pepper flavor. A touch of fruitiness from the apple adds a welcome complexity. A few seconds in, a fierce-some fire builds up until a minor inferno engulfs your tongue. Bravo! When it comes to yumminess and intense heat, this product is nearly perfect.
Rating: 
Website: http://wildfirechilli.com.au/products/Smokey_Jolokia_Original-68-2.html
Heatseekers Chilli Hot Embers
Ingredients:
Natural Lake Salt, Chillies: Habanero (11.5%), Bhut Jolokia (10%), Garlic, Onion, Paprika, Moroccan Spice
Thoughts:
Here's another product from Candice Burns. Hot Embers is an incendiary chile pepper-based seasoning mix that smells lightly smokey and salty. The aroma is sort of misleading as this stuff contains some heavy-duty fire fire! Upon first taste, you get gentle doses of mainly salt and garlic, with a touch of smokiness and then the habanero and bhut jolokia-derived heat comes at you like a 500 lb. sledgehammer several seconds into the bite. The burn hits your mouth in different spots not normally covered by most spicy food products, such as the oft-neglected roof of the mouth. Wildfire Chilli claims, "each shaker contains over 15 extremely hot chilli pods" and I don't doubt that statement one single bit.
Heatseekers Chilli Hot Embers is scorching as a topper of hamburger patties, great on mashed potatoes, and scrumptious on grilled vegetables. I threw some Hot Embers and butter in some foil-wrapped corn on the cob and cooked it on the grill...WOW! What a burn! Depending on the level of fire you desire in your food, you may or may not find yourself using a lot of this. I do have to say that a powerful heat steal the shows over flavor, not that the more than competent-enough taste is anything to gripe about.
Rating: 
Website: http://wildfirechilli.com.au/products/Hot_Embers-5-3.html
Heartbreaking Dawns 1542 Chocolate Habanero Sauce
Ingredients:
Chocolate Habanero Peppers, Cider Vinegar, Carrot Concentrate, Water, Onion, Brown Sugar, Garlic, Sea Salt, Cumin, Natural Gum.
Thoughts:
After declaring Heartbreaking Dawns' 1841 Ghost Pepper Sauce and 1498 Trinidad Scorpion Sauce to be in the running for my favorite new sauces of the year, it would be unfair to expect 1542 Chocolate Habanero Sauce, the newest and final sauce in HBD's "super-hot" lineup of hotties, to reach the zenith-level heights achieved by the other two, therefore I won't directly compare them.
On it's own terms, Heartbreaking Dawns 1542 Chocolate Habanero Sauce is a really good south of the border style hot sauce. Those familiar with CaJohn's excellent Oaxacan Hot Sauce - which is, by a crude definition, a hot sauce that is like a delicious, liquid taco seasoning - may find 1542 to be an amped-up version of that. Strong notes of cumin, garlic, onion and chocolate habs permeate the light brown-tinted, medium-thin consistency blend. It's really the sweet tones courtesy of the brown sugar, cider vinegar and carrots that give it a yummy boast over the aforementioned Oaxacan.
How about on food? It's a no-brainer that this would excel on fajitas, tacos or nachos. It would work seamlessly in a big bowl of meaty chili, giving the dish heat without compromising the taste. Heck, you could even throw some in some ground beef, beans, diced onion and shredded cheese in a pot with a bottle of 1542 and call it a day; you may be able to win a few chili cook-offs in the process. All kidding aside, 1542 could be a candidate for an all-purpose southwest sauce. While it's not perfect, it packs mighty power and a nice burn on the tongue.
Rating: 
Website: http://www.heartbreakingdawns.com/products/1542-Chocolate-Habanero-Sauce.html
Related Articles:
Spicy Food Reviews - Hot Sauce Reviews, Hot Snacks, Hot Wings, Seasonings, BBQ Sauces, Condiments, and More
Comments
2011-07-21 00:56:07
2011-07-21 12:03:14
2011-07-21 12:21:05
2011-07-21 16:47:01
2012-04-11 19:43:39
So now I can't wait until I can get some more in... I cannot wait to try some on some chicken and my own homemade spanish rice recipe -- something I know it will be good with.
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