The Ghost

Hello again heat hell hounds! Today we're going to take a look at The Ghost Hot Sauce made with Bhut Jolokia (ghost) peppers. I grabbed this sauce based on an incorrect assumption that I had of there not being a fair number of ghost pepper hot sauces. It took but a cursory bit of searching to find that there were indeed ghost pepper sauces flowing in the market like warm warm rivers.
The label says that it's a product of Costa Rica but it's branded and distributed by The Fig Brothers, operating out of Irving, TX. They are a hot sauce wholesale distributor, among other items like wholesale candy, coffee, and snacks. They are also responsible for the Melinda brand of hot sauces, one of which I've reviewed here before. They say that the name Melinda represents to them "all of the the women who have shared their passion for cooking and family" adding that "she symbolizes the mothers and grandmothers all around the world who make food with love".
The label was admittedly one of the things that initially attracted me to this sauce. Featuring a portrayal of a spectral ghost with red eyes and claws reaching out menacingly toward the viewer, it smacked of Halloween warmth without ever tasting the presumably fiery contents of the bottle to which is was attached! The color is a nice red that remains fairly deep despite being tinged with a bit of orange. There is sediment apparent, though not in over abundance. It appears to consist of mostly seed particles. The consistency is thick and the pour controlled with an overall feel of a thin syrup.
The taste is an interesting mix of sweet and earthy with my ever-comforting garlic present throughout the whole flavor endeavor. At the forefront I got a pleasant but not saccharine sweetness followed by what is unmistakably carrot. A bit of saltiness ended the taste trip but not in excess. Salty hot sauce is not one of my favorite things. I like the layers of flavor that hit one at different times.
The heat doesn't seem too bad at first but creeps upon the tongue and top of the mouth later. As part of said creeping process, it follows the swallow down to the top of the throat and cuts around that part for a brief moment. While that part is brief, the burn lasts a surprisingly long time towards the center and tip of the tongue. There is also considerable lip burn that is more than a tingle but a full heat that lasts a while.
While you can't get a single bottle directly from Fig Brothers via their website, you can pick up a bottle at Amazon.com for $9.95 at the time of this writing. I think that this is a reasonable price for a tasty sauce that packs a mean punch. It's hot for sure but not a burn-for-pain's-sake type of product. I look forward to enhancing food with this soon.
Just as a quick announcement before wishing all of you well, I will not be reviewing a sauce next week in observance of the Halloween holiday. That being the case, I'll still be with you all sooner rather than latter. Ta ta for now!