“Spoon HOTBUBU to everything you love! A rich, textured blend of chilli, black pepper and garlic, balanced with sweetness and a tangy kick, will take your dish to the next level.”

Interestingly the ingredients shows E621 + E635, which the internet informs me is a 1-2 punch of additives designed to enhance flavour and get an umami quality. Other than that, it’s relatively straight forward, though sugar is top of the list & it lists “chilli powder” rather than any specific or fresh chilli.

Flavour wise, it’s good; it does have that umami taste; quite sweet, but also rich and savoury, with the garlic and black pepper both making a distinct appearance.

Consistency is relatively thick, but then it’s not in a bottle designed for pouring, but a jar designed for spooning, so no marks lost there.

I’d have to say that I don’t find this hot at all; spicy certainly, but not hot, which is a bit disappointing; I wish they’d pushed the heat a little more.

5/10 – Sweetness, but no heatness?

“Apply liberally to everything! Double up dosage on the Sabbath”

Hailing from Birmingham, this is a chilli sauce with black garlic and roast onions. Ingredients list is nice and short, though interestingly it just says “Chilli (14%)” without calling out what type(s) of chillis are used.

Consistency is slightly on the thick side, but it’s still pourable rather than “dollopable”.

Heat? Yep, it’s certainly there and while not overwhelming, it’s one of those sauces which accumulates.

There’s a sweetness from the onions which comes through first in the flavour, then the richness and garlic comes through followed by a pretty harsh hit of heat, with a slow heat fade. It’s a relatively uncomplicated sauce; “Sweetness, spiciness, head-but of heat”

I’m a bit mixed about this sauce; on one hand I quite like the flavours/heat, while on the other hand I’ve struggled to find foods for which I feel that it’s a truly good & complementary match.

6/10 – It’s complicated.

“My best seller! Medium heat with layers of aromatic spices, scotch bonnet peppers, garlic and tamarind. A super-versatile everything hot sauce with a perfect balance of sweet, sour, spice and heat. Splash this on everything. Heat – 3/5”

Another one which I picked up at Chilli Island. Ingredients show that’s it’s a tomato/onion/garlic base with ~14% Scotch bonnet.

Consistency is good; thick enough to stay where it’s poured but not so thick that you have a fight to get it out of the bottle.

Heat wise, it’s reasonably tame. You can pick up the usual Scotch bonnet signature heat profile, but it’s not dominant.

Flavour wise, it’s tamarind, tamarind, tamarind and a bit more tamarind. With a side of tamarind. OK, I jest; the garlic’s there and there’s a hit of other spices, but really the flavour is largely tamarind. I’m quite a fan of tamarind, but in this case I was left wishing that either the tamarind had been tuned down a little or the heat had been turned up a bit. It’s pleasant, but I was a bit underwhelmed overall.

This is maybe the first sauce that I recall with a strong tamarind flavour, so certainly something different & hats off to them for that.

5/10 – Too much about the tamarind for me.

“Queen Majesty Cocoa Ghost Hot Sauce is handmade in NYC using fresh and carefully selected ingredients. This original recipe was created in collaboration with our friends at Heatonist in Brooklyn, NY”

This sauce uses both ghost and habanero peppers, with plums, black cacao and chipotle making an appearance on the ingredients.

In terms of consistently, it’s relatively thick; for east of pouring, something slightly runnier would have made it easier, but it’s not too bad; just takes a bit of “persuasion” to get it out of the bottle sometimes!

It’s a reasonably hot sauce; the ghost pepper’s certainly making its presence felt. The initial flavour is quite rich & with strong chocolate notes then the heat kicks in, with a relatively long, slowly tapering burn. There’s a little sweetness there (presumably from the pineapple juice) which adds a nice complement to the rich cocoa and hint of smokiness from the chipotle.

I’d say that this is an accomplished sauce. With the flavour profile I don’t think it’d ever be my daily driver, but of the dark/smoky/chocolatey sauces, I think this one probably pulls off one of the best all-round performances that I can recall.

8/10 – Delicious and hot, but probably not good with everything!

“Our Spicy Korean Bulgogi BBQ Sauce is a delicious sweet and tangy glaze or dipping sauce for crispy dried chicken, plan drives salmon, stir fry’s and noodles.”

I’m quite partial to the flavours of Korea, so this sauce really caught my attention.

Quite an ingredients list on this one (including soy beans, rice flour, sesame oil), but nothing that looked out horribly artificial.

In keeping with the description, the consistency of the sauce is relatively thick; it’ll definitely stay-put if something’s dunked or it’s dripped over. Some small pieces of chilli are visible in the sauce, which I like, as I feel it adds some textural interest as compared to a fully blended sauce.

