I’ve never been one of those guys who succumb to the macho hot sauce contests. I’ve always felt that there was a time and place for the burn-your-throat-for-days hot sauces and usually that was with specialty foods like Thai or Indian. But it’s undeniable that there is a flavor that comes with the fire and that’s why I’ve always been a fan of Cholula. Ever since college when we would use it on everything deserving of hot sauce, it has been my favorite because it had a good dose of flavor as well as substantial heat. So when a rep from Cholula came along and asked me to review their new flavors, I was more than happy to give a try. So if you are looking for something to spice up your tailgating food and want something a little different you might want to check out their new line up.
Cholula Chipotle Hot Sauce
The first one of the new sauces I cracked open was the Cholula Chipotle hot sauce. For this one they took their standard sauce and added the essence of the chipotle pepper. This provided a smoky and sweet flavor which reminded me of a spicy barbecue sauce. Out of all of them this was definitely my favorite as I enjoy me some good barbecue. This goes best on most meats such as burgers, brats and I even enjoyed it on some fish. Basically, anywhere you would combine barbecue and hot sauce this is a winner.
Cholula Chili Lime Hot Sauce
The next one I tried was the Cholula Chili Lime hot sauce. Much like the name implies, they put a little bit of lime into the sauce that, to me, reminded me more of a salsa than anything. The hot sauce was full flavored making the French fries and tortilla chips that we put it on taste delicious, put it really wasn’t all that spicy. I would use this one anytime you want a little bit of tang into a sauce such as a tailgating chili or maybe some tacos/fajitas.
Cholula Chili Garlic Hot Sauce
The last of the new sauces was the Cholula Chili Garlic hot sauce. Again, no surprises here; when we opened it up you immediately tell that they infused this with garlic. Now I’m a big garlic fan, but what wasn’t apparent right away was that it used garlic salt to provide the garlic flavor and it made the sauce very salty. I tried it on some pork and it was alright, but I think the real value will be on/in anything that the salt can dissipate such as on a pizza or in a spaghetti sauce. That being said, my brother in law spent half the bottle on some chicken wings, so apparently you can’t go wrong there.
Final Thoughts
The new Cholula hot sauces are packaged in a neat little four pack that allows you to sample each flavor. The classic wooden top has been stained to make identifying each flavor easy (especially convenient in a crowded fridge or tailgating cooler). I don’t see these new flavors being the “secret ingredient” in anyone’s tailgating fare, but they do provide a welcome refreshment when you want to kick up the flavor and the heat in whatever it is you are eating. For recipes and ideas check out the Cholula website and to get a buck off the 4-pack you can send an e-mail to CholulaCoupon@rocketxl.com with your name and address (if they’re still doing it. They used to have a printable version on their facebook page but that got “used up”)
