Blueberries and chili peppers are an underrated combo. That earthy sweetness and heat just work. So excited I am to dive into a bottle of Bravado Ghost Pepper And Blueberry Hot Sauce. So do the blueberries stand-up to the extreme heat capable in those ghost chilies? And how usable is it? Let’s review.
Blueberries and ghost peppers are sneaky good together, and Bravado Spice Company's Ghost Pepper and Blueberry Hot Sauce lets these two ingredients shine. They don't overwhelm them with other ingredients competing with their natural flavors. It's earthy, sweet, and a little tangy with a bold, extra-hot level of spiciness.
- Unique and delicious flavor - blueberries are front and center
- Surprisingly usable
- Fun hot sauce color
- None
Table of Contents
Flavor
If you haven’t experienced blueberries and chilies together, Bravado Spice Company does a great job flavor-wise here. Props to them for keeping the ingredients list simple; it allows the blueberry flavor to really take center stage. How simple? Bravado Ghost Pepper an Blueberry Hot Sauce has only five ingredients: blueberries, rice vinegar, red ghost pepper puree, sea salt, lemon juice from concentrate, and black pepper.
On first bite, you’re immediately hit with that earthy-sweet blueberry taste. That’s followed by a bit of tartness (from the vinegar and lemon), and finally those ghost peppers hit mid-bite with the heat. The earthy sweetness morphs into more of a fruity sweetness throughout, thanks to the natural fruitiness of those ghost chilies.
And at the very tail end of the eating experience, there’s a touch of that ground black pepper flavor – ever so slightly pungent and woody. It’s a nice undertone to give a bit of depth to the prolonged bold heat of those ghost chilies.
On the sodium: Bravado Ghost Pepper and Blueberry Hot Sauce has 45 mg per teaspoon serving (2% of your daily allowance.) It’s not low-sodium, but it’s certainly not high either, especially considering the spiciness here.
Note, there is an older version of this hot sauce with less sodium, no lemon juice, and white wine vinegar instead of rice vinegar. So, depending on the bottle you have, the sodium and flavors may vary some.
Heat Balance
Ghost peppers are, of course, one of the most popular super-hot chilies on the planet. These days, they sit on the tail-end of the hottest peppers of the world, but they are still wicked hot, topping out at roughly 1 million Scoville heat units (SHU.) But, of course, any hot sauce won’t have the full heat of ghost pepper as dilution is in play.
Bravado Spice company doesn’t list the Scoville units for its Ghost Pepper and Blueberry Hot Sauce, but we’d place it at a medium-high level of spiciness. It’s a decent kick. To me, it was like the heat level of a very hot Thai pepper (50,000 to 100,000 SHU.) It doesn’t reach the heat of a habanero (100,000 to 350,000 SHU) in my opinion. Still, that’s an extra-hot level of spiciness fitting of labeling something with the ghost pepper name up front. But it’s not so hot that only extreme eaters can enjoy it. Hot sauce veterans that like a challenge will get plenty of mileage here.
Best of all – the blueberries are up to the challenge. They balance quite well with that bold heat. As mentioned, you get that blueberry flavor strongest at the top – and it morphs into ongoing fruity sweetness. The heat builds and lingers here at the back of the throat for a good five to ten minutes. Though I never found it to be so overwhelming that I couldn’t go back for a dash or two throughout.
Usability
You may think that a blueberry hot sauce could be limiting in the kitchen, but you’d be surprised. Blueberries work in so many places, from red meats to maple syrups and more.Â
I tried Bravado Ghost Pepper and Blueberry Hot Sauce on steak, and it was delicious. And I could see this being a unique chicken wing sauce. I really enjoyed it on my eggs and the dash I added to sourdough toast was just delicious. I didn’t try it with maple syrup, but I could image this being a huge winner there for a fiery breakfast condiment or wing dipper.
This hot sauce is on the thinner side (though not quite watery), so it comes out quick. The spout is about the size of a dime, so you can get a good amount on your plate in a short time. Just careful, as you could over-pour pretty easily.
Collectibility
First, this is a purple hot sauce. That may be weird for some, but for someone into collecting unique bottles, it’s an excellent quirky color. And blueberries aren’t as common as other fruits when it comes to hot sauce pairings.
The branding is typical Bravado also always does an excellent job with color matching labels and sauces – it looks appealing and appetizing at a simple glance. The label has changed recently compared to what’s pictured here, but in both instances, the color matching is on point.
The Score
Blueberries and ghost peppers are sneaky good together, and Bravado Spice Company’s Ghost Pepper and Blueberry Hot Sauce lets these two ingredients shine. They don’t overwhelm them with other ingredients competing with their natural flavors. It’s earthy, sweet, and a little tangy with a bold, extra-hot level of spiciness.
| Total Score | 4.4 |
| Overall Flavor | 5 |
| Heat Balance | 4.5 |
| Usability | 4 |
| Collectibility | 4 |
| X-Factor | 4.5 |
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