Gindo’s – Ghost of Christmas Future

The third and final bottle from the Gindo’s 2024 Ghost of Christmas three pack, Ghost of Christmas Future was designed to “embrace the future of heat”. Like Ghost of Christmas Past and Ghost of Christmas Present this is a unique limited edition sauce that will exist only for this single release. This is the 10th year Gindo’s has been releasing these annual Christmas trios with the recipes changing each year. Ghost of Christmas Past was crafted to honor the history of the chile pepper, Ghost of Christmas Present to celebrate current trends, and Ghost of Christmas Future to offer a glimpse into what may be coming.

Like its brethren Ghost of Christmas Future features a bounty of super hot and artisanal chiles, this time chocolate varieties of scorpions, reapers, ghosts, scotch bonnets, and habaneros. To compliment the darker earthier flavors of those peppers Gindo’s matched them with cabernet wine, Korean gochujang paste, smoked sea salt, cocoa powder, fermented soy bean paste, kombu, figs, and more.

Deep rich earthy flavors and a strong Asian influence are evident in the first taste of Ghost of Christmas Future. The burn takes a little bit more time to build in this sauce but it’s ultimately as spicy as the others, just with a creeping heat. An intense savory and umami sensation wraps around your tastebuds with this sauce. Despite having half the salt of Ghost of Christmas Present the savory sensations are just as strong if not stronger – the natural umami elements in the kombu, gochujang, and fermented soybean paste all combine to give that rich meaty savory flavor to this sauce. There is a touch of sweetness form the sugar, plums, and figs (nice Christmas themed fruit additions, those) but it’s more than balanced out with the savory elements in the sauce along with the strong heat from the super hot chiles used. Like Ghost of Christmas Past and Ghost of Christmas Present despite the presence of some of the hottest peppers in the world I never detected any of the acerbic or bitter flavors that those peppers can sometimes bring.

The darkest (in appearance and flavor) and most umami-forward of the three sauces this one provided the most challenges in terms of pairing. Going in an Asian direction worked very well – this was much more to my tastes to dip some pieces of crispy pork belly and BBQ duck in that the cloyingly sweet sauce that normally comes with takeout from my favorite Chinese restaurant. A dash in some hot and sour soup also did a great job of both adding additional depth to the soup and amping up the hot side of the equation. Outside of Asian cuisine Ghost of Christmas Future is excellent on steak, chicken sandwiches, and pizza from my experience.

I will heartily recommend purchasing the entire three pack of the Gindo’s Ghost of Christmas sauces (as that’s the only way they come). All of the sauces are unique and delicious, and I personally plan on purchasing each year’s release as a holiday tradition.

Ingredients: Red Bell Pepper, Distilled Vinegar, Water, Chocolate Moruga Scorpion Pepper, Chocolate Reaper Pepper, Chocolate Ghost, Chocolate Scotch Bonnet Pepper, Chocolate Habanero Pepper, Sea Salt, Plum, Cabernet, Agave Nectar, Organic Cane Sugar, Garlic Powder, Smoked Salt, Balsamic Vinegar, Xanthan Gum, Ground Peppercorn, Granulated Onion, White Pepper, Kalamata Olive, Cocoa Powder, Kombu, Rice Wine Vinegar, Gochujang, Soy Bean Paste (rice malt, soy sauce), Fig Balsamic Vinegar

Heat Level: 5/10 – This one builds more slowly than the others but it has a great lingering burn