About a decade ago, the ghost pepper was recognized as the hottest on the planet.
That’s a big deal for a chili pepper; it’s like winning an Oscar.
For a few years, it held the top spot and did all sorts of things that movie stars do when they win Oscars. The ghost pepper held press conferences, appeared at the decade’s trendiest festivals, created products in its image (like ghost pepper sauces), and was accidentally photographed in a drunken state…
Okay, only some of those things. (And of those things, we’re most pleased with the ghost pepper sauce and pepper powders introduced to the mainstream market.)
And then, just as you’d expect, the ghost pepper king was replaced by newer, hotter talent. Fans began shifting their allegiances from Team Ghost Pepper Sauce to Team Reaper Sauce. The number of appearances and endorsement offers dwindled. Everywhere you went, it was reaper this and reaper that.
But, for heaven’s sake people, ghost pepper sauce still deserves your respect. It didn’t vanish from your hot sauce repertoire simply because there’s a hotter chili on the market.
How hot is ghost pepper sauce?
When the ghost chili pepper reigned as the world’s hottest (between 2007 and 2011, according to the folks at Guinness World Records), no one thought there would be a pepper to take its place.
After all, 1,041,427 Scoville is a crazy amount of heat. Even serious chili heads (and even casual fans) must concede that. Regular hot sauce lovers will begin to notice how hot a sauce or chili pepper is around 40,000 Scoville.
That’s why you’ll feel the fire when you squeeze a drop or two of Mad Dog 357 Ghost Pepper Extract Tequila Edition into your mouth. (Yes, it’s got its own eyedropper to make it easy to do.)
As an extract, the Tequila Edition can’t compete against the big boys. It’s only got a SHU rating of 53,000 (as opposed to 1 million or more), but it’s hella delicious. That’s because of the tequila, not the ghost pepper. And, you’ll still feel the heat; there’s no escaping that.
Around the same Scoville level, you’ll find Mad Dog 357 Pure Ghost Hot Sauce. Again, these aren’t super potent Scoville levels, but totally great as an entry-level ghost pepper sauce.
And then there’s the Mad Dog 357 Ghost Pepper Hot Sauce. It’s got a respectable 150,000 SHU rating. You can totally enjoy this without freaking the F out, which is what happens when you eat a ghost pepper straight up.
In fact, in this instance, the ghost pepper sauce is more potent than the Mad Dog 357 Reaper Sriracha Hot Sauce, which weighs in at 100,000 Scoville.