Test Batches

About our test batches

Test batches are exactly what they sound like – small batches of hot sauce that we make as tests when ingredients are available and inspiration strikes. Each year we grow many different varieties of peppers, and one of the best parts of this business is tasting those peppers and thinking about what different ingredients and flavor combinations would work best with each of them. The test batch kitchen is where the magic happens!

Test batches are usually made in 2 – 5 gallon kettles, which means we will typically yield somewhere between 50 to 150 bottles of sauce. Each year some test batches are remade and others are a one time only event, so when they’re gone they’re gone! Most of that has to do with the seasonal nature of ingredient availability. If our fans love a certain test batch and we can reliably grow and/or source ingredients for it we will remake it as often as possible. Hot sauces like Witches Brew, Tiki Torch and Lava Lips all started as test batches and made it into full time rotation because we listened to our customers.

You will see different test batches come and go from this section as they become available. Thanks for your interest in this, our favorite part of this small business!

Currently Available

All of our test batches

Test batch sauces are made when ingredients are available and are not in regular stock most of the time. This is due to sourcing requirements and available space. I can also make custom sauces for any occasion, let me know what you like and what you’re looking for and we’ll come up with something stellar for you!

Test batch # 5 – Afterburner

A darker orange sauce. HOT! Made with aji rojo, orange habanero and peach bhut jolokia peppers. Great on fried seafood, eggs and pizza but also good to pump up the flavor on anything you like; from bloody marys to marinara. Heat level = 8/10

Test batch # 6 – Sweet Creep

made with smoke roasted allepo and criolla de cucina peppers cut with yellow congos and bhuts, balanced with onion, garlic, raspberries, strawberries and honey. It starts a little bit sweet and then the heat starts to creep in. Heat continues to build the more you eat, so beware the Sweet Creep! Heat level = 8/10

Test Batch # 8 – Scorched

made with allepo and red bells, bhut jolokia & Carolina reaper peppers and then finished with some roasted garlic, lime juice and apples from our tree. It’s one of the hottest sauces I’ve made to date; a real whole mouth burn that starts at the tip of your tongue and spreads fire from there. Heat level = 8/10

Test Batch # 9 – Chariot of the Sun

made with yellow bells, peach bhut jolokia and yellow fatali peppers mixed with pineapple, mango, onion and roasted garlic. Finished with some pineapple marmalade and some orange juice for balance. It starts with just a touch of sweet/sour and then really opens up with heat coming on at the finish. As hot if not hotter than Scorched but in a different way – the heat hits more in the back of the throat. Heat level = 8/10

Test Batch # 10 – Wang Thang

made with bishop’s hats, fresnos, rocotos and red thai peppers, vidalia onion, roasted garlic, ripe red raspberries, apple cider vinegar, turbinado sugar and finished with some clementine juice and orange honey. It’s tart and tangy from the raspberries, with just a touch of sweet and then a nice medium heat builds. Best on grilled or fried wings, but pretty great on fried shrimp, oysters and mushrooms too. Heat level is 5/10. Note: Mix 2 tbsp sauce with 2 tbsp butter for wings.

Test Batch # 11

Has been aging for 5 years now. No further details until it’s ready.

Test Batch # 12 – Bonanza

made in September of 2019 with the very last of all our peppers. I smoked scotch bonnets, aji mangos, ancient sweets and aleppo peppers over pecan wood and combined them with fresh fresnos, scorpions and jalas in a ferment that ran for more than a year. It’s a wonderfully complex aged hot sauce with notes of fruit and smoke. Heat level is 6/10.

Test Batch # 13 – Old Bones

made with murupi amarella, white bhuts, yellow congo and hungarian wax peppers, cut with roasted garlic, onion and apples from our tree. It’s finished with some white wine vinegar and a touch of buckwheat honey. Hot! Heat level is 8/10 with the burn centering on the tip of the tongue and the lips.

Test Batch # 14 – Recipe X

a brick red mashup of flavor, contrasting fresh manzanos with dried peach bhuts and roasted red bell peppers, fresh garlic, walla walla onion, fresh cranberries, vinegar, and pink lady apples. Starts just a little bit sweet from the manzanos, then some heat kicks in, then tart turning savory hot at the finish. This sauce is best used on grilled or smoked meats or to kick up sauces you’d normally use in such situations. Heat level is 6/10

Test Batch # 15 – Fornax

matches roasted ancient sweets, manzanos, red habs and dried red bhuts with roasted sweet onion, fresh garlic, white wine vinegar, raspberries, turbinado sugar and pixwell gooseberries from our garden. Just a touch of bourbon is added at the end, giving this fiery sauce a complex and nuanced flavor. Use this in any dish that is missing ‘that little something’ with a bit of caution. Heat level = 7/10

Test Batch # 17 – The Hurricane

made from a Dee Roo original hybrid pepper created in our garden and matched with roasted garlic, shallots, criolla de cucina & ancient sweet peppers, apple cider vinegar and raspberries from our garden. The Hurricane is a storm of flavor on your taste buds! Heat level = 7/10

