Hot Sauce Review: Gringo Bandito Sauces

It’s not every day you find out the frontman from a band you listened to in your youth is making hot sauce, but that was the case a month ago. Dexter Holland of The Offspring is the primary maker of the Gringo Bandito line of hot sauces and five were sent to us to try out. Below are our reviews of each sauce, ranging from mild to surprisingly spicy!

The bottles run from $3.50 to $10.00 depending on which you get and the Private Reserve appears to be gone already, but something to keep in mind as you read through.

Gringo Bandito Green Sauce

The color is a bit more pale than we typically like from a green sauce, but that did not deter us from trying it out. For aroma, you definitely get a nice whiff of the peppers. Taking a look into the bottle you can see some little pepper bits floating around, always a welcome sight. Each of the Gringo Bandito sauces comes with a sissy tip (reducer), but we were quick to remove those. The sauce is an excellent consistency, perfect for pouring onto tacos in a nice smooth motion. The Green Sauce is a low to mid-level heat and you can get just a hint of the habanero heat at the tail end. We were hoping to get a bit mo of the mojo flavor, but overall this is a solid green sauce.

• Appearance: 3
• Aroma: 4
• Texture: 4
• Heat: 4
• Originality: 3
• Flavor: 3 (15)
• Label: 3
• Total: 36/50

Gringo Bandito Original Sauce

We loved the color on this one. If you closed your eyes and imagined what a hot sauce looked like, this is it. Similar to the green sauce the texture is pretty smooth and consistent while not being too thin. For the flavor, we didn’t pick up much on the peppers, but it’s a good sauce overall. There’s a heavy hit of vinegar when taking a sniff, and a bit vinegar forward in taste. The habaneros are hidden again and the typical citrusy flavor that they bring couldn’t be found. As a sub four dollar bottle of sauce, we could see this being an awesome every day tableside sauce.

• Appearance: 5
• Aroma: 3
• Texture: 4
• Heat: 4
• Originality: 3
• Flavor: 3 (15)
• Label: 3
• Total: 37/50

Gringo Bandito Spicy Yellow Sauce

We don’t see too many yellow sauces that aren’t trying to blast you with pineapple flavor, but this sauce from Gringo Bandito appears to be an exception. Loaded with Scotch Bonnet peppers, the sauce has a nice yellow appearance, not too pale and not overly neon. The texture stays solid across all of these sauces, giving it a nice pourable consistency. For our sniff test, we caught some of the heat from the Scotch Bonnets with only a hint of vinegar. The flavor is good and the heat level is about what we’d expect from a sauce featuring Scotch Bonnets. Not one that’s going to make you cry, but a solid heat that we could appreciate. We’ll toss in an extra point for Originality due to the yellow sauce by way of Scotch Bonnets.

• Appearance: 4
• Aroma: 4
• Texture: 4
• Heat: 4
• Originality: 4
• Flavor: 3 (15)
• Label: 3
• Total: 38/50

Gringo Bandito Super Hot Sauce

We were skeptical trying this one as to whether or not it would live up to the “super hot” name it was given. It did not disappoint. A surprising heat thanks to the Scorpion peppers used, and one that surprised us. We typically take a full spoonful of sauce just to get a full feel for the sauce and this one made us question whether or not to keep doing that. A major hit to the back of the throat with a heat that started to bolster itself. The appearance is nothing special, but it continues to be a solid look and smell. Consistency and texture are maintained and we were quite pleased with this sauce overall. Nothing special going on flavor-wise, but this is definitely the spiciest of the bunch.

• Appearance: 4
• Aroma: 4
• Texture: 4
• Heat: 5
• Originality: 4
• Flavor: 3 (15)
• Label: 3
• Total: 39/50

Gringo Bandito Reserve Sauce

We don’t typically like to buy into the hype of a “special reserve” sauce, but this was a case where our skepticism had to fall to the wayside for an awesome sauce. The texture is slightly different from the others and the consistency is just a tad more pure. Appearance-wise it’s on the same level as the original, with a pleasing color and a nice redness. We appreciated the special label with it’s reflective, almost holographic look. For flavor, this is a near perfect sauce. The heat is balanced well and the aroma leads to a satisfying hot sauce experience. As with most of these sauces, we can see them being an awesome addition to your every day rotation.

• Appearance: 5
• Aroma: 4
• Texture: 4
• Heat: 4
• Originality: 3
• Flavor: 4 (20)
• Label: 5
• Total: 45/50

Overall a solid group of sauces from The Offsprings’ Dexter Holland. If you have other sauces you’d like us to try out, let us know! You can find us on Facebook, Instagram or contact us via our contact page.

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