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lukeathompson

REVIEW: The Chilli Alchemist - Gold

Updated: May 17

Another sauce that plays with the idea of the mad scientist or alchemist trope, and this innocuous sounding Gold has a weird twist. It is a ‘Craft Lager & Pineapple Sriracha Sauce’.


As soon as you open it you can smell the peppers. That’s the yellow bell pepper, which gives this sauce it’s lovely golden colour. There are interesting looking lumps and bumps in this sauce, which means (like with all sauces) it’s worth giving it a good shake. I think some of those pale lumps must be pineapple as the sweet sharpness of the pineapple comes through with the first taste. The black flecks I’m not sure about, but they might well be the hops. The list of ingredients includes hops, lager and noble hot pellets, all warmed up by those classic Scotch Bonnets.


I like the illustration on the label too. The simple little chemistry beaker with gold liquid and wings against the black label looks good and emphasises the alchemical theme. I think the combination of pushing the image right to the top edge of the label and filling the bottom half with text maybe slightly unbalances it - especially the couple of lines of tiny text right at the bottom. I’m being picky, but I’m being picky because I love this one.  


Gold is a good sauce. I’m not especially getting the beer or hops flavours, but I think they may be playing with the tang of the pineapple, yellow peppers and garlic, making them sing even more sweetly.


Scotch Bonnet is 6%, which is enough to give a good heat. And happily this seems to be the only hot pepper in the sauce, so this is 6% Scotch Bonnet heat, not watered down with anything. It’s a solid, full mouth heat when you eat a good tablespoonful but it’s not a killer. It sits on the sides of the tongue especially, then at the back, lingers a while, then invites you to try more.


I love this. Tried and tested amazing flavours of pineapple, garlic and peppers, with a little something extra - something barely discernible - just sharpening them up. That’s the alchemy! It feels nicely balanced too. Let’s see what else The Chilli Alchemist does on their website…


Ooh, interesting. They have a proper chef in charge of the recipes, which explains the balance of flavours and the experimentation. I’m going to do the Habanero and Ginger definitely. Not sure about the Carolina Reaper, Rum & Raisin…


I’m going to have to grow Scotch Bonnets next year, I think. So many of the best sauces are made from them.

 

£7.50 per 150ml / £49.95 per litre

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