Be careful what you buy while drinking at the bar...
For those not familiar, Hot Ones is a Youtube TV show with an amazing concept; sit down with celebrities who are asked increasing probing questions about their life and career while eating increasingly hot wings. I've always loved the cleverness and ingenuity of the show, and the premise of how to make folks vulnerable.
And so it was, while drinking with a friend after a Kings Island Winterfest visit, we became the proud owners of a Hot Ones Challenge Season 19 Sauce Box:
I shot the video which I'll be foraging through to figure out what of it is even salvagable (lol), but I thought folks might get a kick out of our sauce review!
1. "The Classic": Chili Maple Edition - heat level description: nein - this was pretty good, and did have a fun, sweet zing to it, that I'd liken to hot honey if you've ever tried.
2. Tropiquante - heat level description: noticeable step up with a small flame - probably our least favorite, it had a lot of pineapple/tropical flavor going for it. Might be best applied to non-chicken if I'm honest, such as a steak marinade.
3. Piko Riko - heat level description: yeah we're going down a pathway, aren't we - we quite liked this one, as it was a habanero-style heat with a lot of savory umami mouth feel. If there was a daily driver sauce out of this batch, this is it.
4. Los Calientes Barbacoa - heat level description: this was our first, major heat run-in, and a doubling from the previous sauce (15k to 33k scoville) - I love barbacoa flavor, so it was a hotter edition of a classic flavor. Equally good, tasting sauce; albeit the tears started a bit here.
5. Sichuan Gold - heat level description: weirdly really hot, moreso than we thought - this is the only oil-based sauce in the batch, giving it a duck sauce-feel, something you'd get from Panda Express. It was actually quite good and a fun Asian-inspired heat.
6. Tumeric Bomb - heat level description: this mother ****er right here - you'll catch this one as the first genuine curve ball on the show, and it indeed is a very busy flavor pallet on top of the first, legit "heat", as you enter the back-half of the sauces. It's turmeric heavy, which isn't for everyone - it's definitely the funkiest of flavors, in a kinda good way?
7. Cosmic Disco - heat level description: "The disco is still going in my tummy and I don't like it" - I'll be honest, this was my favorite sauce as it actually tastes quite good, but holy smokes this is the first six digit Scoville sauce, and you notice the heat level going from something fun to play with to causing legitimate pause and process to overcome the heat. Cue the white bread and milk.
8. Da Bomb - heat level description: it indeed, is a bomb, dropped in the pit of your stomach - Yeah, this is just, the hail mary of heat. The sauce itself has a lot of heat-forward flavor, so it's just all of it, hitting, and then continuing. I think that's what makes it such a doozy - the heat doesn't stop. Even from your stomach, you just feel it.
9. Unique Garlique - heat level description: what are heat levels from here on out anyways? - technically this has a Scoville of 642,000 (insane). But the heat is a lot smoother and spread out, so you actually get garlic flavor/time to process. Definitely a better experience than Da Bomb, despite being 6x (!?) hotter.
10. The Last Dab - heat level description: I mean, for real - the only way forward is to dab - Yes, it's just, really ****ing hot, and remaining. Taking my contacts out last night, I got some in my eye, despite having washed my hands immensely and many hours have passed. If you're here, you're here to play.
In summary: I would never say I'm a "spice" guy, though I do like hot food. Our whole gang suffered and triumphed, and it was very fun. Not racing to do it again, but surprised and proud at how well we relatively did!
For those not familiar, Hot Ones is a Youtube TV show with an amazing concept; sit down with celebrities who are asked increasing probing questions about their life and career while eating increasingly hot wings. I've always loved the cleverness and ingenuity of the show, and the premise of how to make folks vulnerable.
And so it was, while drinking with a friend after a Kings Island Winterfest visit, we became the proud owners of a Hot Ones Challenge Season 19 Sauce Box:
I shot the video which I'll be foraging through to figure out what of it is even salvagable (lol), but I thought folks might get a kick out of our sauce review!
1. "The Classic": Chili Maple Edition - heat level description: nein - this was pretty good, and did have a fun, sweet zing to it, that I'd liken to hot honey if you've ever tried.
2. Tropiquante - heat level description: noticeable step up with a small flame - probably our least favorite, it had a lot of pineapple/tropical flavor going for it. Might be best applied to non-chicken if I'm honest, such as a steak marinade.
3. Piko Riko - heat level description: yeah we're going down a pathway, aren't we - we quite liked this one, as it was a habanero-style heat with a lot of savory umami mouth feel. If there was a daily driver sauce out of this batch, this is it.
4. Los Calientes Barbacoa - heat level description: this was our first, major heat run-in, and a doubling from the previous sauce (15k to 33k scoville) - I love barbacoa flavor, so it was a hotter edition of a classic flavor. Equally good, tasting sauce; albeit the tears started a bit here.
5. Sichuan Gold - heat level description: weirdly really hot, moreso than we thought - this is the only oil-based sauce in the batch, giving it a duck sauce-feel, something you'd get from Panda Express. It was actually quite good and a fun Asian-inspired heat.
6. Tumeric Bomb - heat level description: this mother ****er right here - you'll catch this one as the first genuine curve ball on the show, and it indeed is a very busy flavor pallet on top of the first, legit "heat", as you enter the back-half of the sauces. It's turmeric heavy, which isn't for everyone - it's definitely the funkiest of flavors, in a kinda good way?
7. Cosmic Disco - heat level description: "The disco is still going in my tummy and I don't like it" - I'll be honest, this was my favorite sauce as it actually tastes quite good, but holy smokes this is the first six digit Scoville sauce, and you notice the heat level going from something fun to play with to causing legitimate pause and process to overcome the heat. Cue the white bread and milk.
8. Da Bomb - heat level description: it indeed, is a bomb, dropped in the pit of your stomach - Yeah, this is just, the hail mary of heat. The sauce itself has a lot of heat-forward flavor, so it's just all of it, hitting, and then continuing. I think that's what makes it such a doozy - the heat doesn't stop. Even from your stomach, you just feel it.
9. Unique Garlique - heat level description: what are heat levels from here on out anyways? - technically this has a Scoville of 642,000 (insane). But the heat is a lot smoother and spread out, so you actually get garlic flavor/time to process. Definitely a better experience than Da Bomb, despite being 6x (!?) hotter.
10. The Last Dab - heat level description: I mean, for real - the only way forward is to dab - Yes, it's just, really ****ing hot, and remaining. Taking my contacts out last night, I got some in my eye, despite having washed my hands immensely and many hours have passed. If you're here, you're here to play.
In summary: I would never say I'm a "spice" guy, though I do like hot food. Our whole gang suffered and triumphed, and it was very fun. Not racing to do it again, but surprised and proud at how well we relatively did!