Oso Rojo – The Peach Phantom

This is the first sauce from Oso Rojo that I have tried. The company hails from Denver, CO and according to some a profile from their local paper was the brainchild of man who owned a food truck and became a full-time gig once the COVID pandemic put a halt to the food truck business. Their sauces prioritize flavor over heat, and even this, their hottest sauce, is only of medium heat, but they’ve absolutely nailed it on the flavor aspect.

I’m normally not a fan of fruit-based hot sauces, I tend to dislike sauces where there’s too much sweetness, but my fears turned out to be unfounded in this case because this sauce is immaculately well balanced. There’s some peach and fruit on the nose, as well as some of that smoke ghost pepper, but when you pour the smooth and thin sauce within on your food and take a bite you’re rewarded with a complex mélange of flavors. The peaches are there, but so is the ghost balancing that sweetness with heat and some brimstone smoke, and the vegetal notes of the bell peppers, onion, and basil provide some great contrast and keep this securely in the savory realm instead of drifting into dessert-sauce territory.

I did have to give it a shot with ice cream though, just because of that peach note, and it does work well in that regard, but I’ll fully admit I’m more accepting of savory ice cream combinations than some others are. I found my preferred uses of this one was on open face sandwiches, chicken strips, and empanadas.

With a medium heat this still imparts some real ghost chile flavor, so this would be a great sauce for someone who wants to dip their toes into what ghost peppers taste like without blowing their lid off.

I will also give props to Oso Rojo as being another saucemaker who prioritizes all-natural ingredients, with no artificial flavors, preservatives, or thickeners.

On a less positive note, I’ve heard from an industry insider that this company may in fact be going out of business or close to it. You can still buy their sauces directly from their website and from select third party vendors, so if this sounds like something you’d like to try, I would recommend picking up sooner rather than later.

Ingredients: Bell Pepper, Distilled White Vinegar, Onion, Ghost Pepper, Peaches, Water, Garlic, Salt, Basic, Spices, Brown Sugar, Olive Oil

Heat Level: 3/10. There’s some warmth and if you slather it on thick you may get some burn, but this is still a very approaching sauce.