This is the second and hotter of the two hot sauces Mechanicsburg, PA Torchbearer has made in conjunction with the Nekrogoblikon. Celebrating their 20th anniversary as a band Nekrogoblikon is a melodic death metal group with a goblin theme based out of Los Angeles, CA. I’ve previously reviewed their Goblin Sauce, a citrusy verde sauce spiked with scorpion peppers and ended up enjoying it thoroughly. This sauce is supposed to be not only hotter but many say is one of Torchbearer’s hottest sauces on offer and since I’ve finally finished off a couple of bottles of other super hot sauces I thought it was time to finally open this one up.
Like Garlic Reaper Torchbearer’s Goblin Blood starts out with the mighty Carolina Reaper chile. From there the sauces diverge. While Garlic Reaper uses distilled vinegar Goblin Blood goes with the rarer choice of red wine vinegar, though it’s something Torchbearer also uses in their Mushroom Mayhem. In addition to the Carolina Reapers Goblin Blood also uses chipotle peppers, or dried smoked jalapenos. Like many Torchbearer sauces this one has an oil base in addition to the vinegar to give it something of an emulsified texture, but in the case of Goblin Blood Torchbearer went with olive oil instead of their normal standby of canola oil. Add some chopped garlic, minced onion, chives, salt and pepper and we’re left with a well rounded sauce with all of the traditional aromatics. White pepper instead of black is a bit unique as well, perhaps it’s to help keep black specks out of the color, but white pepper also has a somewhat funkier musky flavor as compared to black pepper due to how its fermented to remove the black outer husk. Goblin Blood is a thick sauce, considerably thicker than Garlic Reaper, and comes out in little blobs more than being free-flowing. The texture is emulsified with some chew little bits inside. The aroma is savory, smoky, and redolent of super hot chiles all at once.
While Torchbearer now has a sauce called Sucker Punch the flavor of this sauce is like a punch combo from Street Fighter II. There’s immediate heat but the smoky chipotle flavor is the first to come forth followed closely by the bright fruity and slightly astringent flavor of the reapers. As that fades you notice that this sauce has a ton of garlic and onion flavor and they linger along with the tang of the vinegar and the chipotle smoke as the pepper burn slowly fades. I’m a fan of sauces adding a bit of oil as it not only helps carry the fat soluble flavors of the ingredients but it also adds a silkier mouthfeel and some richness. Goblin Blood is a very rich tasting sauce that has a surprising amount of umami, something I wouldn’t have expected from the ingredients. I’m also a fan of the use of the chipotle peppers in a sauce that doesn’t have much of any sweetness beyond what the peppers themselves and the red wine vinegar bring so you have the undertone of smoke without any cloying notes that are all too common in chipotle sauces. Something that struck me about the flavor of Goblin Blood is that it has an almost Italian flavor profile. With the olive oil, red wine vinegar, onions, and garlic the flavor elements of a traditional Italian American red sauce are there just without the tomatoes. In terms of heat as expected with reapers its immediate and has a good amount of linger. I’d say this is perhaps one step down in terms of heat as compared to Garlic Reaper, but Garlic Reaper is known to have a lot of variability in its heat level so its possible based on the individual bottles you have that this could be hotter. Regardless this is an extremely hot sauce with an intense burn that matches its intense flavor.
With the Italian flavor notes in Torchbearer Goblin Blood I decided to try this first on an Italian sub. There’s an Italian deli near me that I love (though I do need to let their subs marinate in the wrapper for a bit before enjoying to let the bread soften up as their in-house baked bread has a super crunchy crust) and this sauce worked amazingly well on it. Goblin Blood is a perfect companion to the cured meats and sharp salty provolone adding that oniony garlicky flavor plus more brightness and that smoke hint adding depth, and the red wine vinegar works great with the oil and vinegar already on the sub. I also found this sauce to be great with baked ziti with meat sauce. Again it added richness, a great amount of heat, and the flavors were a match with the tomato sauce in the ziti fitting in just like a perfectly shaped puzzle piece. I also thought this was a phenomenal hot sauce for pizza, the reapers being bright enough and the onion and garlic being great with pizza as always.
Torchbearer’s Nekrogoblikon Goblin Blood is one of the best sauces I’ve had from the company and one that I recommend you go out and get right now. If you enjoy Garlic Reaper I have a feeling you’ll love this one, and even if Garlic Reaper isn’t your thing I feel that this sauce is more balanced with deeper and richer flavors so it very well may be your bag. Goblin Blood is all natural with no artificial preservatives, colors, flavors, or thickeners.
SSGSEVIER54
Oh my Gob!!
babakinush
I’ve had this sauce recommended a couple times to me. Maybe time to pull the trigger!
stevens_hats
I have a bottle of goblins blood and it’s a lot more dark red than the photo. That aside it’s delicious and very hot – the red wine vinegar brings out the flavor of the peppers great.