Taste wise .. a little disappointing to be honest. A slightly spicy jam; the sauce is very sweet and for me, the sweetness was so dominating it significantly masked out other flavours, although they do come through more in the aftertaste. It certainly has that tangy, spicy, chilli profile that I associated with Korean food, I just really wish it didn’t have 27g of sugar per 100ml (even though I appreciate that some of that is coming from the tomato and apple, not all refined sugar).

In terms of heat, it’s not particularly hot – there’s a little burst of heat, but it’s not particularly intense and fades quickly.

4/10 – For me, far too sweet & lacking a little of the punch that I’d associated with Korean cuisine.

“Classic Chili de Arbol. Cultivated for 500 years, Chile de Arbol has become a favourite for chefs for its complex, fresh flavour. The peppers in this sauce are grown in South Carolina by famed pepper farmer Smokin’ Ed Currie of Puckerbutt Pepper Co who knows that quality makes a classic”

Was quite excited to get this – what chilli head hasn’t watched at least a few “Hot Ones” episodes on YouTube?! These sauces don’t come cheap in the UK, so getting some of them in was a bit of an indulgence.

This one’s marked as being heat level 2/10, but being “Hot Ones”, I had no idea about how they calibrate their scale. Turns out I needn’t have worried; this one’s a tame, domesticated animal (and one that’s probably snoozing in the sun).

Ingredients list is nice and short; mashed Arbol, finished with a little vinegar, salt, garlic and turmeric.

Taste wise, it’s very pleasant; can definitely pick up on the hints of turmeric, however for me, the heat is really, really absent. It’s just kind of akin to being a small-batch spicy ketchup. Finished the bottle pretty quickly!

4/10 – Good flavour-wise, but for me, needs more kick. Time to work my way up the scale!

No blurb on this one. Picked it up at the wonderful Chilli Island (I highly recommend dropping in if you’re around Leighton Buzzard)

A sauce based on a Scotch bonnet mash should be a win with me. The ingredients list is relatively straight forward with vinegar, sugar, water, Habanero, spices, garlic, lime juice, salt, pepper and Xanthum gum completing the list.

I’d say this is a pretty good “house” sauce. It’s hot, but not overly hot and the first thing on the palette is the spices, giving it quite a rich, savoury taste before the heat arrives, slow fade with hints of spice in the aftertaste. Pretty well balanced for me; maybe a tiny bit more sweet than I would ideally like, but not enough that I’d mark it down.

Consistency is good. Not too thick, not too thin & you can see small fragments of chilli suspended in the liquid which gives a nice textural addition.

8/10 – Back to Leighton Buzzard we go!

“Whether used as a spicy dip or to add some kick to your savoury dish, Tropical Sun Jamaican Crushed Red Chilli Sauce is a kitchen cupboard essential for any spice aficionado. The winner of the prestigious Great TastE Award, it is made from a blend of Caribbean hot peppers by the people of Central Village, Jamaica. Enjoy!”

Ingredients list is pretty short and sweet – peppers are top of the list which is nice to see!

The consistency of the sauce reflects the chillis being crushed rather than blended; you you can see the small chunks of chilli (and seeds!) suspended in a relatively thin sauce. Easily pourable, but the solids mean that overall it’s not overly runny.

Great taste; good up-front heat, good after-burn with a gentle fade-away. Not overwhelming, but enough bite to let you know it’s there. The sweetness and acidity is well balanced & complements the flavour of the peppers. It’s un-pretentious and I’d say that it’s a simple recipe executed very well#

8/10 – Great!

“Scotch bonnets and sweet peppers are slowly fermented with a touch of garlic to develop an intense fruity flavour.  It’s a deceptively simple sauce with medium heat and maximum flavour.  From soups and stews to eggs and oysters, it’s our perfect everyday sauce”OK!  Fermented … check!   Garlic … check!  Medium heat … check!

It’s quite runny sauce, but then for most things I wasn’t adding it too liberally; drops here and there rather than slathering it all over.

Flavour starts with that “fermented” umaminess, growing into a rich peppery punch, with a sweet edge, before fading to a relatively short tail of heat.  It’s certainly very flavoursome, though for me I could take it a touch hotter.

8/10 – Great sauce, getting more.

First thing that struck me about this one is how violently green it is; definitely been a bunch of colouring added here (looking at you Azul 1)!

I’d classify this an another in the range of uncomplicated habanero sauces; it packs a decent punch without trying to do anything flashy.

6/10