I love heat, but I’ll admit I was a little scared of Torchbearer Garlic Reaper Sauce before I tried it. I mean, it stars the Carolina Reaper – the chili that tops the Scoville scale – as the first ingredient listed in its ingredients list. So as a true scaredy-cat, I was smart and only tried a drop. And, holy hot sauce, there’s high heat here, but (and it’s a big but) there’s a lot of flavor to go with it. How well is it balanced, and can you even use a sauce this hot? Let’s take the Garlic Reaper for a ride.
- Eating Score (Flavor, Heat Balance, Usability): 4.3/5
- Total Score (+ Collectibility, X-Factor): 4.4/5
- Heat Level: Super-Hot
Last update on 2024-09-13. We earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
Video Review
Flavor
As mentioned, Torchbearer Garlic Reaper Sauce’s ingredient list starts with a BIG bang: Carolina reaper pepper, garlic, canola oil, water, distilled white vinegar, lime juice, granulated garlic, mustard powder, chili powder, and salt.
You just know it’s going to be high heat, but I’m glad to report that there’s so much more here than that.
Smell this sauce first. You’ll get hit with the aromatic tang of garlic, which alerts you this isn’t only an “EFF YOU HOT” hot sauce, but one with real flavor.
The extreme peppery bite of those Carolina Reapers is the first thing that you taste (and feel). Soon after, you taste that garlic sweetness, which dulls down the heat but only temporarily. This heat builds.
The garlic is the real winner in this sauce as it lingers long along with the heat. You can almost think of Torchbearer Garlic Reaper like an extreme creamy, hot garlic sauce. It’s the key ingredient that keeps you coming back for more. That garlic infuses so well with the Reapers that you just want your tongue to keep soaking it in, even after the heat builds and builds (and builds.)
Heat Balance
Torchbearer Garlic Reaper is high heat. It doesn’t reach fresh Carolina Reaper heights (1.4 to 2.2 million Scoville heat units), even with it being first on the ingredients list. But it still packs an extra-hot punch at 116,000 SHU. That puts it in line with eating fresh habanero peppers (100,000 to 350,000 SHU.) Yeah, that’s a heat not everyone can handle.
The heat hits you quickly, shocking your tongue, then it moves to the back of your throat and grows bolder over time. Your brain begins telling you, “STOP! GO NO FURTHER!” but suddenly, the garlic makes its debut and adds that earthy sweetness, and you’re like, “Ooh, I think I’m gonna stick around.”
The short of it – it’s surprisingly well balanced for being so hot. Garlic has a strong aroma and taste, so it’s quite a distraction from the heat. It’s exactly what this sauce called for… a little distraction from the Reaper who wants to burn your tastebuds off.
Usability
Warning for those seeking a hot garlic sauce you can slather all over your slice of pizza, this ain’t it. Unless you’re a crazy extreme eater, this packs a punch that needs to be regulated. Torchbearer Garlic Reaper should be used in drops, not drizzles.
That said, this is amazing with pizza, pasta, fried chicken, rice, tacos, and anything you want a creamy hot garlic kick with. I would love this alongside a blooming onion when I’m in the mood for a real kick in the a^!. You just need to handle with care. A few drops, maybe a light drizzle – that’s it until you know what you’re in for.
Torchbearer Garlic Reaper has a salad dressing thickness, and there’s no stopper to help you on this bottle, so beware. You can pour more than you expect.
Collectibility
The bottle is a blast to look at. Torchbearer has one of the funniest and coolest labels around. It shows you a faceless reaper going after little scared garlic bulbs in a cemetery, which says all you need to know about this sauce. It’s fun, funny, and threatening all in one, and it will most certainly spark a conversation.
The Score
If you’re both a fan of garlic and an extreme eater, Torchbearer Garlic Reaper Sauce is your new go-to. It’s bold heat, but with a bold flavor to match.
Last update on 2024-09-13. We earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
| EATING SCORE (Flavor, Heat Balance, Usability) | 4.3 |
| TOTAL SCORE (+ Collectibility, X-Factor) | 4.4 |
| Overall Flavor | 4 |
| Heat Balance | 5 |
| Usability | 4 |
| Collectibility | 4.5 |
| X-Factor | 4.5 |
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its fantastic to be honest. i made some wings with a calm Cheyenne dry rub on it and i dabbed this on it. it instantly hits with that bright, loud reaper flavor singeing your tongue. the garlic rounds it out and contains the heat initially. but it starts to creep up to a crescendo within about a 5 minute time period. it doesnt last super long. i was alternating between this and son of zombie, which has a fantastic smokey habenaro flavor, with each wing, and i didn’t really have a lot of continued heat growth. i will say by… Read more »
It’s a flaming ripper!
I’ve been looking to try this sauce for a while. This cinches it!