(Editor’s Note: The following review comes courtesy of devout chilehead Scott Roberts.)
Let’s give a rundown of Lizard’s on the Bayou Gila Venom Habanero Sauce’s accolades: it was 2006 ZestFest’s Peoples’ Preference Hot Sauce Award winner, a 2007 Golden Chile Award, placing third in the Pepper Blend category, and a 2008 1st Place Scovie Award in the Habanero Hot Sauce category. Not a bad list for a sauce, so let’s see how it holds up to my humble little palate.
Ingredients:
Water, fresh onions, distilled white vinegar, minced garlic, combination of jalapeno, cayenne and serrano peppers, and minimal salt added.
Aroma:
3 out of 5. The first thing that hit my nose was garlic and blended peppers. An underlying sweetness from the onions gave it a solid base, but it seemed slightly more tart and bitter smelling than I would like.
Appearance and Texture:
4 out of 5. Good: pulpy with seeds and needle-like shreds of chiles, and medium runny. Gila Venom has a bright red quality that would add a lovely dash of color to your dishes.
Taste Straight Up:
3 out of 5. This is truly much more pungent than it smells. The tang of the vinegar and the immense heat from the peppers jump out first on your tongue. Within a few seconds the onions and garlic follow up to give the sauce a touch of complexity, but only a touch, as the vinegar and habaneros blast through and dominate the flavor.
Gila Venom is not as balanced as I would have liked; it’s more tart and peppery than anything else. It seemed like there was the ultra-hot, bright and distinctively “bitter” flavor of fataliis. If you’ve ever chomped on a fresh fatalii you’ll know what I’m talking about. Maybe a little more garlic or even less water (it’s rare that I see a hot sauce list this as the first ingredient) would have produced a heartier and more savory taste. If you’re looking for a quick mini-bomb of heat that has a decent taste, though, Gila Venom would fit the role adequately.
Taste on Food:
3.5 out of 5. That night we were having flatbread soft tacos and, for me, Mexican-style foods should be required to have immense heat and intense flavors. Subtle stuff won’t cut the mustard (and mustard wouldn’t be good, either). I wanted my food to bite back, so I gave a generous splash of the sauce to see how venomous it was.
The burn was likable but the taste could have contained more oomph. On another occasion, my meal was nachos with black beans and melted cheese. It fared a little better. My theory is the higher salt content of the tortilla chips worked with the “lower undertones” of the sauce (namely, the garlic and onions) in producing a snappier flavor. I’m not advocating dousing salt on your dishes when they’re covered with Lizard’s on the Bayou Gila Venom Habanero Sauce, but you could look for items with already-existing heavy amounts of spices.
Heat:
3 out of 5. There is both an immediate singe and a long-lasting burn after spooning some Gila Venom in your mouth. From my experience habanero peppers have that delayed heat, where it takes several seconds of slow build-up and then WHAM! it engulfs your tongue. Gila Venom is hot from the onset and lingers for a good two minutes until the heat subsides. Chileheads would love the burn; mild mouths would be overwhelmed. This is for heat lovers only with a good medium-hot level spiciness.
Overall:
If you’re not needing anything too complicated, Lizard’s on the Bayou Gila Venom Habanero Sauce is a basic sauce that will supply you bucket-loads of heat. A few tweaks here and there would make this a really great sauce. A 5 oz. bottle can be purchased for $4.45 plus shipping from Sweat N’ Spice.
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