Angry Goat Pepper Company - The Phoenix
Ay Maria! Salsa Picante Artesanal
Baj's Blazing - Dad's Original
Dave's Insanity Hot Sauce
Fly By Jing - Sichuan Gold
Mande Picantes Chile de Arbol
Microsaucerie Piko Peppers - White Rabbit
Shaquanda's Banjee Ranch Hot Sauce
Tattoo - Kashmiri Coconut
The Spicy Shark - Mako Snake Sauce
There were 10 guests rating each sauce 1-5 on flavor, spice level, and overall experience. So there was a maximum score of 50 for each category.
Here are the results:
Sauce with the best flavor score:
Tattoo - Kashmiri Coconut
Flavor: 37
Sauce with the lowest flavor score:
Dave's Insanity Hot Sauce
Flavor: 13
Sauce with the highest spiciness score:
Dave's Insanity Hot Sauce
Spiciness: 49
Sauce with the lowest spiciness score:
Shaquanda's Banjee Ranch Hot Sauce
Spiciness: 10
Highest overall experience sauce:
Tattoo - Kashmiri Coconut
Overall experience: 34
Lowest overall experience sauce:
Ay Maria! Salsa Picante Artesanal
Overall experience: 19
Full ranked list from best to worst based on overall experience:
1. Tattoo - Kashmiri Coconut
Overall Experience: 34
2. Mande Picantes Chile de Arbol
Overall Experience: 33
3. Fly By Jing - Sichuan Gold (tie)
Overall Experience: 32
3. Shaquanda's Banjee Ranch Hot Sauce (tie)
Overall Experience: 32
3. Baj's Blazing - Dad's Original (tie)
Overall Experience: 32
6. Microsaucerie Piko Peppers - White Rabbit
Overall Experience: 31
7. The Spicy Shark - Mako Snake Sauce
Overall Experience: 28
8. Angry Goat Pepper Company - The Phoenix
Overall Experience: 24
9. Dave's Insanity Hot Sauce
Overall Experience: 21
10. Ay Maria! Salsa Picante Artesanal
Overall Experience: 19
Some insights:
Balance Between Flavor and Spiciness:
Tattoo Kashmiri Coconut scored the highest in flavor (37) and overall experience (34) but had a moderate spiciness score (25). This points to the fact that a well-balanced sauce in terms of flavor and spiciness tends to provide a better overall experience.
Extreme Spiciness vs. Overall Experience:
Surprise surprise, Dave's Insanity Hot Sauce had the highest spiciness score (49) but a very low flavor score (13) and a low overall experience score (21). This indicates that extreme spiciness may detract from the overall enjoyment of the sauce if it is not well-balanced with flavor.
Blandness vs. Extreme Spice:
Even though Dave’s had a very low experience score, it wasn’t the lowest. That goes to Ay Maria, which scored a dismal 19. Complaints about Ay Maria were about its lack of flavor or spice. This says folks prefer when something is memorably bad than when something leaves no impression. I’m into it.
Consistency Across Scores:
Mande Picantes Chile de Arbol, Fly By Jing - Sichuan Gold, Shaquanda's Banjee Ranch Hot Sauce, and Baj's Blazing - Dad's Original all had consistent scores across flavor, spiciness, and overall experience, contributing to their tied ranking in overall experience (32).
Impact of Low Spiciness on Experience:
Shaquanda's Banjee Ranch Hot Sauce had the lowest spiciness score (10) but still managed to achieve a high overall experience score (32), likely due to its high flavor score (37). So a lower spiciness can be compensated by strong flavor to provide a good overall experience.
Flavor as a Key Determinant:
Sauces with higher flavor scores generally performed better in terms of overall experience. For example, Tattoo - Kashmiri Coconut and Shaquanda's Banjee Ranch Hot Sauce both had high flavor scores (37) and correspondingly high overall experience scores (34 and 32, respectively).
Takeaways:
- Balanced sauces with good flavor and moderate spiciness tend to score higher in overall experience.
- Extreme spiciness can detract from the overall enjoyment if not paired with good flavor.
- Flavor is a key determinant of overall experience, sometimes even more than spiciness.
- Memorably bad appears to be preferable to forgettably bland.
- There is a diverse range of preferences among tasters.
