Torchbearer Sauces Reaper Evil Hot Sauce Review

This week we tried the Reaper Evil hot sauce from Torchbearer Sauces. A Fuego exclusive, we put this one through our rigorous testing program to come up with one of the best hot sauces we’ve had so far. Reaper Evil is a sauce that even the creators are scared of, saying: “It’s our only sauce that we are a little afraid of.”

Ingredient list: Reaper Pepper, Garlic, Distilled Vinegar, Water, Onion, Salt, Black Pepper, Garlic Powder, Habanero Pepper

As Carolina Reaper sauces go, this has a great appearance. Ron is big on seeing specs and seeds, and this sauce delivers in its appearance. No xantham gum, so it’s not hyper-smooth and the runniness allows you to see all parts of the sauce. A nice dark red color, this is one of the better looking sauces we’ve judged to this point.

When taking a whiff of Reaper Evil, it definitely smells like it’s going to be hot. Heavy on the vinegar smell with a hint of garlic and black pepper, the overall aroma is pleasing and gets a 4/5 from each of us.

Texture-wise, Reaper Evil is runny, but not to the extreme. It allows you to move the sauce around on a spoon and see all the individual parts. With a lighter blend, there are still some chunks here and there, but the texture is not distracting or unappealing. More high marks from Dr. Ryan on texture with a 5/5.

Go light with this sauce because the heat and spice level, while an excellent level for a Reaper sauce is going to be too much for many sauce noobs. The garlic and black pepper is heavy at the front of this sauce and the habanero pepper adds some fruitiness to an otherwise basic flavor profile. When the heat hits, time slows down and you slip into the quantum realm for a few moments. The combo of the reaper peppers and garlic is spot on and makes this a great sauce, with a stellar profile.

While you can find reaper sauces in almost any store these days, the Reaper Evil stays true to the Carolina Reaper and hoists the Reaper Pepper above all other ingredients. For that reason we gave it a 4/5 in originality because many times the reaper pepper will be one of the last ingredients on the list. We’ve even seen some “reaper” sauces that didn’t even have reaper peppers in them.

The label art is colorful and the illustrations (on all of their sauces) are fun to look at, fitting well with their almost comic-like font styles. They’ve nailed their style across their brand and that’s awesome to see in a hot sauce market that is becoming saturated with mediocre sauces and relaxed labeling.

Overall an excellent sauce that is highly enjoyable, but should be used sparingly. A little goes a long way! From Torchbearer Sauces themselves: “It’s our only sauce that we are a little afraid of.” Understandable.

We recommend putting it in things like mac and cheese, or something where you can mix it a bit. On tacos works, but it’s a bit like stepping through a minefield. Some bites, nothing. Other bites you die. Really just depends on what eating experience you’re going for.

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