The Spicy Shark – Caribbean Reef Shark Scotch Bonnet Hot Sauce
Based out of Porstmouth, NH The Spicy Shark hasn’t been around as long as some other hot sauce companies, just entering the scene a few years ago in 2018, but they’ve made a name amongst enthusiasts with creative flavor profiles and sponsoring a number of hot sauce and spicy food events in the New England area. The company founder had extensive experience in the restaurant and beverage distribution business which when combined witha love for spicy food led to the creation of the company.
The Spicy Shark’s sauces tend to involve a large number of ingredients, many of them unexpected, and this sauce the Caribbean Reef Shark featuring the Scotch Bonnet is no exception. Scotch Bonnet peppers are often used in Caribbean style hot sauces. The style of those sauces can differ greatly from brand to brand – some are very piquant and mustard-forward, others feature just a fiery pepper dominated flavor profile, and yet others are much sweeter combining tropical fruits with peppers for a sweet and spicy blend. This sauce is an example of the latter type, and while it’s my least favorite of the three, I did find this particular sauce enjoyable.
Combining scotch bonnet peppers with tropical fruits and jerk inspired spices this sauce does pack a flavor punch. Despite the Scotch Bonnet peppers being the 2nd ingredient on the list after onions, they don’t dominate the flavor profile. There’s some pepper fruitiness, but it comes without the characteristic bite that usually accompanies it. Instead it’s the coconut milk, bananas, pineapple, and sweet potato that really take over the flavor profile. The jerk spices make themselves known as well, and with the molasses they combine with the other ingredients to give the effect of warm baking spices, giving this sauce an almost Holiday-esque type of nostalgic flavor, though one with the Corona palm trees with Christmas lights vs a snow covered cabin with Bing Crosby on the turntable. While the sauce does show mustard as an ingredient, there wasn’t a noticeable mustard flavor to my palate, though it could be adding a background savoriness.
Despite a negative reaction when I tasted the first spoonful of this sauces, the lack of pepper flavor and the overly forward fruit and sweetness not being my thing, the sauce has grown on me considerably. It’s not an all-purpose sauce for me, but when paired with smoky meats like some country style ribs I charred on the grill, or with a jamon y queso empanada or some croquetas, it totally works, and better than some other sauces I tried.
Despite the long ingredient list, this sauce is all natural without any artificial colors, flavors, preservatives, or thickeners.
I feel like I can recommend this sauce, with the caveat that it is sweet and fruit-forward with very low heat. If that’s your jam you’ll absolutely love this. If it’s not but you can get into it from time to time this sauce is still nice for some niche applications.
Ingredients: Onion, Scotch Bonnet Peppers, Sweet Potato, Pineapple Juice, Apple Cider Vinegar, Carrots, Coconut Milk, Pineapple, Banana, Garlic, Water, Lime Juice, Scallions, Fresh Limes, Sugar, Ginger, Cilantro, Habanero Peppers, Molasses, Dijon Mustard, Celery Salt, Cumin, Salt, Tarragon, Ginger Powder, Cinnamon, Allspice, Anise, Cloves, Thyme, Mint
Heat Level: 2/10. This is a very mild sauce with a flavor profile dominated by sweetness. It’s perhaps just a small step above Frank’s and Crystal in terms of heat.
