January 29, 2002

1:12 PM

I love hot sauce as much as anyone, but products with names like DOA Cyanide, Rigor Mortis, and Dead Heat (packed with its own individually numbered Certificate of Death, inside a fiery coffin box) make me a little nervous. Then there's Chet's Gone Mad, which comes in a medicine dropper and is 700 times hotter than Tabasco (rating 1,500,000 on the Scoville scale). Am I the only one who's afraid of this stuff?
posted by mr_crash_davis (73 comments total)

My friend Chimichanga one year for Christmas gave me a selection of Hot Sauces in a bag (with a roll of TP in the bottom...thoughtful). They ran the gamut from pedestrian heat to Blair's Sudden Death Sauce.

I, being the braniac I am, put a drop on my finger and tasted it. I swear to God it felt like someone had taken a razor blade and sliced my tongue. About an hour later I looked at the label and saw it said "use one to two drops in cooking....Warning: Made from the hottest stuff on the planet."

First ingredient was Habaneros. Yeeeeeouch!
posted by Kafkaesque at 1:22 PM on January 29, 2002

I avoid food that hurts. I like Texas Pete, because it's only reasonably hot and thick enough to swirl around in pea soup.
posted by Harry Hopkins' Hat at 1:23 PM on January 29, 2002

I much prefer stuff like Frank's Red Hot, which has some flavor to it as well as heat. It seems to me that a lot of these hot sauces are so hot, you can't really taste anything because the pain overrides the flavor. If that's what you're going for, just buy a bottle of concentrated capsicum and put a drop in your chili.

Sadly, I seem to be developing stomach sensitivity to spicy foods. This is a sad, sad situation to be in.
posted by starvingartist at 1:25 PM on January 29, 2002

You haven't lived until you've had Sweet Mama Janisse's Sticky Love Sauce.
posted by fleener at 1:25 PM on January 29, 2002

I like hot sauce. As a rule however I refuse to buy anything with a masturbatory name like these. What is wrong with "habenero sauce"? There is a point where this becomes more about marketing than taste.

Do they do this sort of thing in mexico?

The same "masturbatory" rule applies to Arrogant Bastard "You are not worthy" Ale. I like strong hoppy ales, but drinking beer isn't a pissing contest.
posted by phatboy at 1:25 PM on January 29, 2002

When I used to work in a diner, I was making myself a chicken sandwich for lunch one day and decided to sprinkle on a bit of “Ass-Kickin’” habanero sauce - while the chicken was still on the grill. This stuff got vaporized and shall we just say that everyone was eating on the patio for the rest of the day.

Mind you, it was really good, but it was a baaad way to get there...
posted by transient at 1:26 PM on January 29, 2002

Then there are the disgusting names - the ones that make you wonder why someone would name a food item in such a way: (found here) Red Rectum Revenge, Flaming Coon Ass, Holy Shit, or Screaming Sphincter.

Kinda funny names, but... yuck. (My officemate has a bottle of Red Rectum sitting on a shelf facing me - it's a daily grossout).
posted by kokogiak at 1:29 PM on January 29, 2002

phatboy - I heart Arrogant Bastard ale! I think it's very funny, and a great beer to boot.
posted by starvingartist at 1:32 PM on January 29, 2002

My favorite hot sauce has got to be sriracha sauce. Hot and vinegary with a garlic kick, it's great on eggs (as well as the Vietnamese food it was created to complement). Not exactly a Tabasco/Texas Pete substitute because it's thicker and not as concentrated, sriracha sauce has nonetheless found its way into a permanent spot in my fridge.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 1:37 PM on January 29, 2002

i've sorta gotten to like wasabi shooting through my sinuses.

in college wings to go introduced homicide wings. there were contests... now i can identify with red rectum et al.
posted by kliuless at 1:38 PM on January 29, 2002

I'm a total chili-head. I've been thinking of "detoxing" recently because it's starting to get to where I can hardly get any satisfication short of extreme measures. I go to a restaurant and use an entire bottle of Tabasco on my food. Eat Thai with a couple friends of mine, and make them all look in terror as I put on multiple heaping spoons full of pepper, where they each settled for one or less.

