GARLIC REAPER

Desert Smoke’s Fiery Hot Sauces has created a ‘Limited Edition’, bright tangy garlic flavored hot sauce that is fueled by the exotic ‘Carolina Reaper’ pepper. Those of you in the know know the Carolina Reaper pepper takes no prisoners in the heat department.  Heat Hot Sauce Shop is an exclusive distributer of Desert Smoke products. Dylan & Becky the owners, have asked me to take the Garlic Reaper sauce out on a taste spin. I love garlic and I love the heat and fire of the Reaper pepper. This should be fun.

Ingredients:

Garlic, Carolina Reaper chile, basil, sea salt, vinegar, sugar and xanthan Gum are the listed ingredients. I like the short list of ingredients. Sometimes less is better. They also throw in the claim that this sauce is Gluten Free.

Aroma & Texture:

Pop the top and here we go. Beautiful, wonderful garlic greets your senses with a fresh burst of aroma. In the background a faint smell of vinegar teases. The texture is fluid and exits the bottle freely. The color is of pale creamy garlic. If you look very closely you will see some very tiny flakes of Reaper pepper throughout.

Taste:

There is no surprise here. Garlic, Garlic, Garlic is the word today.  There is sweetness and freshness to this garlic burst of flavor. The sugar, sea salt and tangy vinegar balance this mixture to make a pleasing sauce. Hey wait a minute. I forgot the Carolina Reaper pepper component to this sauce. I mention this now because it comes later in your tasting experience. The Carolina Reaper pepper is used sparingly in this sauce. It does add some heat and Reaper flavor but is not dangerously hot.

Heat:

Carolina Reaper peppers are exotic and are some of the hottest peppers grown. They are used in restraint in this sauce and will only tip the heat meter to 2 stars out of 5.

Label:

Desert Smoke has a signature label for all of their sauces. The top is blazoned with a Southwest flair logo and a bright font below stating the type of sauce.   It is fairly plain but is sooth on the eyes and will catch your attention on the shelf.  There is a warning label stating: “Extremely Hot Handle with Care”

Food:

Our first food endeavor, to sample, the ‘Garlic Reaper ‘sauce was with a deep dish pizza. The garlic flavor shines and stars in this sauce. It added a garlicky boost that made me break out into song: “When a moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie………… That’s amore!!!!” I jest but this was fantastic.
   Pork chops and stuffing are one of our favorite go to dishes. The balance of garlic, sweet and heat gave our chops a flavor boost that way yummy delicious.
Lastly we tried the Garlic Reaper with some guaniciale and ravioli. Pasta screams for garlic and this sauce delivers. The Carolina Reaper heat is a welcome gentle heat blast to any Chileheads meal. I will not break out into song but I could.

Overall:

Do you love garlic? Do you love Carolina Reaper pepper flavor and heat? If you answered yes to any of these questions Garlic Reaper is a fantastic sauce combining these two flavors into a harmonious blend. The key to any sauce is balance. This sauce has all the right moves with its mix of garlic, salt, tangy vinegar and an added bonus of exotic Carolina Reaper peppers. Pizza, pork chops with stuffing and lastly guanciale & raviolis all got a flavor boost with Garlic Reaper sauce. This sauce works with anything you might like a garlic boost. We here at the Chilebrown household love Garlic Reaper sauce. It will not last long.  You can order Desert Smoke’s Garlic Reaper Sauce directly from Heat Hot Sauce Shop. They have a fantastic deal on shipping that you may want to take advantage of.

Heat Hot Sauce Shop
http://heathotsauce.com/collections/vendors?q=Desert%20Smoke

1922 Martin Luther King Jr. Way
Berkeley, Cal. 94704
510 849-1048