Bottom Line: The Hot Ones selections from Heatonist may be more expensive than other bottles on the shelves, but they count as gourmet hot sauces and they bring the heat.
The classic lineup of Hot Ones hot sauces made by Heatonist is in stores now! I previously mentioned that in my regular Spicy Food News column, and now they are starting to hit the shelves. I’m not certain just how many of the varieties are currently available, but I believe that you can find five of their classics if you look around. I previously purchased their Party Pack when it was on sale at Sam’s (sorry they have sold out of those), and I am pretty sure all of these will be finding their way to the store shelves. Here is my rundown of those sauces:
Los Calientes Verde: This is a very salsa-like sauce and it has a sweetness right away countered by a vinegar tang and the earthiness from the spices (cumin is prominent). It is a thin sauce, but full-bodied from the smoked peppers and very flavorful with a hint of green chilies. The sweetness is very noticeable, but it works well with the other flavors to deliver a balanced sauce. I could eat this with just chips like a salsa, and hopefully at some point, they will sell it in larger bottles. Of the five in the party pack, this is the mildest, with the heat level coming in between Mild and Medium on my scale. But this and the next one are my two favorites.
Los Calientes Rojo: This is very similar to the Verde sauce but with more brightness and less of the cumin taste. You might think that it is made with tomatoes, but there are none in the ingredients, and apricots are the second item on the list after peppers. That gives an interesting twist to the flavor, though I would not call this a fruity salsa. The heat is higher than the Verde sauce, coming in above Medium on my scale, and this is a very enjoyable sauce.
Classic Garlic Fresno: This one is similar to a Louisiana-style sauce, but with more of a garlic punch. It is not as strong on the vinegar as it uses apple cider vinegar, which can be milder and more subtle with a little bit of sweetness. The red pepper taste is there and should satisfy those looking for a Louisiana hot sauce, but it is not as harsh or salty as some of those varieties can be. Heat-wise it does deliver a kick, coming in a little above Medium.
Buffalo Hot Sauce: Seeing as wings are the focus of the Hot Ones YouTube show, this counts as one of their signature sauces, but it is not their hottest. It has the vinegary tang expected of a Buffalo sauce along with a good Cayenne chili taste. It also has a buttery taste to it because . . . well . . . they add butter, and that gives it some extra thickness. Heat-wise I would put it a little above Medium as it delivers a nice kick, but it won’t send you screaming for the exits like the next sauce. This one is pretty much ready-made to add to a batch of wings.
Apollo The Last Dab: This is the Big Daddy of the Hot Ones sauces and definitely the hottest currently available in stores. This one is basically just the Apollo chili (in mashed, powder, and extract form) and vinegar, but that is one hot pepper! It has that intense, peppery taste similar to Dave’s Insanity Sauce, but not quite the insane heat you get from that one. It’s pretty close, though, as I would put this between Fiery and Insane on my scale. You still get some of the flavor from the hot sauce without getting completely overwhelmed by the heat, but you are not going to use more than a drop or two of this one. I would put it very close to Dave’s in both flavor and heat, but a little more tolerable.
The stores that I know which are currently stocking these sauces are Walmart, Target, and World Market. Some grocery stores may be selling them as well, but selection may be limited. The price range is from eight bucks for the Classic Garlic Fresno to twenty bucks for the Apollo The Last Dab. The two Los Calientes sauces seem to be going for around eight to ten bucks while the Buffalo sauce is around fifteen dollars. They are on the high side price-wise, but these do count as gourmet sauces, and I am willing to fork over the money to assure that I have at least one of the Los Calientes sauces at the ready at all times.
This is not a limited-time promotion of Hot Ones like when the Party Pack was available at Sam’s. The sauces are a permanent addition to the shelves, at least as long as they are selling well. So feel free to go and grab what you can find and stage your own version of the Hot Ones Challenge at home with friends and family!
Nutrition Info:
Los Calientes Verde
Ingredients: Chiles (green serrano, applewood smoked green serrano, orange habanero), apple cider, apricot (ascorbic acid added), apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, tomatillo, agave nectar, water, garlic, salt, toasted onion, cumin, culantro, black pepper, celery seed
Serving Size: 1 Tsp
Calories: 0
Fat: 0g (0g Sat/0g Trans)
Protein: 0g
Carbs: 0g
Sodium: 40mg
Los Calientes Rojo
Ingredients: Peppers (Smoked red jalapeno, habanero), apricot (ascorbic acid and citric acid added), apple cider vinegar, agave nectar, lemon juice, tomatillo, water, garlic, salt, toasted onion, cumin, culantro, black pepper, thyme, celery seed
Serving Size: 1 Tsp
Calories: 0
Fat: 0g (0g Sat/0g Trans)
Protein: 0g
Carbs: 0g
Sodium: 40mg
Classic Garlic Fresno
Ingredients: Fresno chile pepper water, apple cider vinegar, garlic puree (garlic and water), vinegar, kosher salt, organic dried garlic, organic turmeric, organic black pepper
Serving Size: 1 Tsp
Calories: 0
Fat: 0g (0g Sat/0g Trans)
Protein: 0g
Carbs: 0g
Sodium: 25mg
Buffalo Hot Sauce
Ingredients: Cayenne pepper mash (aged red cayenne peppers, distilled vinegar, and salt), butter (sweet cream), rice vinegar, red bell pepper, celery, molasses, garlic powder, chipotle powder, habanero powder, smoked paprika, chia seed powder CONTAINS: MILK
Serving Size: 1 Tsp
Calories: 0
Fat: 0g (0g Sat/0g Trans)
Protein: 0g
Carbs: 0g
Sodium: 90mg
Apollo The Last Dab
Ingredients: The Apollo pepper, distilled vinegar, the Apollo pepper powder, the Apollo pepper distillate
Serving Size: 1 Tsp
Calories: 0
Fat: 0g (0g Sat/0g Trans)
Protein: 0g
Carbs: 0g
Sodium: 0mg