The Spicy Gnome – Dragon’s Tears

Bitter: ⭐⭐✰✰✰

Salty: ⭐✰✰✰✰

Sour/Tangy: ⭐✰✰✰✰

Sweet: ⭐✰✰✰✰

Umami: ⭐⭐✰✰✰

Heat: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐✰✰✰✰✰

Quick Flavor Notes: Earthy, smoky, citrus

Texture: Thin and smooth

Recommended: Yes

Ingredients: Water, Lime Juice, Carrots, Ghost Peppers, Jalapenos, Habanero Pepper, Garlic, Olive Oil, Sea Salt

Based out of Mankato, MN The Spicy Gnome, also confusingly sometimes known as J.S. Blends, has been around since 2022 and has a nice range of fantasy themed hot sauces. I’ve previously reviewed their Dragon’s Fury Salsa which I loved the flavor and heat of and really appreciated someone making an all-natural salsa with real heat. I’d picked up several of their hot sauces at the same time so I thought it was due that I finally opened one up for review.

Dragon’s Tears is based on ghost peppers, jalapenos, and habaneros. While it looks orange in my photos the actual color is much closer to yellow, making me believe it they use yellow ghost peppers and habaneros in the sauce. Yellow ghost peppers are milder than the traditional red and can have a more citrusy flavor. Carrots and lime juice also make an appearance, common accompaniments for habaneros. A little bit of olive oil is added as well, not enough to make this sauce emulsified or creamy, but I always like to see a little bit of oil in hot sauces as many elements of chile pepper flavor are fat soluble and not water or vinegar soluble, so that little bit of oil helps bring out more flavor from the peppers used. The sauce is thin in consistency with a smooth liquid texture and comes with an orifice reducer. There aroma is earthy with hints of citrus.

The Spicy Gnome doesn’t state whether their hot sauces are fermented or not but I have a feeling there may be at least some fermented ingredients in this. Typically hot sauces with water as the first ingredient taste, well, watery and dull in flavor, Cholula being a classic example. That’s not the case with The Spicy Gnome Dragon’s Tears at all which I why I suspect the “water” may actually be some fermented brine still packed with flavor. The initial flavor is earthy and a bit smoky, almost all ghost pepper. There are some citrus highlights, though whether from the yellow ghost or the lime juice I’m not sure. It’s not until that earthy wave of ghost pepper flavor starts to subside that there’s just the barest hint of habanero fruit. Surprisingly for a sauce that has more carrot, a sweet vegetable, than peppers there’s virtually no sweetness in this sauce. The jalapenos don’t bring much to the party other than perhaps a bit of vegetal tang in the background, but its hard for them to compete with the flavor of the ghost pepper. The heat present with an immediate punch and then builds with a long tail. While not nearly as not as some ghost pepper sauces such as Torchbearer’s Zombie Apocalypse the heat level of Dragon’s Tears is still satisfying. The sauce is listed as having no sodium and while it doesn’t taste very salty it does list sea salt as an ingredient. It’s also has no vinegar added and relies on lime juice and potentially some lactic fermentation, so a great choice for those sensitive to vinegary sauces.

With the earthy, smoky, and slightly citrusy flavor I thought this would be the perfect sauce to pair with kebabs which I’d been having a craving for anyway. Picking up some from my favorite local place I found this was indeed a great pairing and blended beautifully with both the flavors of the grilled meats as well as their garlic sauce and tahini. It’s also a banger of a sauce for grilled cheese sandwiches adding depth and with enough heat to cut through the richness of the cheese. This is also excellent with charro beans, the smoky earthy flavor profile being a perfect match for what’s traditionally a campfire dish.

The Spicy Gnome does it again and Dragon’s Tears is a winner. Despite a nice simple ingredients list the flavor profile is unique and the heat level is satisfying without becoming so painful I had to limit use. This sauce is also all natural with no artificial preservatives, colors, flavors, or thickeners.