My favorite product *is* pretty much concentrated capsicum... it's pure habanero extract, almost a milion scoville units, and comes with an eyedropper. Two drops in a bowl of chilli will blow most people's minds. I put a single drop in a bloody mary to make the Holy Flaming Mary from Hell. Good stuff. The strange thing is, you actally *can* taste flavor in it. I can, anyway.
posted by jammer at 1:38 PM on January 29, 2002

How about Endorphin Rush? Or, After Death? Or, Dave's Insanity? Or, Jump Up and Kiss Me? Or, Mad Dog Inferno? Or, Possible Side Effects? Then there's Widow - No Survivors. My personal favorite is Scorned Woman, a slightly less searing sauce, befitting it's name! Go to Mo Hotta Mo Betta!

I'm not afraid, but I always advise using the proper caution when handling hot sauces:
1. Never hold the bottle up to your nose to smell.
2. Wash your hands after dispensing sauce and after eating.
3. Keep your hands away from your eyes (and other tender parts....)
4. Use 1/10 th less than you think you need. You can always add more.
5. For best results, do not experiment on Super Bowl Sunday, when your friends expect the regular Buffalo Wings!

The hottest sauce at Mo Hotta's site is Blair's 2 AM Reserve, with a Scoville rating of 692,000. A "dirty nuke" doesn't pack as much punch!
posted by Corky at 1:39 PM on January 29, 2002

Dave's Insanity Sauce!
posted by hipstertrash at 1:39 PM on January 29, 2002

Jebus, phatboy - lighten up. Do you propose strictly generic packaging? A little creative advertising is hardly "masturbatory."

Laws, this thread's got my mouth watering something fierce... I likes the Texas Pete's, myself.

posted by nagchampa at 1:39 PM on January 29, 2002

BitterOldPunk: Yes, Sriracha is very good. When I need a total endorphin rush, I will go to Tan Tan (friendly local Vietnamese eatery) and order the curry chicken bun (which is already plenty hot). It will usually be added to with a good third of a cup (guessing... I just squirt until its good and red) of Sriracha, and an equal amount of the home-made red chili sauce on the tables. Very good for what ails you.
posted by jammer at 1:42 PM on January 29, 2002

The hottest one I've ever tried is Dave's Insanity Sauce, but when one solitary drop of hot sauce in a dish is enough to render it totally inedible by normal human beings, I have to wonder what's the point.

BTW, the new chipotle-flavored Tabasco is fan-damn-tastic on a burger.
posted by briank at 1:43 PM on January 29, 2002

Chicago has a couple of restaurants under the name Heaven on Seven that do Cajun. (The original location was, yes, on the 7th floor of an office building.) The entire place has racks and racks of hot sauce decorating the walls.

Mmmm. Jambalaya. Uh -- excuse me? Oh. Right. Time to post.
posted by dhartung at 1:43 PM on January 29, 2002

staving:

I go out to drink mainly with Corona and Budweiser drinkers. IMHO drinking Arrogant Bastard makes to much of a beer-elite political statement in a casual drinking crowd. In a different group it would be perfectly fine. I still don't like the name : ).

Nag:
IMHO the point of hot sauce is not just to be hot, but that is all these things advertise. I don't have a problem with these sauces, but I don't buy them.
posted by phatboy at 1:44 PM on January 29, 2002

I am with BitterOldPunk, sriracha hot sauce it superb, esp. on Mexican stuff (you gotta try it, blends in well.)

Also I was at this restaurant in Fairfield CT called La Salsa (highly recommended), they had Habanero sauce there, and I really liked it.

/me goes back to eating Tabasco Cheese Popcorn.
posted by riffola at 1:45 PM on January 29, 2002

Yes, Daves Insanity Sauce is very good... I like it on pizza. It's also a good one for springing on would-be chilli heads because it tends to build on you. I've seen several people take a small amount, declare that "It's not very hot", swallow a large amount more, and then go running, red eyed and gagging, for something cold and wet.