Test Batch # 18 – SunBurn

pairs scotch brain, dulce sol, berry amarillo, trinidad cherry yellow and aji jobito peppers with pineapple & citrus fruits and a touch of white wine vinegar to round out the finish. Heat Level = 7/10

Test Batch # 19 – Rough Rider

a deep amber, almost cinnamon colored sauce made with several super hot pepper crosses, red rocotos, walla walla onion, garlic and finished with some raspberries and cane vinegar. Heat Level = 8/10

Test Batch # 20 – After Midnight

a wonderfully hot and smoky combination of pecan smoke roasted yaki blue, poblano and chipotle peppers, fresh blackberries, apple cider vinegar, onion, roasted garlic and piloncillo sugar. Slightly sweet to start, then a creeper heat kicks in. Heat level = 6/10

Test Batch # 21 – Why Not?

a nicely hot version of a classic Louisiana pepper sauce. Fresno and pequin peppers pair up with trinidad scorpions in this batch, matched with white wine vinegar, spanish onions and rioja garlic. Tart cherries and clover honey round out the flavor profile. Heat level = 7/10

Test Batch # 22 – Renegade

matches bahamian goat and fresno peppers combined with roasted ancient sweet peppers to bring the heat, which is balanced by peaches and carrots from our garden. A bit of apple cider vinegar and roasted garlic complete the batch. Hot! Heat level = 8/10

Test Batch # 23 – Bumper Crop

We had a bumper crop of garlic this year so I took about 10lbs of it and cooked it down with white bhut jolokia peppers and some sweet maui onion. White wine vinegar and clover honey round out the flavor profile. The finished sauce is immediately hot on the lips & tongue with a nice whole mouth burn. Great on greens, bean dishes of all sorts and in a salad dressing for those who love all things hot. Heat level = 7/10

Test Batch # 25 – Red Dawn

combines fire roasted aji cito peppers balanced with red bells and peaches from our tree. Fresh garlic, sweet walla walla onion, white wine vinegar and round out this nicely hot and savory sauce. Heat Level = 6/10

Test Batch # 26 – Cherry Bomb

made with malih-helow and goats weed peppers that are paired with roasted rocambole garlic and vidalia onion then balanced with rice vinegar and cherries from our tree. The resultant sauce starts a bit sweet and then the heat kicks in. This sauce would be good with all manner of game meats and seafood. Heat Level = 6/10

Test Batch # 27 – Chocolate Pain

made with giant chocolate habaneros, dried ancho and chipotle chiles, red onion, georgian fire garlic and balanced with blackberries, buckwheat honey and a bit of apple cider vinegar. Hot! Good to brighten up all manner of sauces and stir frys as well as bean dishes and soups . Heat Level = 8/10

Test Batch # 28 – Zeus’s Fruits

made with our home grown and bred hurricane peppers, vidalia onion, porcelain garlic and balanced with fresh apricots and apples from our tree. It’s a very flavorful sauce that we’ve used on wings and stir fries with great results. Heal Level = 7/10

Test Batch # 29 – El Matador

combines giant chocolate habaneros with our chocolate hurricane peppers, fresh garlic, vidalia onion that is balanced with apple cider, dates and fresh persimmon. Apple cider vinegar and a touch of piloncillo sugar round out the flavor profile. This sauce starts sweet but then the heat REALLY comes on. It’s the hottest sauce I’ve made in a while. Heat Level = 9/10

Test Batch # 30 – Ginger Sunset

pairs bahamian goat and aleppo peppers with fresh ginger, rioja garlic and spanish onion, rounded out with peaches from our tree and a bit of rice wine vinegar. Starts with a kiss of peach, then the ginger steps in and the heat follows. Heat Level = 7 of 10.

Test Batch # 31 – Pleasure Punch

a sweet then hot mashup of orange habanero and manzano peppers matched with dried calabrese peppers, sweet red bells, champagne mangos, yellow onion and roasted garlic and cherries from our tree. The resultant sauce starts with the mango and cherry then the peppers kick in. Heat level = 7 of 10.

Test Batch # 32 – El Tormenta

a nicely hot mix of chocolate hurricane peppers matched with fresh chilaca peppers, figs & blackberries from our garden, dried anchos, dates, walla walla onion, porcelain garlic, apple cider vinegar and apple juice. The sauce is a dark looming cloud of potent heat for your tastebuds! Heat level = 8 of 10.

Test Batch # 33 – Red Solis

made from red hurricane, fresno, jalapeno and ancient sweet peppers, vidalia onion, rioja garlic, pink lady apples, cactus pears and apple cider vinegar balanced with some clover honey and lime juice at the end to round out the flavors. This sauce is great mixed into all manner of soups, curries and stews. Heat level = 7 of 10.

As always, more sauces coming soon!! 🙂