Away From Home: Mad Dog 357 Collector's Edition Hot Sauce

It's assignment time again - when sleep is substituted by caffein, and fresh-cooked food by reheated leftovers. I intended to hold this post till I had the time to do a proper write-up, but as usual, procrastication never sees an end. Time to cross it off my todo list.

This will be a touch-and-go review with mainly photos and limited comments. It regrettably does not do justice to such an amazing product.

Got myself the Mad Dog 357 Collector's Edition Hot Sauce about a month back.

Unlike the stadard Mad Dog 357 Hot Sauce which is rated at 357,000 Scoville units (hence the 357 in it's name), the collector's edition packs an anus-scorching 600,000 units.

So insane is the ~~consumer~~ intensity of the sauce that it comes with a warning and disclaimer:

"I agree, as indicated by my opening of this bottle, as follows in connection with my purchase of this product:
1. ... extremely hot ... bla bla bla
2. ... to be used at my own risk .... bla bla
3. If I give this product as a gift, I will make the recipient fully aware... potential danger... bla bla
4. I hereby disclaim, release and relinquish .... lawsuits... relating to any damage or injury ... consumption .. bla bla
5. I am not inebriated or otherwise not of a sound mind ... sound decision.. purchase... bla bla"

Besides the eat-liao-die-your-own-fault warnings, the bottle also comes with a cool bullet key-chain.

I was pleasantly surprised when I realised that the bulb connecting the chain to the bullet can be screwed off to reveal a miniature tasting spoon.

Somehow, it reminds me of the thingy that Sarah Michelle Gellar (in Cruel Intentions) had around her neck to store and snort coke/meth/flour/whatever.

The ingredients did not seem as impressive compared to the Predator Great White Shark Hot Sauce. However, taste wise, I very much prefer this compared to the Shark or even Blair's Jersey Death.

Mad Dog is not so heavy on the vinegar, and has more of the peppery base. It does not have a strong taste that overwhelms the flavours of your food, and is not oily and thus blends well with just about any dish.

This is the setup I prepared for my maiden taste test. Sausage, hash browns, and eggs as the main meal, lots of milk just in case my innards burst into flames, and some auxiliary sauces as mixers.

I always test the water with a single pure drop on plain food. As with other insanely hot sauces, the kick is delayed when it is taken in concentrated form. It's when the sauce mixes with saliva and coats your tongue that you feel hell breaking loose.

I noticed that my spiciness threshold has increased quite a bit over the last months. Unlike my initial flirts with Hot Sauces when a few drops had me gargling milk, I can now withstand a tiny puddle of undiluted hot sauce. Well, at least my tongue can. My digestive track is still no fan of Capsaicine.

That's where the mixers come it. By diluting hot sauce in food or other sauces, the tongue is kept happy with a continuous battery of flaming attacks, while the tummy is spared the misery of having to store and digest a whole load of liquid pain.