Smokin’ Ed’s / Puckerbutt Pepper Company – Spicy Italian Hot Sauce
Bitter: ⭐✰✰✰✰
Salty: ⭐✰✰✰✰
Sour: ⭐✰✰✰✰
Sweet: ⭐✰✰✰✰
Umami: ⭐⭐⭐⭐✰
Heat: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐✰✰✰✰
Quick Flavor Notes: Savory, garlic, basil, oregano
Texture: Very thick, chunky
Ingredients: Pepper Mash, Vinegar, Garlic, Onion, Italian Seasoning
Recommended: Yes
One of the things I enjoy about Ed Currie’s Puckerbutt Pepper Company is the constant drive to create new hot sauce flavors. While the idea of an Italian hot sauce might not seem as out of left field as some of his other options, like his Goji Berry sauce, chocolate and brandy sauces, or his creation of an Irish themed hot sauce, there are surprisingly few Italian flavored hot sauces on the market given how popular that cuisine is in the United States.
Somehow this bottle made it into my order without the ingredients printed anywhere on it. I’m not positive if that’s even legal, but this may have been a bottle I purchased during one of their clearance sales, so that may have been a reason this run was bring blown out. The ingredients are thankfully available online and include chile peppers, vinegar, garlic, and Italian seasoning. In typical Ed Currie style he doesn’t disclose the actual peppers used, but due to the way the heat builds and the overall flavor of this sauce I believe it to contain some ghost peppers, Carolina Reapers, and perhaps some Pepper X. The aroma is of hot peppers and Italian herbs and spices, the texture of this sauce is very thick with a good chunkiness.
The Italian flavors come through big-time in this sauce. While Puckerbutt also makes a similar Italian influenced sauce with their Unique Garlique the Spicy Italian has more prominent herbs and spices and a brighter flavor overall. While I can’t dissect every herbal nuance there are big notes of basil, oregano, garlic, onion, and possibly rosemary as well. The pepper elements are present but not the stars of the show, you know you’re eating a sauce made with some serious peppers but the strong herbs, spices, and aromatics take center stage. The heat on this sauce is a creeper – there’s some presentation up front, but it builds and lingers for quite a long time. The sauce is savory, spicy, and has a flavor profile that reminds me of what an all day simmered Sunday gravy from an Italian-American grandmother would taste like if it was transformed into a hot sauce.
The only thing holding this sauce back a bit from great flexibility is how thick it is. The flavor profile is versatile – it’s great with pizza, pasta, sandwiches, burgers, and chicken wings. It’s not the best fit for Mexican or Asian dishes but otherwise I found it great on almost everything I tried it on.
I’m happy to recommend Smokin’ Ed’s Spicy Italian hot sauce. It’s got a very nice amount of heat, great depth of flavor, and a flavor profile we don’t see very often but still comes with great flexibility. This sauce is also all natural with no artificial preservatives, colors, flavors, or thickeners.
