Melinda’s Scotch Bonnet Pepper Sauce Review
My wife is a big fan of Scotch Bonnet pepper sauces. Our typical go-to for her is from Tropical Pepper Company as it’s readily available in our area. As of late though, that sauce hasn’t been up to par (too runny or too salty). I picked up this bottle of Melinda’s Scotch Bonnet Pepper Sauce on a lark this past Summer for her to try out. And I believe that we may have found a replacement as her favorite sauce. Unfortunately, it’s not as easy to get at local stores — we may just have to order it online going forward.
Anyway, on to why she (and I) really liked this sauce.
I’ve gone through many bottles of Melinda’s products in the past, mostly their Ghost Pepper, and have always been impress with their products. This scotch bonnet based sauce is no different. Starting on the outside, the label artwork is just as classy and on brand as their other hot sauces. It’s instantly recognizable.
The sauce itself is a slightly pale orange in color with plenty of visible chunks of the ingredients (pepper, carrot, garlic), as well as a few pepper seeds suspended in the moderately thick liquid. The bottle features a flow control which isn’t entirely necessarily for this particular sauce. I love how fresh this sauce appears.
When it comes to the sauce’s aroma, it smells pretty darn good and not overly hot or peppery. There’s a good amount of garlic and onion p front with a solid waft of scotch bonnet peppers. The papaya and passion fruit juice mingle gently in the background along with a hint of carrot.
Once the sauce hits the tastebuds, the lime and fruit notes step forward a bit more with the peppers as the garlic and onion take on a more supporting role. There is an excellent scotch bonnet pepper flavor from start to finish. The sauce isn’t overly thick, but still has a good body as it spreads slowly across the tongue. Vinegar lingers gently as the well balanced flavor fades.
The heat on Melinda’s Scotch Bonnet sauce covers the tongue with a good bit of warmth and a soft echo in the chest. It’s not overly hot, packing just the right amount of fire for my wife’s personal preferences. The moderate heat hangs around for a nice long while.
Melinda’s has themselves one heck of a sauce here. The flavor is incredibly well-rounded and full flavored. The company allows the peppers to do the talking while the other ingredients to compliment the base flavors. The heat isn’t too much, packing just the right amount to be fully usable on just about every meal. Not to steal the tagline of another sauce company, but my wife and I put this on just about everything — at least, until the bottle was emptied.