Product Name: Knepper's Peppers Jimmy Scorpion
Style: Caribbean
Manufacturer: Knepper's Peppers
Country of Origin: USA
Website: http://www.knepperspeppers.com/
Ingredients: Jimmy Nardello Sweet Peppers, Carrots, Trinidad Scorpion Hot Peppers, Apple Cider Vinegar, Lemon Juice, Onion, Brown Sugar, Garlic
Label/Packaging: Mysterious menacing figure smoking a cigar, must be Jimmy. I love the story and the warning. I do have a little issue with the label though, it is dark and you have to really look to see the name of the sauce. It wouldn't jump off the shelf at me.
Appearance/Aroma: Very nice bright orange color. Lots of flecks of skins in there. Looks VERY thin, almost like a Tabasco-style vinegar sauce. The aroma is purely peppers. I can make out the unmistakable pungent aroma of the scorpions immediately.
Knepper's says that Jimmy Scorpion is a sauce with no bull. Let's see...
Body of Review:
Brian Knepper of Knepper's Peppers is about as passionate about his sauces as anyone I know. Every year when I go to the Bowers Pepper Festival, I find him there at Meadowview Farms, rows of 5 gallon buckets full of peppers before the sun has even made it over the trees. I have been fortunate enough to review quite a few of his sauces already, and I always enjoy trying new ones. This sauce has been reformulated a little from the test bottle I got to try last year. If it is half as good as that one it is a winner.
At first taste it is unmistakable. I feel like it is September and I am back in that field picking peppers alongside Brian again. The scorpion is there up front, and in all its glory. There are small attempts to tame it with the sweetness of the carrots and Jimmy Nardello sweet peppers, but in the end, there is no denying this beast. One taste is all you need to know that this sauce, if you eat enough of it, will own you. If you like purees and simple natural sauces, this one will be right up your alley.
The heat... oh the heat... let me tell you. You better have your big boy pants on when you take on this sauce. It will get you everywhere it touches you. I mean your lips, your tongue, your throat, the roof of your mouth, the roof of your car if you set the bottle on it. A spoonful of this is a spiritual experience. Like OMG what the hell did I just do to myself?
Consistency is the one area that I find fault with Jimmy. It is just a little too runny for my taste. Luckily (in this case), there is one of those little plastic dropper doodads on top of the bottle. I do like all the flesh in the sauce.
Heat Level: 9.5
Applications: Unless you are a chilehead, do not eat this sauce. Just kidding. It is something I use on chicken, in a wing sauce, to spice up a soup, or in queso. If I liked eggs I am sure it would be good on them too.
Appearance Score: 4
Aroma Score: 5
Taste Score: 4.5
Mouthfeel Score: 4
Heat Accuracy Score: 5
Overall Score: 4.5
Notes: Awesome sauce for a chilehead. It is the essence of the pepper at its finest. I would consider a lettering change on the label and try to thicken it up just a tad. Well done Brian.
Style: Caribbean
Manufacturer: Knepper's Peppers
Country of Origin: USA
Website: http://www.knepperspeppers.com/
Ingredients: Jimmy Nardello Sweet Peppers, Carrots, Trinidad Scorpion Hot Peppers, Apple Cider Vinegar, Lemon Juice, Onion, Brown Sugar, Garlic
Label/Packaging: Mysterious menacing figure smoking a cigar, must be Jimmy. I love the story and the warning. I do have a little issue with the label though, it is dark and you have to really look to see the name of the sauce. It wouldn't jump off the shelf at me.
Appearance/Aroma: Very nice bright orange color. Lots of flecks of skins in there. Looks VERY thin, almost like a Tabasco-style vinegar sauce. The aroma is purely peppers. I can make out the unmistakable pungent aroma of the scorpions immediately.
Knepper's says that Jimmy Scorpion is a sauce with no bull. Let's see...
Body of Review:
Brian Knepper of Knepper's Peppers is about as passionate about his sauces as anyone I know. Every year when I go to the Bowers Pepper Festival, I find him there at Meadowview Farms, rows of 5 gallon buckets full of peppers before the sun has even made it over the trees. I have been fortunate enough to review quite a few of his sauces already, and I always enjoy trying new ones. This sauce has been reformulated a little from the test bottle I got to try last year. If it is half as good as that one it is a winner.
At first taste it is unmistakable. I feel like it is September and I am back in that field picking peppers alongside Brian again. The scorpion is there up front, and in all its glory. There are small attempts to tame it with the sweetness of the carrots and Jimmy Nardello sweet peppers, but in the end, there is no denying this beast. One taste is all you need to know that this sauce, if you eat enough of it, will own you. If you like purees and simple natural sauces, this one will be right up your alley.
The heat... oh the heat... let me tell you. You better have your big boy pants on when you take on this sauce. It will get you everywhere it touches you. I mean your lips, your tongue, your throat, the roof of your mouth, the roof of your car if you set the bottle on it. A spoonful of this is a spiritual experience. Like OMG what the hell did I just do to myself?
Consistency is the one area that I find fault with Jimmy. It is just a little too runny for my taste. Luckily (in this case), there is one of those little plastic dropper doodads on top of the bottle. I do like all the flesh in the sauce.
Heat Level: 9.5
Applications: Unless you are a chilehead, do not eat this sauce. Just kidding. It is something I use on chicken, in a wing sauce, to spice up a soup, or in queso. If I liked eggs I am sure it would be good on them too.
Appearance Score: 4
Aroma Score: 5
Taste Score: 4.5
Mouthfeel Score: 4
Heat Accuracy Score: 5
Overall Score: 4.5
Notes: Awesome sauce for a chilehead. It is the essence of the pepper at its finest. I would consider a lettering change on the label and try to thicken it up just a tad. Well done Brian.
