Bitter: ⭐⭐✰✰✰
Salty: ⭐✰✰✰✰
Sour/Tangy: ⭐⭐⭐⭐✰
Sweet: ⭐⭐✰✰✰
Umami: ⭐⭐✰✰✰
Heat: ⭐✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰
Quick Flavor Notes: Tart, fruity, earthy, garlic
Recommended: Yes
Texture: Thin and mostly smooth
Ingredients: Fresno chile pepper, water, apple cider vinegar, garlic puree (garlic and water), vinegar, kosher salt, organic dried garlic, organic turmeric, organic black pepper
This is the third of the Hot Ones The Classic hot sauces I’ve tried after already enjoying their The Classic Original and The Classic Chili Maple. This particular sauce has landed in the number one position on The Hot Ones show in seasons twelve, thirteen, sixteen, eighteen, and twenty-four. Interestingly the blurb on the back of the bottle says that this sauce came about through an accidental mixture of ten times more garlic than planned into a batch of The Classic. While it doesn’t mention which Classic they refer to I’d have to assume they’d be the original, however The Classic Original is a chile de arbol based sauce though The Classic Chili Maple is based on fresno peppers. Regardless, I do love Fresno chiles and I love garlic so I was happy to give this one a go.
Not only is this sauce based on the same pepper as The Classic Chili Maple, the ingredients list is nearly identical save for the exclusion of the maple syrup in this one. Interestingly though this sauce is branded as a garlic sauce and Chili Maple isn’t, Chili Maple actually has the dried garlic a position higher on the ingredients list than Fresno Garlic does. In Chili Maple it appears before the kosher salt, in Fresno Garlic it appears after, and Fresno Garlic has less salt that Chili Maple so it’s entirely reasonable to assume there’s less of it in this sauce. While perhaps its true that the accident that inspired this sauce was the result of ten times too much garlic being added to a batch, it seems that Heatonist decided they didn’t want to actually commit to that for the release, which is a shame as you can never have too much garlic in a hot sauce. Still, Fresno chiles are one of my favorite peppers as they have a unique strong flavor that’s simultaneously smoky and fruity with a meaty earthy vegetal flavor as well. Like The Classic Original and Chili Maple this sauce also makes use of both white vinegar in the Fresno mash as well as apple cider vinegar for the main acid component in the sauce. Turmeric adds some color and more earthy notes while black pepper, always a wonderful addition to any hot sauce, rounds it out. Like all of The Classic hot sauces this one is thin in texture and smooth though this one is perhaps a bit thicker than either The Classic Original or Chili Maple and you can see some more bits inside. The aroma is of vinegar with some chile in the backend.
Hot Ones The Classic Fresno Garlic has a vinegar-forward flavor, but it’s not in the same way as a sauce like Tabasco or Louisiana. Instead, while this sauce is tangy, it’s also very tart. Apple cider vinegar has a certain tartness and sweetness that makes the flavor different from more neutral vinegars and its a dominant flavor in this sauce. The Fresnos do stand up to it though and there’s a nice fruity earthy and slightly smoky flavor from the chiles. The turmeric enhances that earthiness. As I mentioned looking at the ingredients the garlic content doesn’t seem to live up to what the label blurb hypes. While there is a garlic flavor to this sauce it’s not a major “smack you in the face” level of garlic but rather a supporting character to the Fresno chile and apple cider vinegar. In my review of The Classic Chili Maple I mentioned that the sauce had a weak flavor that felt a little watered down, thankfully that isn’t an issue with this one. While it’s not nearly as intense as some of the very thick sauces from Puckerbutt it still has solid flavor, and has a great balance between fruity, earthy, garlicky, sour, and tart. The heat level is low with no burn. Fresno chiles aren’t very hot to begin with and this sauce is on the thinner side the chile content is even more diluted.
I tried this first with a Red’s breakfast burrito (Publix was having a BOGO on them) and this is a perfect breakfast sauce – it actually has a little tingle if you eat it first thing in the morning and the tart flavor wakes up your tastebuds, it also just happens to go great with eggs and sausage. I also loved this sauce on a stromboli (and I imagine it would be perfect on a pizza as well). Fresnos and pizza-like-foods are a match made in heaven with the earthy flavors playing great off of the tomato sauce and the acidity level being a good match as well. With the tartness and acidity of this sauce I also loved it with macaroni and cheese. Mac and cheese in general isn’t a dish I usually go for because it’s so rich and a bit one-note, but I had a craving and with Fresno Garlic it was really woken up.