One of my personal favroites is just called "Fire Water". Not sure off the top of my head who makes it, but I think its produced in San Antonio.

And a hearty amen to the hot sauce handling safety. The concentrated habanero extract bit me hard one time... got some on my fingers. Washed them several times. 4 hours later, my eye itched; I rubbed it with one of the previously tainted fingers, and was instantly in misery. Crickey, what potent stuff.

Any of you who are in Austin and haven't yet been to Tears of Joy on 6th street should go. it is a chillihead's paradise.
posted by jammer at 1:48 PM on January 29, 2002

Yes, Daves Insanity Sauce is very good... I like it on pizza. It's also a good one for springing on would-be chilli heads because it tends to build on you. I've seen several people take a small amount, declare that "It's not very hot", swallow a large amount more, and then go running, red eyed and gagging, for something cold and wet.

One of my personal favroites is just called "Fire Water". Not sure off the top of my head who makes it, but I think its produced in San Antonio.

And a hearty amen to the hot sauce handling safety. The concentrated habanero extract bit me hard one time... got some on my fingers. Washed them several times. 4 hours later, my eye itched; I rubbed it with one of the previously tainted fingers, and was instantly in misery. Crickey, what potent stuff.

Any of you who are in Austin and haven't yet been to Tears of Joy on 6th street should go. it is a chillihead's paradise.
posted by jammer at 1:48 PM on January 29, 2002

You can always make a sandwich out of pumpernickel, 1" slice of raw onion and 1/4" shredder horseradish. Cheap, 100% natural, and it will clean you out in a hurry.
posted by revbrian at 1:49 PM on January 29, 2002

I forgot to add that the Habanero sauce, and all other sauces at La Salsa are prepared fresh daily.
posted by riffola at 1:50 PM on January 29, 2002

Sorry for the double... server timed out. And sorry for the mandatory post apoligizing. ;)
posted by jammer at 1:50 PM on January 29, 2002

The same "masturbatory" rule applies to Arrogant Bastard "You are not worthy" Ale.

I *heart* their ale. I also love their domain, and found their ale via going to that domain to see if it was taken yet.
posted by j.edwards at 1:52 PM on January 29, 2002

Bitter old punk - In St. Louis, we make a drink called the Sandanista: sriracha, tequila, worstercire (sp?), lots of pepper ... I forget what else, but its a damn good drink.

Then there is the Cock Soup: Fighting Cock Whisky, Rooster Hot Sauce, worstercire, salt, pepper, garlic salt, all poured over ice and topped off with cold chicken broth.
posted by hipstertrash at 1:53 PM on January 29, 2002

Hot drinks... there's another topic. My favorite, just for the effect it has on people when you make and shoot them at parties, is the prairie fire... fill a shot glass with tequilla, then layer Tabasco on top, and springle it with black pepper. Shoot, wince, and make another.
posted by jammer at 1:54 PM on January 29, 2002

I got the Dave's in my eyes once: in a fit of bravado, i stuck my finger in a tablespoon full and popped in it my mouth... the subsequent pain made my eyes water and i was bright enought to wipe the tears away with my tainted fingers. I honestly thought i'd blinded myself, and spent about 20 minutes in a total panic with cold shower water shooting me directly in the face... wasn't right for days. Great sauce, tho.
posted by nagchampa at 1:55 PM on January 29, 2002

I enjoy the Calido Pain Is Good hot sauces very much. Lots of heat, but also great in flavor.
posted by y6y6y6 at 1:55 PM on January 29, 2002

My favorite is Scorned Woman -- "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned." Lots of pepper to go with a nice smoked habanero/jalapeno pepper bite. Mm-mm good.

