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Buddha Bill’s Hickory Roasted Pepper Sauce Review

Ammond | Nov 10, 2010 | 0 comments

Hey Chili heads and fellow sauce lovers! This is “Atomic Eh?” letting you know that I have survived yet another Halloween. The holiday decorations have been pulled down and packed, costumes put away, and best of all, the New 2010 Blair’s Halloween Reserve on order. Yeah baby! Now I ask you, how can it get any more “atomic” then that? Yes, I know…some wait for Charlie Brown’s Great Pumpkin to arrive, or Santa Claus to deliver more Yuletide cheer (In my case my wife’s pumpkin cheesecake!), and last, but not least, the rest of us wait for Blair’s new Halloween Reserve to be released. I love the Holidays!

So I am always on the prowl for something new, hot and spicy. Something spicy with lots of flavor that will grab my attention and make me say, “Wow! I gotta get more of that!” I believe that I have found a new sensational company that will send your spicy taste buds to a dimension not quite of this world.

I am talking about Buddha Bill’s Hickory Roasted Pepper Sauce. This was their first sauce, made in July 2010, in Cincinnati, Ohio. Currently they have five different products including a limited holiday sauce called Pumpkin Chocolate Habanero Hot Sauce. Bill Lawrence (currently a chef) told me that he is working hand in hand with his brother Jacob and sister in-law Rachel to use the freshest, local ingredients and produce the best tasting sauce out there. They have developed a balance of sweet, tart, salty, and hot in all their products. He says their products are all about freshness and flavor over just heat though he plans to make an ultra hot one day soon! Next year he plans to grow his own peppers. He is also working on some BBQ recipes that hopefully might be available for summer.

Label Design and Sauce appearance:
The bottle is a standard 5 oz bottle and I must say that this picture does not do the color of the sauce justice. The color is a vibrant reddish orange with Cayenne and Jalapeno seeds staring out at me from every direction from within the bottle. Bits of spices also speak of the flavor that I will soon experience. Bill’s sister in-law created the colorful label. Each label varies a little from product to product. Each one has the Buddha holding a different pepper or object. Bill says that the man in the picture represents him in a fashion. He says that he looks like a big happy version of Buddha and that he likes to study some Zen Buddhism. Hey, I’m ok with that! My father in-law, who averages about 300+lbs, says that you should never ask a skinny guy where the good food is. He just won’t know! I think the label is very creative and memorable. It varies enough for consumers to get an idea that they are different but similar enough for people to just go over to a shelf, recognize it, and grab one. I would give the label a 5 out of 5 for design. Bills says that this is his favorite sauce that they produce so with out further delay…

LETS CRACK THIS BOTTLE OPEN!

Taste, sauce smell, and consistency: The label reads, “Shake well first,” but as I look at the sauce, I notice that the ingredients have not separated and they appear through the bottle to hold together rather well. It looks nice and thick. So I give it a shake anyway and tear off the plastic wrapper. Most times I can appreciate the smell of the sauce when I open the lid to the bottle. This is definitely one of those times. I can immediately smell the roasted peppers and spices. I love the garlic! The vinegar is not the first smell I experience, (which is nice) but it definitely plays a role in the creation of this sauce. “Mrs. Eh?” says that the hickory smoked pepper smell reminds her of barbeque and that it’s refreshing not to be overwhelmed with vinegar smell. I can definitely taste the smoke flavor and the seasoning. It’s very good with chips and highly addictive…I can’t get enough! As I type I am (kind of frantically) thinking of what else I can use this sauce on. I bet it would be great on barbeque or fajitas. I give the taste, smell, and consistency a 5 out of 5.

Heat Level: The heat level is far from overwhelming. This is one of those sauces that if you like the flavor then you can use it freely without fear. It has some heat and a lot of flavor. “Mrs. Eh?” says that it has a sweet, hickory flavor. The heat is moderate but grows and again doesn’t have that overwhelming vinegar taste. I would give it about a 2.5 to 3 out of five for heat.

Overall, I rank this sauce a 4.5 out of 5. An excellent moderate heat sauce that would be great on anything!

Well this is “Atomic Eh?” letting you know that the heat factor of this sauce may not be “atomic” but the flavor sure is! It has the best-smoked pepper taste that I have tasted in a long time. The heat is of a level that anyone can enjoy. Tomorrow I get to go on a quest to find out what else I can use this new product on. Check them out at www.buddhabills.com. A new company with a new flavor!

Have a great Holiday Season!

So keep it hot and keep it spicy!
Enjoy!