4 Comments
Bitter: 🟡🟡○○○
Salty: 🟡🟡🟡○○
Sour/Tangy: 🟡🟡○○○
Sweet: 🟡○○○○
Umami: 🟡🟡🟡○○
Heat: 🟡🟡🟡🟡🟡🟡🟡🟡○○
Quick Flavor Notes: Smoky, Bright, Garlic, Onion
Recommended: Yes
Texture: Thick and emulsified with small bits
Ingredients: Carolina Reaper Pepper, Red Wine Vinegar, Chipotle Pepper, Lime Juice, Water, Olive Oil, Chopped Garlic, Minced Onion, Chives, Sea Salt, White Pepper
This is the second and hotter of the two hot sauces Mechanicsburg, PA Torchbearer has made in conjunction with the Nekrogoblikon. Celebrating their 20th anniversary as a band Nekrogoblikon is a melodic death metal group with a goblin theme based out of Los Angeles, CA. I’ve previously reviewed their Goblin Sauce, a citrusy verde sauce spiked with scorpion peppers and ended up enjoying it thoroughly. This sauce is supposed to be not only hotter but many say is one of Torchbearer’s hottest sauces on offer and since I’ve finally finished off a couple of bottles of other super hot sauces I thought it was time to finally open this one up.
Like Garlic Reaper Torchbearer’s Goblin Blood starts out with the mighty Carolina Reaper chile. From there the sauces diverge. While Garlic Reaper uses distilled vinegar Goblin Blood goes with the rarer choice of red wine vinegar, though it’s something Torchbearer also uses in their Mushroom Mayhem. In addition to the Carolina Reapers Goblin Blood also uses chipotle peppers, or dried smoked jalapenos. Like many Torchbearer sauces this one has an oil base in addition to the vinegar to give it something of an emulsified texture, but in the case of Goblin Blood Torchbearer went with olive oil instead of their normal standby of canola oil. Add some chopped garlic, minced onion, chives, salt and pepper and we’re left with a well rounded sauce with all of the traditional aromatics. White pepper instead of black is a bit unique as well, perhaps it’s to help keep black specks out of the color, but white pepper also has a somewhat funkier musky flavor as compared to black pepper due to how its fermented to remove the black outer husk. Goblin Blood is a thick sauce, considerably thicker than Garlic Reaper, and comes out in little blobs more than being free-flowing. The texture is emulsified with some chew little bits inside. The aroma is savory, smoky, and redolent of super hot chiles all at once.
While Torchbearer now has a sauce called Sucker Punch the flavor of this sauce is like a punch combo from Street Fighter II. There’s immediate heat but the smoky chipotle flavor is the first to come forth followed closely by the bright fruity and slightly astringent flavor of the reapers. As that fades you notice that this sauce has a ton of garlic and onion flavor and they linger along with the tang of the vinegar and the chipotle smoke as the pepper burn slowly fades. I’m a fan of sauces adding a bit of oil as it not only helps carry the fat soluble flavors of the ingredients but it also adds a silkier mouthfeel and some richness. Goblin Blood is a very rich tasting sauce that has a surprising amount of umami, something I wouldn’t have expected from the ingredients. I’m also a fan of the use of the chipotle peppers in a sauce that doesn’t have much of any sweetness beyond what the peppers themselves and the red wine vinegar bring so you have the undertone of smoke without any cloying notes that are all too common in chipotle sauces. Something that struck me about the flavor of Goblin Blood is that it has an almost Italian flavor profile. With the olive oil, red wine vinegar, onions, and garlic the flavor elements of a traditional Italian American red sauce are there just without the tomatoes. In terms of heat as expected with reapers its immediate and has a good amount of linger. I’d say this is perhaps one step down in terms of heat as compared to Garlic Reaper, but Garlic Reaper is known to have a lot of variability in its heat level so its possible based on the individual bottles you have that this could be hotter. Regardless this is an extremely hot sauce with an intense burn that matches its intense flavor.
With the Italian flavor notes in Torchbearer Goblin Blood I decided to try this first on an Italian sub. There’s an Italian deli near me that I love (though I do need to let their subs marinate in the wrapper for a bit before enjoying to let the bread soften up as their in-house baked bread has a super crunchy crust) and this sauce worked amazingly well on it. Goblin Blood is a perfect companion to the cured meats and sharp salty provolone adding that oniony garlicky flavor plus more brightness and that smoke hint adding depth, and the red wine vinegar works great with the oil and vinegar already on the sub. I also found this sauce to be great with baked ziti with meat sauce. Again it added richness, a great amount of heat, and the flavors were a match with the tomato sauce in the ziti fitting in just like a perfectly shaped puzzle piece. I also thought this was a phenomenal hot sauce for pizza, the reapers being bright enough and the onion and garlic being great with pizza as always.
Torchbearer’s Nekrogoblikon Goblin Blood is one of the best sauces I’ve had from the company and one that I recommend you go out and get right now. If you enjoy Garlic Reaper I have a feeling you’ll love this one, and even if Garlic Reaper isn’t your thing I feel that this sauce is more balanced with deeper and richer flavors so it very well may be your bag. Goblin Blood is all natural with no artificial preservatives, colors, flavors, or thickeners.
Oh my Gob!!
I’ve had this sauce recommended a couple times to me. Maybe time to pull the trigger!
I have a bottle of goblins blood and it’s a lot more dark red than the photo. That aside it’s delicious and very hot – the red wine vinegar brings out the flavor of the peppers great.