For everyday munching, though, I get out the tortilla chips and the Louisiana Hot Sauce -- nice and tangy, just enough burn to satisfy.
posted by me3dia at 1:57 PM on January 29, 2002

is it true that it is best to drink milk if you encounter something too hot for your tastes, rather than water? I heard something about the active ingredient bonding to the fat...
posted by machaus at 1:58 PM on January 29, 2002

I once tried to make my own hot sauce in my Juiceman II juicer. I bought a half-pound of habañero peppers at Boston's Haymarket, seeded them and fed the halves into my juicer. Naturally, it atomised a lot of capsicum and the effect was essentially that I pepper-sprayed myself and my entire kitchen-- irritated eyes, irritated skin and super-irritated lungs.

I am dumb.
posted by Harry Hopkins' Hat at 2:01 PM on January 29, 2002

Holy Chipotle is another excellent sauce, not very hot, but great flavor. My girlfriend's mom picked some up on a trip to New Mexico last year, but they distribute to several specialty stores in various parts of the country. It's a tomato and chipotle based sauce. Excellent on burgers and pizza.
posted by starvingartist at 2:01 PM on January 29, 2002

m3dia-you beat me to the punch with Scorned Woman; used to use it all the time at a Salt Lake Magellan's. But have you ever triedSmack My Ass And Call Me Sally? Its the slap heard 'round the world.

I also like Sudden Death with Ginseng - has a nice ring to it.
posted by neilkod at 2:07 PM on January 29, 2002

m3dia-you beat me to the punch with Scorned Woman; used to use it all the time at a Salt Lake Magellan's. But have you ever tried Smack My Ass And Call Me Sally? Its the slap heard 'round the world.

I also like Sudden Death with Ginseng - has a nice ring to it.
posted by neilkod at 2:08 PM on January 29, 2002

I agree that some sauces are Just Too Much (I've had Dave's, regretted it), but sometimes I don't want any extra flavor in what I'm eating, just a little heat, and adding something like Tabasco or Texas Pete in sufficient quantities would add too much vinegar flavor to the food in question, so that's when some of the hotter, less-flavorful sauces make sense. And I, too, am addicted to the wasabi rush; I make it a practice to exhale through my nose while swallowing sushi, to really pound the fumes into my sinuses. Mmmmm.....
posted by MrMoonPie at 2:11 PM on January 29, 2002

machaus: don't know about the chemistry of it, but I eat some plain rice /plain yogurt if there is some lying around. Water or milk seems to spread the burning sensation in the mouth. I like really hot food, but seems like I often end up making it too hot!
posted by rsinha at 2:12 PM on January 29, 2002

The hottest one I've ever tried is Dave's Insanity Sauce, but when one solitary drop of hot sauce in a dish is enough to render it totally inedible...

I was using a couple of pinhead-sized drops of Dave's Insanity and that was just about right. That stuff isn't very useful for much.

I bought The Great Hot Sauce Book and a couple of bottles of Jump Up and Kiss Me for a friend for Xmas. He was pleased with both, and now I want to get a copy of the book for myself and start collecting.
posted by terrapin at 2:18 PM on January 29, 2002

my roommates father grows these yet-to-be-discovered-by-the-american-populace super-hot yugoslavian peppers. his tastebuds have been rendered so useless by years of consumption that he now mixes these peppers in with cereal. a fresh pepper, if touched with the naked hand, will hurt your fingers for weeks.
posted by goneill at 2:23 PM on January 29, 2002

another good site featuring Scorned Woman. . .although for everyday hot sauce, I like Melinda's which is readily available.
posted by Danf at 2:30 PM on January 29, 2002

The Man.
posted by kindall at 2:37 PM on January 29, 2002

I love the burn from wasabi. Don't really dig hot sauce though. I won a prize from dujour.com 5 years ago and they asked me if I wanted a case of Religious Experience hot sauce or a t-shirt. I took the shirt!
posted by Lynsey at 2:42 PM on January 29, 2002

I don't have much use for most of the "super-xxx" hot sauces that are made not from chiles but from "pepper extract" -- pure extracted capsaicin, the stuff that causes the burn. That's just ridiculous.

