Burning Down The Mouth: Road-testing five Portland hot sauces

Road-testing five Portland hot sauces.

3 Comments

Tags: hot sauce, thai and true, secret aardvark, nw elixirs, flameboy, portland pepper sauce

Yeah, yeah, you love Secret Aardvark. We know. But there’s a whole grocery shelf of locally made hot sauces out there just waiting to burn your face off. We put five to a blind taste test using crackers and cukes.

Thai and True Sarachee Hot Sauce 9 ounces
“It’s not very hot, but it’s sweet and really good.”
“I would eat this on just about anything.”
“It’s like someone combined sriracha and some of that Thai chicken sauce and combined them.”
Use it on: Hot wings, rice, noodles.

NW Elixirs #1 Hott Sauce 9 ounces
“Watery, watery, watery.”
“A whole lotta clove. It’s really off-putting.”
“It tastes like chai. I feel like I’m in Townshend’s tea shop right now.”
Use it on: You got us.

Flameboy XXX Hot Sauce 7 ounces
“Way too vinegary for my tastes.”
“It’s super smoky.”
“It’s a real back-of-the-throat burn.”
Use it on: Eggs, pulled pork.

Portland Pepper Sauce Red Pepper Sauce 5 ounces
“I want to know if that’s artificial color, it’s an amazing color.”
“It’s good, kinda sweet.”
“This would be a great cocktail hot sauce, or if you’re just looking for something to keep on your table because you’re a capsaicin addict.”
Use it on: Bloody Marys.

Secret Aardvark Habanero Hot Sauce 10.5 ounces
“Thick!”
“I think this has a depth of flavor the others don’t.”
“My face hurts.”
Use it on: Pizza.

Best: The overall favorite was Thai and True. Though not exactly a traditional hot sauce, most agreed they would happily use it in place of one. For a more everyday condiment, Portland Pepper Sauce also had some strong supporters.

Hottest: Flameboy.

Best bottle: Flameboy’s hip-flask shape and retro label was a standout, with all agreeing it was the sauce they would most likely give as a gift for that reason. For practicality, the squeeze bottles and thin spouts of Thai and True and Secret Aardvark came up trump.

01.19.2012 at 05:29 Reply

Dan Morrison

Couldn't be bothered to pick up some Fire on the Mountain sauces?

01.22.2012 at 04:33 Reply

TTTom

You couldn't be more wrong on the NW Elixir sauce! I bought it last weel at Williams-Sonoma and it is one of the best hot sauces I've had in a long time. If you need some tips on what to use hot sauce on maybe this ain't the line of work you should be in.

01.24.2012 at 01:17 Reply

Charlie Burr

Thai and True actually packs something of a punch, at least compared to traditional Rooser sauce Sriracha. I'd like to see more restaurants and carts pick it up over its more generic competitor.

Future Drinking

Sorenson to open Ava Gene's, Stark Naked Pizza now Baby Doll, and more new places to eat and drink

Market Watch: Enslaved by the Bell at Shemanski Park

Oregon Beer News: Fresh'n'Fruity

Future Drinking

Native Tap House, N.W.I.P.A., 24th & Meatballs and more new places to eat and drink

Burning Down The Mouth

Road-testing five Portland hot sauces.