I believe that the hottest hot sauce you can get without a permit is Dave’s Instant Insanity Sauce. It is also one of the best tasting.That is an unsolicited product endorsement. If you think differently, fine, but you have not tried it so don’t be so sure!!!Why do I mention this?Because every now and then I eat some (very carefully) and am reminded that everyone else must know about it. A few hints:Don’t handle this sauce directly. Do not let children near it. Shake well before opening. Shake a small amount into a container, and mix that with some component of what you are eating …. like some olive oil or sour cream or whatever, and mix it into that material with a spoon that you are not very fond of. Then take that bit of stuff and further mix it into the food you are preparing.In other words, do everything you can to make sure there is no concentrated material in anything you eat or serve to others.This is not something you can just dump on a taco. That would be irresponsible.When you are done, cap the bottle and rinse it off, and either throw the spoon out or place it carefully in the dishwasher, or bury it.If you add DIS to anything hot (like stuff you are cooking) beware that noxious (but nicely smelling) fumes will emanate.This stuff is very dangerous, but it is very good. It is not merely hot, but has an excellent flavor. Dave’s comes in various versions, and they are all good.Hmmm, I’m getting hungry. Time for lunch….
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Hmmm, Razib had a whole series of posts tasting various hot sauces. I don’t remember if he reviewed this one.
I will be watching to see a mushroom cloud on the horizon coming from Coon Rapids here in a few minutes.Have a care, Man!
Nice one Greg,Not being a US resident, I was unaware of this range of apparently near deadly hot sauces. For a mo., thought you were kidding, but now see that this range is indeed for real.http://www.davesgourmet.peachhost.com/ct_CGhotsauces.htmTabasco hath just fallen into the nursery class of HOT SAUCE.Before you down another splash of this stuff, can you divulge the ingredients on the bottle (oven gloves please).–Brings me nicely though to Thomas Dolby et al (TED musical director) and “Hot Sauce” a fav of mine from many moons ago.AUDIO:- http://www.last.fm/music/Thomas+Dolby/_/Hot+SauceVIDEO:- http://www.last.fm/music/Thomas+Dolby/+videos/+1-WYuSKoKO4bQ
Wouldn’t it be easier to buy fresh habaneros, put on gloves, mask, and respirator, and then puree the little darlings in a blender? (Add water as needed.) (As with dicing onions and frying jalapenos, use a portable fan to blow across the gap between your face and the work area.)
I used to get “Jamacian Inner Beauty” sauce. It wasn’t mind-blowingly hot but hotter than most and quite tasty. Unfortunately I haven’t found a supplier of this condiment for a long time. Oh well, it was good while it lasted.
Crikey: I have done that. Only hospitalized for it once or twice. It was great.Coturnix: I hope Razib comes by and throws in his two cents!Art: I know Inner Beauty very well. It has a very nice flavor. In fact, I might like it better than Dave’s. The two are pretty familiar.It was invented and originally produced by the East Coast Grill in Somverville, MA, literally smelling distance from where I lived at one poin, and for a long time that is where you had to go to get it.Sadly, it is not being made at this time. Keep checking here in case they come up with it again:http://www.gourmetmikes.com/inbeauthotsa.htmlIn the mean time, here is how you make Inner Beauty style hot sauce:12 or more habanero or Scotch Bonnet peppers1 mango1 cup regular yellow mustard (as in hot dog mustard)1/4 cup brown sugar1/4 cup white vinegar2 tbs curry powder2 tbs ground cumin1 tablespoon chili powder OR equivilant spices2 tsp ground black pepper (freshly ground)Some saltMush/mix all this together.Separately, purchase two or three pints of Mad Dog 20-20 or Bali Hai liquor or equivalentDrink the fortified wine and liquorEmpty and rinse the liquor bottles and place Inner Beauty in the bottles for storage.
Here’s the link to Razib’s review of the sauce:http://scienceblogs.com/gnxp/2007/03/day_1_of_hot_sauce_daves_insan.phpIt was the first of seven days of hot sauce reviews. You can find them all by typing “hot sauce” into his blog’s search window.