I love spicy food, and I love the runny nose, tingling tongue and brow-sweat that creeps up on you as you eat. But when the heat level is so bad that you can't taste the flavors of the food, and all you do is cry, there doesn't seem to be much point.

It's like when the "Cajun food craze" hit in the 80s, made by lots of people who didn't know what they were doing. They thought that Cajun food was just regular food, except encased in red pepper. (It isn't.)

BitterOldPunk: My favorite hot sauce has got to be sriracha sauce.

Oh yes! At my house we use that stuff like ketchup.
posted by chuq at 2:50 PM on January 29, 2002

I wonder why you don't get spicy ketchup in the grocery stores in the US?
posted by riffola at 2:57 PM on January 29, 2002

Commin' back to the post about Heaven on Seven in chicago - they have a plate on the menu called "Hot as a Motha'" - and it is hot! When I ordered it, they actually had me sign a release form (not that it's a legal thing, but made you think about it) before I could eat. It's a super hot chicken and pasta dish. If you finish it (I did!) you get a bottle of their house sauce and a membership in the Heaven on Seven Club which invites the survivors in each month for items not on the menu and general chat amongst the bravest diners in Chicago. Good times - I miss Chicago.
posted by stormy at 3:02 PM on January 29, 2002

I too use sriracha like ketchup (I can't stand ketchup, if I've ever tasted it -- it smells awful). I love hot food, but I don't care for using insanity sauce and the like, because it has to be used sparingly and carefully. I enjoy liberally adding hot stuff until it's just right or so, and I usually mix powdered cayenne with other spices on the spot -- packaged hot sauce is too expensive for the amount I use (with the exception of the aforementioned Sriracha, ~$2.49 for 28oz. in Asian groceries).
posted by mlinksva at 3:23 PM on January 29, 2002

Also: RAW GARLIC! (and sometimes raw ginger)
posted by mlinksva at 3:27 PM on January 29, 2002

There's nothing like the original: piri-piri. This is Emeril's recipe, but has my cultural stamp of approval. Long before Mexico got going, the Mozambicans, Angolans. Brazilians and Portuguese were jiving to this. To this very day.
( Thanks, jammer, for the prairie fires - delicious! And everybody else - what a great thread!)
posted by MiguelCardoso at 3:32 PM on January 29, 2002

riffola: I wonder why you don't get spicy ketchup in the grocery stores in the US?

agree. I am always on the lookout for some. My backup option is to use an Indian ketchup called: "Hot and Sweet" Maggie brand. Its Indian spicy ketchup, available in most Indian grocery stores in the US. Its not too hot, but just enough to make food taste interesting. I have it on everything!
posted by rsinha at 3:36 PM on January 29, 2002

Kind of off the subject, but did you know that Tabasco makes Soy Sauce? I bought it last night for the first time...it's sooooooo good.
posted by catatonic at 3:36 PM on January 29, 2002

Dave's Insanity hot sauce, mentioned earlier in the thread, actually gave an old friend of mine a chemical burn inside his nose (he tried to smell it, and smelled a little too hard; you do the math.) He said the skin was raw for a week.
posted by Yelling At Nothing at 3:38 PM on January 29, 2002

Sauces like this are just the tip of the culinary iceberg, guys. Pure Cap(uscin), Warheads Sour Candy, 8-foot beef sticks, La Fin Du Monde Ale (9.7% alcohol), Jolt Cola, Pain is Good hot sauce, Mountain Dew Code Red, St. Ides High Gravity Malt Liquor-I've had it all and it's all GOOD. Hell, when I lived in Miami there was a joint called Cheeburger Cheeburger down the road that had a deal where if you could eat the 21-ounce bacon cheeseburger, they put your picture on the wall.(I'm on the wall, in case your wondering.
You've heard of Extreme Sports? Meet Extreme Cuisine. Obviously this is not all that eating and drinking is about, but every so often, it sure is fun to give your gullet an endurance test.
posted by jonmc at 3:53 PM on January 29, 2002

