Hot Sauce #1 – Tabasco Chipotle Hot Sauce Review

Tabasco Chipotle Hot Sauce ReviewHi.  I have set a personal goal of trying 10,000 hot sauces.  I’m not sure that is even possible — But I plan to have a whole lot of fun trying.

Hot Sauce #1 on my way to 10,000 is Tabasco Chipotle Hot Sauce.

Hi. Thanks for stopping by.

This is a project I have been wanting to start for a long time.  I finally found the time and I am super excited to get going.

I have a review for you of one of my favorite hot sauces, Tabasco Chipotle Sauce below…


But first though…

What Exactly IS My Hot Sauce Project?

In the simplest terms possible –It is my way of having fun and insuring that I continue to have fun.

But, of course, there is more to it than that.

Much more.

Here’s the deal — I really REALLY love hot sauce.  I love the way a good one will punch up the flavor and make bland food good and good food even better.

I especially love discovering new hot sauce brands and I am always on the lookout for one I haven’t tried that may become a favorite.

So I have set a goal — or “project” — for myself.

The goal of My Hot Sauce Project is to try 10,000 hot sauces and write about them.

This may be a little crazy.  I’m not even sure if there ARE 10,000 hot sauces.  But, you know what?  I don’t really want to complete my goal anyway.  This is all about having fun and the-more-the-merrier.  10,000. Less. Or (hopefully) MORE.  It’s all good.


This blog — My Hot Sauce Project Blog — is both a way of “keeping score” and a way to keep on track.  So often we get so busy with everyday life and work that we forget to stop and have fun.  At least I know I do.  That’s what I meant above when I wrote that “It is my way of having fun and insuring that I continue to have fun.”

Along the way, I will try to share plenty of hot sauce reviews, recipes, stories and news items.

And I sincerely hope that it will also be a place where I meet and interact with other hot sauce lovers. This means YOU.  If you have read this far, then chances are you are a chilehead like me.

Please leave comments and let me know what you think of the hot sauces I write about, my reviews, this blog and anything else that is on your mind.  Whether you agree with me or think I am crazy — it’s all good.

And be sure to share the site with your Hot-Food-Loving Friends.  I know you have them.  We Chili-heads are a social lot.  There are “share buttons” on the bottom of this and every page.  Please use them to help me spread the word.

Now then, I won’t bore you anymore with my story and history.  I will create an “About Me” page in the next couple days for those who are interested in that sort of thing, though heaven knows why you would be.

Let’s go!

Hot Sauce #1 – Tabasco Chipotle Hot Sauce Review

Tabasco Chipotle SauceHot Sauce #1 – Tabasco Chipotle Hot Sauce

I hesitated to make this my first post.  Not because of any shortcomings of the sauce, but because it is a mass-market product.  I don’t want any of my potential valuable early readers to dismiss this blog because I am using my first post to review a sauce that everyone and his sister has in the cupboard.

But 3 things swayed me into doing it:

1. Early readers?  HA!  By the time anyone except my brother reads this (Hi, Todd) I will have have several more reviews posted. Blogs take a while to catch on.

2. There are really only a handful of mass-market hot sauces.  In my Kroger’s they carry Tabasco, Frank’s Hot Sauce, Cholula Hot Sauce and a couple brands of Louisiana Hot Sauce.  That’s it.  This ain’t like beer, where I would expect to be crucified if I started out reviewing, say, Bud Lite. So the small, out-of-the-way, off-the-beaten-path hot sauce brands will be coming hot and heavy very soon.  I have no choice if I want to try 10,000 hot sauces.  Or even 10.

But most importantly…

3. This is my favorite everyday mass-market sauce.  Bar None!  

There I said it.  I admit it.  Of all the hot sauces I have tried in my life, this one, found on every grocery shelf in America, is one of my favorite.

It is the perfect “everyday sauce” or “table sauce.”

Tabasco Chipotle Sauce on Stacy's Pita Chips - Garden Veggie Medley
Tabasco Chipotle Sauce on Stacy’s Pita Chips – Garden Veggie Medley

Like a good beer, it has several layers of flavor.  It starts out with a tangy vinegar punch, followed by a mild burn and ends with the deep, rich smoky flavor of chipotles.  But those are just the high notes.  Underneath these there is are dozens of other flavor notes bouncing up and back like the note in a good jazz riff.

This sauce is John Coltrane’s Blue Train in a bottle.

Or, if you prefer, it’s like:

Samuel Adams Latitude 48 IPA with the perfect blue cheese burger.

Or Tony La Russa in the seventh game of the World Series.

Or any episode of the Simpsons.

In other words … There are dozens of things happening on the surface that you know, understand and love — and then there are many, many more things happening below and under them that you can only feel.

And those are what makes it special.

What’s It Best For?

It’s a pepper sauce with a sharp taste of vinegar, so it goes best with meats – such as steak, pork or chicken – or starchy foods like chips, breads, beans, potatoes and, especially, mac and cheese.

Tabasco Chipotle Sauce on Refried Beans with Cheese and Sour Cream
Tabasco Chipotle Sauce on Refried Beans with Cheese and Sour Cream

It’s a little too runny to work well on a sandwich.  Though you can easily overcome this slight problem by mixing it 50/50 with mayonnaise.  This Sauce/Mayo combo is uber-delicious on roast beef and chicken sandwiches.  And it also makes a grand dip for fries and wings.

As good as it is, I don’t like it on fish and some sweet veggies like carrots.  Though it is great on sweet corn on the cob.  Go figure.

My Ratings:

Taste: ★★★★★  — Heat Level: ★☆☆☆☆  — Usability: ★★★★★ 

Information:

Selected Ingredients: Chipotle pepper, distilled vinegar, water, salt, sugar, onion powder, spices, Tabasco Brand Pepper Pulp

Where I got it: My Favorite Kroger

Their Website: http://www.tabasco.com/

Yes, those are paper plates.  I hate washing dishes.

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