I’m happy to recommend this one. If you like the flavor of Fresno chiles and a more vinegar-forward hot sauce this is absolutely one to check out. This is also one of the ones that’s often available on grocery store shelves for a lower price than what you can get it for from Heatonist which makes it more appealing. This sauce is also all natural with no artificial preservatives, colors, flavors, or thickeners.
by MagnusAlbusPater
1 Comment
Bitter: ⭐⭐✰✰✰
Salty: ⭐✰✰✰✰
Sour/Tangy: ⭐⭐⭐⭐✰
Sweet: ⭐⭐✰✰✰
Umami: ⭐⭐✰✰✰
Heat: ⭐✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰
Quick Flavor Notes: Tart, fruity, earthy, garlic
Recommended: Yes
Texture: Thin and mostly smooth
Ingredients: Fresno chile pepper, water, apple cider vinegar, garlic puree (garlic and water), vinegar, kosher salt, organic dried garlic, organic turmeric, organic black pepper
This is the third of the Hot Ones The Classic hot sauces I’ve tried after already enjoying their The Classic Original and The Classic Chili Maple. This particular sauce has landed in the number one position on The Hot Ones show in seasons twelve, thirteen, sixteen, eighteen, and twenty-four. Interestingly the blurb on the back of the bottle says that this sauce came about through an accidental mixture of ten times more garlic than planned into a batch of The Classic. While it doesn’t mention which Classic they refer to I’d have to assume they’d be the original, however The Classic Original is a chile de arbol based sauce though The Classic Chili Maple is based on fresno peppers. Regardless, I do love Fresno chiles and I love garlic so I was happy to give this one a go.
Not only is this sauce based on the same pepper as The Classic Chili Maple, the ingredients list is nearly identical save for the exclusion of the maple syrup in this one. Interestingly though this sauce is branded as a garlic sauce and Chili Maple isn’t, Chili Maple actually has the dried garlic a position higher on the ingredients list than Fresno Garlic does. In Chili Maple it appears before the kosher salt, in Fresno Garlic it appears after, and Fresno Garlic has less salt that Chili Maple so it’s entirely reasonable to assume there’s less of it in this sauce. While perhaps its true that the accident that inspired this sauce was the result of ten times too much garlic being added to a batch, it seems that Heatonist decided they didn’t want to actually commit to that for the release, which is a shame as you can never have too much garlic in a hot sauce. Still, Fresno chiles are one of my favorite peppers as they have a unique strong flavor that’s simultaneously smoky and fruity with a meaty earthy vegetal flavor as well. Like The Classic Original and Chili Maple this sauce also makes use of both white vinegar in the Fresno mash as well as apple cider vinegar for the main acid component in the sauce. Turmeric adds some color and more earthy notes while black pepper, always a wonderful addition to any hot sauce, rounds it out. Like all of The Classic hot sauces this one is thin in texture and smooth though this one is perhaps a bit thicker than either The Classic Original or Chili Maple and you can see some more bits inside. The aroma is of vinegar with some chile in the backend.
Hot Ones The Classic Fresno Garlic has a vinegar-forward flavor, but it’s not in the same way as a sauce like Tabasco or Louisiana. Instead, while this sauce is tangy, it’s also very tart. Apple cider vinegar has a certain tartness and sweetness that makes the flavor different from more neutral vinegars and its a dominant flavor in this sauce. The Fresnos do stand up to it though and there’s a nice fruity earthy and slightly smoky flavor from the chiles. The turmeric enhances that earthiness. As I mentioned looking at the ingredients the garlic content doesn’t seem to live up to what the label blurb hypes. While there is a garlic flavor to this sauce it’s not a major “smack you in the face” level of garlic but rather a supporting character to the Fresno chile and apple cider vinegar. In my review of The Classic Chili Maple I mentioned that the sauce had a weak flavor that felt a little watered down, thankfully that isn’t an issue with this one. While it’s not nearly as intense as some of the very thick sauces from Puckerbutt it still has solid flavor, and has a great balance between fruity, earthy, garlicky, sour, and tart. The heat level is low with no burn. Fresno chiles aren’t very hot to begin with and this sauce is on the thinner side the chile content is even more diluted.
I tried this first with a Red’s breakfast burrito (Publix was having a BOGO on them) and this is a perfect breakfast sauce – it actually has a little tingle if you eat it first thing in the morning and the tart flavor wakes up your tastebuds, it also just happens to go great with eggs and sausage. I also loved this sauce on a stromboli (and I imagine it would be perfect on a pizza as well). Fresnos and pizza-like-foods are a match made in heaven with the earthy flavors playing great off of the tomato sauce and the acidity level being a good match as well. With the tartness and acidity of this sauce I also loved it with macaroni and cheese. Mac and cheese in general isn’t a dish I usually go for because it’s so rich and a bit one-note, but I had a craving and with Fresno Garlic it was really woken up.
I’m happy to recommend this one. If you like the flavor of Fresno chiles and a more vinegar-forward hot sauce this is absolutely one to check out. This is also one of the ones that’s often available on grocery store shelves for a lower price than what you can get it for from Heatonist which makes it more appealing. This sauce is also all natural with no artificial preservatives, colors, flavors, or thickeners.