I actually bought Tabasco Soy Sauce 2 years ago just because I was like WTF... Tabasco Soy Sauce... It wasn't spicy enough for me so it's been sitting in my cupboard.
posted by gyc at 3:54 PM on January 29, 2002

a good friend of mine collects these. last year, his brother gave him this shit for christmas. you have to sign a waiver to buy it.

cooked it up with some salsa con queso. mother of god, it was damn near inedible.

cool packaging, though.
posted by aenemated at 4:17 PM on January 29, 2002

(rating 1,500,000 on the Scoville scale)

Hmm. According to this site, the hottest pepper ever found is rated at 850,000 (and that's disputed). I can't imagine why anyone would ever want to get hotter than that.
[Scroll down, link via redfox]
posted by rodii at 4:37 PM on January 29, 2002

Wow. And I though the Taco Bell "Fire" was pushing the envelope.
posted by d8uv at 4:45 PM on January 29, 2002

Ah, you people are making me hungry! I've been a chilehead forever (I remember drinking Tabasco at age 7 to impress friends), and subscribed to the Chilehead mailing list for years (though not currently). I definitely agree with those who have said that heat is not enough--Dave's Insanity and the pure cap-types just seem pointless to me. However, flavor is not enough in a hot sauce either. It has to be HOT. There are hundreds of brands on the market, but many of them disappoint me flavor-wise (not a Scorned Woman fan, for example...the review I once read that it tasted like "burned cat hair" has always seemed accurate to me).

As much as I like hot sauces, though, I prefer a good salsa (usually habanero these days). I have never found one commercially available, only in restaurants, so I make my own.

BTW, if anyone has a source for "lemon pepper chile" plants (not "lemon chiles," which are different), please email me. I grew them one season and have been using the powder I made from them for three years, but am almost out. It's a truly amazing pepper.

And I'm happy to see a fellow cat's-up hater (go, mlinksva!)--wouldn't touch the stuff on a dare!
posted by rushmc at 4:53 PM on January 29, 2002

rushmc- for a good mix of heat and flavor try
Pain is Good


posted by jonmc at 4:59 PM on January 29, 2002

Four things:

1. My brother once said that food is no good unless it makes you sweat.

2. He was right to a certain extent, but if food is so hot that it incapacitates you or all you can taste is fire, something's wrong.

3. I went to a Thai restaurant once, I forget where, and you could get any dish in five degrees of heat, which they rated with stars, one to five. In their little key, they described the heat of each category. One was mild, two was somewhat hot, etc. The only description next to the five-star category was "Not recommended."

4. What a great thread. The horror stories crack me up. My own experiences with painfully hot food pale in comparison.
posted by diddlegnome at 5:16 PM on January 29, 2002

One of my neighbor's tried to sneak Dave's Insanity Sauce on me...said it was a little hotter than Tabasco.

We got the last laugh (albeit through mouths full of ice) when he came out of the bathroom red-faced and worried, saying that he had forgotten to wash his hands before he took a leak.

We didn't feel sorry for him.
posted by hellinskira at 5:30 PM on January 29, 2002

For heat and flavor as well as the entire bouquet of a sauce, try the Red Savina known for having a Cap-like heat but, not the chemical aftertaste (that I think) it leaves. You can buy the seeds online and try some yourself, or you can skip it and just buy the dried flakes.

