According to the label, this bottle contains 30 portions…

I have absolutely no idea how many portions it provided for me, but I think that’s the first time I’ve noticed a portion size written on a sauce bottle.

Not a terribly hot one this, 5% arbol and piquin being second on the label. The ingredients also intriguingly list “spices” (presumably the nature of said spices are on a strictly need to know basis).

Gotta say, I really like this sauce. It’s not the one to reach for if you want to set your mouth aflame, but the flavour is superb. Great taste from the peppers backed up by the sharpness of the vinegar and spiciness of the… well… spices.

8/10 – I see more bottles of this in my future

This one managed to get pushed to the back of the cupboard so was out of circulation for a while

Caribbean flavours you say? Chilli you say? Yes, yes, I’m listening (well, purchasing and consuming to be more accurate)!

14% habanero, 1% ghost chilli, but you the ghost doesn’t hide. The ginger complements the peppers and mango nicely, with sweetness from the apple and sugar; definitely a tropical edge to the fire.

6/10 – Nice, but they can’t all be winners & fruity sauces are probably never going to be my personal favourite.

Picked this up as I thought it would make a good dipping/burger sauce – relatively viscous compared to many other sauces.

Right off the bat, this one is a disappointment. Ingredients indicate 0.6% habanero (so barely a tickle for any chilli head) and so much sugar. Really. This sauce is so sweet that whereas I thought I’d be liberally spreading it on my burger bun I’m instead using it sparingly (and not for the usual reason that I’d hold back on a chilli sauce!).

Taste? Very sweet tomato ketchup with a barely detectable tingle. Sorry, Epicure, seriously unimpressed.

3/10 – Going to take me a while to finish this bottle…

Having thoroughly enjoyed the “standard” Encona I though that I’d explore some of their other sauces and this is the first one I’ve finished

This one falls into the “it’s fine” category for me. As the label suggests, compared to the Original, it’s hotter but I feel it’s lacking some of the nuance which I liked in that sauce. There’s certainly nothing wrong with it, but it’s not a standout for me.

Salty, slightly acid flavour that I would expect from a sauce based on a mash, followed by quite a forceful hit of Reaper which fades relatively quickly.

7/10 – It’s just fine.

Great label on this one… Chillis, hammock, palm trees, sun and sea. Sold!

Another sauce base on a chilli mash and with a refreshingly short list of ingredients. Get an up front taste of the peppers with a bit of a salty overtone, gives way to quite a mellow pepper flavour with a heat mainly in the tail. It’s not a complicated sauce, but it’s at a good heat level and goes well with many foods. Liberally use will not be lethal.

8/10 – Just went on the shopping list…

Nostalgic sauce this one. Prior to covid-19 I used to meet a group of old friends once per year at a beer festival after which we’d head to Wahaca for some nosh and tequila. As part of that we’d attempt to see how much sauce we could consume between the 4 of us (2.5 bottles is our record, though 2 were the hotter sauce rather than this one). Looking forward to beating that once we’re back to being able to go out!

The caption on the label says “Fruity with hidden heat”. For me, one part of that is correct. I like the fruit, but overall I find the sauce a bit sweet (according to the ingredients it contains more honey than habanero) and lacking punch. Nothing bad about it, it’s just not going to make my list of greats.

6/10 – Looking forward to having this in Wahaca in the future!

This is my second sauce from Heartbreaking Dawn’s with a similarly pretty label.

Good sauce, on the runny side (not a bad thing, just an observation!). Second on the ingredients list is apricot preservatives and while I have to admit that I didn’t pick out the apricot, there is a very pleasant fruitiness which complements the scorpion, as you might expect. Blueberries are in there too, apparently… I’ll take their word for it!

It’s another sauce which is using a mash and I’m becoming increasingly fond of the flavour profile that results from the mashing process. It’s hot, but not outrageously so, so hits a sweet spot for me… Bottle lasted me about 14 days.

8/10 – Will likely order again

A pretty straight forward beast. Habanero mash, a bit of bulking and a pep up with capsicum powder…

While I’m not sure it’s 100% pain, it it a powerfully hot sauce. The mashed habanero gives it a lovely mellow up-front flavour, with the heat really kicking in as a follow up. It’s damn hot and damn tasty, but not one that I can use very liberally on my food without paying for it.

8/10 – If you like your sauces on the hot side, I can really recommend this one

Ah, Spicin Foods, well done. Another triumph! For me this is a medium hot sauce, you can certainly get the habanero but it doesn’t blow my mouth up. What makes this sauce a bit special, I think, is the tomatoes and spices. It gives a very smooth base flavour with the spice dancing on top. This is one that I love with food like Tex Mex and wedges.

Pro tip: it has a bit of a tendency to separate in the bottle so remember to shake… Otherwise you end up with quite a sticky last 1/4 of the bottle which is tricky to get out!

8/10 – Yum.

Picked up from the supermarket, apparently lovingly made in The Fens.

Pretty tasty sauce (garlic and lemon quite prominent, giving way to chilli) , not particularly hot, so liberally used (I think this bottle lasted about 10 days)

6/10 – Good, solid sauce but a bit unremarkable. Happy to buy again but so many others to try…