Valentina – Black Label Extra Hot
Valentina Black Label is a sauce that’s been a staple in my refrigerator for at least the past fifteen years, though I’m sure I enjoyed it at restaurants even before then. Having never looked up the history of the sauce I just discovered that it’s been around since 1960 and is made in Guadalajara, Mexico. More interesting is the namesake of the sauce, a Mexican revolutionary named Valentina Ramírez Avitia who joined the Mexican revolutionary army after the death of her father by assuming the false name of Juan Ramirez and donning her brother’s clothes.
While the label lists only the nondescript “chili pepper” for the peppers used, some googling reveals the chiles used in Valentina are the puya chile, a relative of the guajillo chile. Similarly while just “spices” are listed cumin is certainly present, as is garlic. The texture of Valentina Black Label is very smooth as is common with this style of sauce with a medium to medium-thick consistency. The aroma is of dried chiles and vinegar.
Puya chiles, like their close relatives guajillos, have some fruity elements to their flavor, but being dried chiles also have an earthiness and some bitter flavor elements. The earthiness comes through most prominently on the first taste of Valentina Black Label, accentuated by the cumin which is one of the earthiest tasting spices. Dark dried fruit flavors play in the back of the palate as the heat creeps in. Despite being labeled as extra hot this sauce is still on the mild side of the spectrum. One of the best parts about Valentina Black Label, and one of the reasons its been my choice of this style of sauce as opposed to similar sauces Cholula or Tapatio, is that Valentina has a beautifully balanced acidity. The flavors are more vibrant because more vinegar is used in Valentina as opposed to the others, which makes the sauce and the food it’s served on come more alive.
This is a sauce I use pretty much exclusively with Mexican food. I imagine it would work well on pizza and sandwiches as well, but with the strong cumin and dried chile elements this sauce just screams Mexican cuisine to me. I always drizzle this (as well as a Mexican style habanero sauce) over nachos before I dig in, and this along with some sour cream and cheese can make a frozen burrito into an almost respectable meal. I do find that in general this sauce works best when combined with a Mexican style habanero sauce that adds additional brightness and heat to compliment the earthy and cumin heavy flavors of Valentina.
Having bought dozens of bottles of this over the years I can happily recommend Valentina Black Label. It’s also one of the most affordable hot sauces on the market with the one liter size often available for less than $6 at Mexican grocery stores.
Ingredients: Water, Chili Pepper, Vinegar, Salt, Spices, Sodium Benzoate
Heat Level: 2/10 Mild but a bit hotter than the basic Valentina and basic Louisiana style sauces