From my experience down this road, it's not the type of pepper or the degree of heat, it's when you begin to combine peppers and things known to cause heat. You get wildly varying results simply by the amount of heat you apply or, which pepper you ad first... I have a cinnamon, savina habenero, and Thai hot pepper recipe that will take your head off. I've many experiences with Daves (who also has a savina-based sauce), Endorphin Rush, and half a dozen more... the point of those sauces is pain, not pleasure. When you consume something that hot, it doesn't matter what it tastes like.
posted by Dean_Paxton at 5:34 PM on January 29, 2002

rushmc- for a good mix of heat and flavor try
Pain is Good

I'll check it out. I've seen it in a store here locally.
posted by rushmc at 5:49 PM on January 29, 2002

saying that he had forgotten to wash his hands before he took a leak

Been there, done that after seeding jalapenos, can't imagine the agony that DIS would have caused him.
posted by briank at 6:02 PM on January 29, 2002

I spent a good period of time sudying in Chiapas, and they had a local custom which consisted of habaneros and tequilla. They'd just milk the pepper right into your shot, pop it, and....down the hatch
Burned like a bad fire, and gave everyone involved an amazing rush. The cheers were great! Never have seen these tequilla-on-fire shots in the U.S., but this weekend I'll be carrying habaneros....
posted by Eric Lloyd NYC at 6:07 PM on January 29, 2002

In Mexico, seeing as us Americans can't drink their tapwater, so you get bottles water. During the meal, i had to got to the bathroom, where my girlfriend thought that being how i put Tabasco Sauce on everything, it would do well to put it in my bottled water. The food was spicy enough to start with, and after my mouth was burning, i tried to drink my water...NOT a good idea. Tabasco and water is NASTY. we are no longer going out...
posted by jmd82 at 6:39 PM on January 29, 2002

I've found that a lot of the more recent hot sauces to come onto the scene place most of their stock in upping the heat ante. To me hot sauce has to have heat and flavor. My longtime fave is Fear Itself. Hot and sweet, baby.

The most sever hot sauce lesson I learned was to take your contact lenses out before you start working with anything even mildly spicey. Ow ow ow.
posted by holycola at 6:39 PM on January 29, 2002

holycola I know exactly what you mean about taking your contacts out before dealing with spices. Not a good experience.
posted by riffola at 7:06 PM on January 29, 2002

I dipped my Baaaawwllllllzz in it!

(where are 'The State's of yesteryear?)
posted by hellinskira at 7:40 PM on January 29, 2002

Hellinskira,

Interestingly enough, there's a "The State" reunion of sorts this weekend at The Comedy Garden in New York. Friday, in fact. [follow the link and then lick on "Class Clowns" for the Java pop-up]
posted by Sinner at 9:03 PM on January 29, 2002

rodii- The hottest pepper sauces are made with capsicum extract, not the juice from the peppers. Think wine vs. brandy - yeast can't exist at greater than ~15% alcohol, so they let the yeast do their thing then drive off the excess water.
posted by swell at 9:08 PM on January 29, 2002

I had an experience with Dave's Insane just the other night. Bad stuff. I'm really surprised that I can still taste anything at all.

For the truly brave, cook up some chili with whole Dragon's Teeth peppers. If you can eat that without sweating buckets I'm impressed.
posted by ttrendel at 9:30 PM on January 29, 2002

The food was spicy enough to start with, and after my mouth was burning, i tried to drink my water...NOT a good idea...

Never use water to reduce the heat in your mouth caused by peppers. It will just make it spread. Dairy is better. A hunk of cheese or a glass of milk.
posted by terrapin at 9:08 AM on January 30, 2002

Factoids for all you pepperheads (like me): The FDA prohibits any sauce that has a Scoville rating over the limit of the hottest pepper from legally being called a hot sauce. The manufacturer's refer to them as "cooking additives."

The best HOT hot sauce out there is Mad Dog 357. It is rated at 357,000 Scoville units, just under the legal limit and little goes a long way, but the taste is great.

The hottest commercially available "food additive" (fanatics do make them hotter in their own kitchens) that I know of is Blair's 5am Reserve, rated at 5,000,000 units. Da Bomb Ground Zero is a close competitor. These sauces are too hot to taste, even using a toothpick.

If you get one that's too hot, don't use ANY liquid to try and cool the pain. The heat is in the pepper oil and liquids just spread it around. Grab the sugar bowl or a couple of sugar packets.
posted by JParker at 2:27 AM on January 31, 2002