I really like Dave’sIsanity Sauce. My favorite Hab based sauce for getting the heat up there (though others are better for accenting flavors).Your advise should be well heeded, I failed to heed it once, and only once, long ago. We were having tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches, which I always use a cayenne or red habanero sauce to spice up. Usually ~10mL of tobasco. I was very tired (school + new child in the house) and didn’t look carefully when I grabbed the hot sauce bottle… ~10mL of Dave’s Private Reserve (a souped up DIS) in the soup (not well mixed) = INTENSE BURNING PAIN followed by several months of dulled taste sensations. It was a sad and scary sight as I walked around the house with my tongue stuck in a pint of Bluebell French Vanilla.Still really like the sauce, and his Reserve sauces are even better for flavor and heat.
Yea, I think there are some federal laws that come into effect when ordering the reserve sauces…
Bah. I’ve had a dime-shaped portion of nothing but Dave’s Insanity Sauce on a tortilla chip, and I survived….I drank an entire carton of milk, the better part of a gallon of water, and ate an entire loaf of French bread, but I survived. That’s some good hot sauce.
We have Dave’s Special Reserve, for chilis. Might want to mention to people that the toothpick test is NOT safe for these….Hottest we’ve ever used is The Source, which isn’t even the hottest any more. But to be honest, once you’re over about 1,000,000 Scoville units, I don’t think there is any way to really tell the difference.
I was never much into sauces – I like my hotness raw! Crisp flavor of a habanero in my mouth as I bite off a chunk of it.
I was at a party, a few years ago, and they had a bottle of “Dave’s” on the table. It looked safe enough so I put it ALL over my Spanish rice! I took a couple of bites before I noticed just how hot it was but I took another one anyway. YIKES! I started to gasp for air and hiccup! I couldn’t stop! Someone offered me a piece of bread. Not good! It just carried this toxic substance down into my stomach! At that point (and I still don’t know why) I started taking off my clothing! Somehow this seemed like I would feel better. Insanity is right!!! My boyfriend wanted to take me to emergency but I insisted on just going to his house. This short trip reminded me of when I was in labor on the way to the hospital. I couldn’t sit still. Couldn’t put on the seat belt and didn’t want anything touching me. I was taking my shirt off as we approached his front door. I felt like I was dying! He didn’t know what to do to help me but wanted to so he offered me some antacid pills that he had. I really didn’t expect it to help but I took them anyway. I started chewing one and he says “you’re suppose to let it dissolve slowly”! Yeah, right! I quickly chewed up 3 of them and miracles of all miracles, in about 45 seconds the pain stopped! It still took me about an hour to fully recover! It was like I was in shock. I eventually went back to the party and the story of me eating the hot sauce has gone down in history. It gets told at most parties. The bottle of “Dave’s” disappeared never to be seen again. I had nothing to do with it!!!!
I was at a party, a few years ago, and they had a bottle of “Dave’s” on the table. It looked safe enough so I put it ALL over my Spanish rice! I took a couple of bites before I noticed just how hot it was but I took another one anyway. YIKES! I started to gasp for air and hiccup! I couldn’t stop! Someone offered me a piece of bread. Not good! It just carried this toxic substance down into my stomach! At that point (and I still don’t know why) I started taking off my clothing! Somehow this seemed like I would feel better. Insanity is right!!! My boyfriend wanted to take me to emergency but I insisted on just going to his house. This short trip reminded me of when I was in labor on the way to the hospital. I couldn’t sit still. Couldn’t put on the seat belt and didn’t want anything touching me. I was taking my shirt off as we approached his front door. I felt like I was dying! He didn’t know what to do to help me but wanted to so he offered me some antacid pills that he had. I really didn’t expect it to help but I took them anyway. I started chewing one and he says “you’re suppose to let it dissolve slowly”! Yeah, right! I quickly chewed up 3 of them and miracles of all miracles, in about 45 seconds the pain stopped! It still took me about an hour to fully recover! It was like I was in shock. I eventually went back to the party and the story of me eating the hot sauce has gone down in history. It gets told at most parties. The bottle of “Dave’s” disappeared never to be seen again. I had nothing to do with it!!!!
Pam,your story was so funny, I cried!!! I’ll definitely avoid Dave’s Insanity Sauce unless I want to be the hit of the party!