Blair’s Mega Death Sauce is a sauce with very specific instructions on the label – which I whole-heartedly agree with: NOT RECOMMENDED FOR USE WITHOUT DILUTION. If you don’t wanna burn off your vocal chords and be angry at yourself for most of the day for trying a few too many drops, then tow that line tightly. Mega Death packs a very powerful punch with a delayed burn. But there’s a few flavor twists along the way? How does it all balance out and how can you even use this stuff? We cover it all below.
Flavor:
The ingredient list of Blair’s Mega Death doesn’t seem overly daunting. It consists of: habanero peppers, cayenne peppers, pepper extract, vinegar, salt, molasses, water, fresh ginger, fresh guava, starch, xanthan gum, spices, and ascorbic acid. Habanero peppers are certainly hot, but they can’t make up the 550,000 Scoville heat units Mega Death delivers. No, it’s that infamous “pepper extract” that drops the hammer here – pure heat. The habaneros simply support the spiciness and add a delicious sweet peppery taste.
But what’s surprising is there is a real interesting flavor of Blair’s Mega Death Sauce. That’s not always the case with super-hot hot sauces. The sweeter side of the fresh habanero peppers shines nicely alongside molasses (which you can smell on opening). And then you experience a unique ginger warmth and a hint of tropical guava sweetness before things get sweltering. It’s a real inviting liquid death trap. Blair’s Mega Death has a real interesting flavor profile when it’s diluted. You’ll be able to notice more than just the burning rage once it’s mellowed out in a liquid base.
Note: Some found that the ginger flavor was too strong in the original recipe, but Blairs has since changed their recipe as of March 2020. The touch of ginger in this is the perfect amount In my opinion.
Heat Balance:
As mentioned, the pepper extract in this is what will really leave you burning here. It immediately runs to the back of your throat and latches on. If this sauce is not diluted, all you’ll taste is heat and very little flavor. It’s that hot. 550,000 Scoville heat units sits right in the middle of eating the hottest possible common orange habanero (350,000 SHU) or the mildest possible ghost pepper (roughly 800,000 SHU).
This isn’t a sauce for the timid.
A teaspoon or two in a liquid base is the way to balance this out and bring out some of the more unique flavors of the sauce.
Granted, It’s not easy to find the balance with this kind of heat when mixing it into another sauce. It’ll take a little experimentation. Go a few drops at a time and increase from there.
Usability:
This is great in a tomato base which helps tone down the overall pepper and heat of this sauce, as well as, makes an awesome hot wing sauce. Again, never used solo, but when mixed with a buffalo sauce, this really adds a sweet tangy bite on wings which I fell in love with. I really think you could add this type to any base as long as you like peppery and don’t mind a little ginger tang. Extreme hot sauce lovers will find ways to use this, but for anyone who doesn’t like extreme heat, they should obviously avoid this sauce and use something a little friendlier.
Blair’s Mega Death is on the thinner side consistency-wise, but it luckily doesn’t come running out of the bottle, because seriously that would be a death wish.
This should be kept with your other USE WITH CAUTION sauces and possibly locked in a cabinet so no one ends up receiving an surprise “death wish” from the serious heat this brings. I guess I could use the phrase, “You better come correct” when you mess with sauce.
Collectibility:
This bottle screams DEATH with it’s skull on fire label, which is the perfect artful expression when it comes to the heat this sauce packs. It will certainly make you feel as though you’ve been hiding in the darkness and are just now seeing the light. To get that feeling you need to be dumb like me and try too much, then be mad at yourself for trying too much, then realize you survived which will inevitably make you feel more alive than you did before you tried Blair’s Death Wish. <breathe>
Blair’s Mega Death Hot Sauce is a must-buy for any hot sauce collectors for the packaging and the extreme heat (with flavor) it delivers. A little goes a long way here which is probably why they refer to it as “liquid rage.” This sauce has an angry side which is fun to experiment with, as long as you’re prepared for the show.
The Score:
Blair’s Mega Death Sauce is not one for the timid. It’s a big super-hot spiciness, but there’s sneaky flavor here when used with care. A few drops will do for most use cases. The packaging and design are fun and super-collectible. (Amazon)
FINAL SCORE | 4.2 |
Overall Flavor | 3.5 |
Heat Balance | 4 |
Usability | 3.5 |
Collectibility | 5 |
X-Factor | 5 |