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Multi-Review: 4 Brothers Hot Pepper Sauce…Smokey Garlic Habanero
By Buddah | December 7, 2008 | 
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Reviewer 1: BUDDAH
I first tried Zane & Zack’s Four Brother’s Hot Pepper Sauce when I first met the owners, Tina and Sam McCanless at the Fiery Foods Show in Albuddahquerque. It was a prototype at the time and Sam told me he wanted my opinion on the flavor. I appreciated the gesture and I was honored to have been asked for my opinion which I gave wholeheartedly. I got a second bottle in the mail with a bunch of other products a few months back. The least we could do for Tina and Sam’s generosity was to give them a review or two in exchange for their kindness.
The bottle I got back didn’t have a label like the generic one this bottle has. I am not sure if this will be the final label, but it is as plain and simple as a label can get. It also packs a very long name, “4 Brothers Hot Pepper Sauce Smokey Garlic Habanero“. No sign of the Zane and Zack World Famous Honey Company name. Are we led to believe that they might be changing the company name to 4 Brothers?
Ingredients: Vinegar, Habanero Peppers, Chipotle, Garlic, Honey, Onion, Smoked Salt
If you have read anything that I have ever said before about Zane and Zack’s products, it is that they pack a surprising heat. Although 4 Brothers does pack heat, it is heat that builds in small increments over time and to me that is a good thing. A burst of flavor is another element that the Zane & Zack product line has. When you use these delicious products you are in making your meal that much better. So how does the 4 Brothers rank amongst their other product line? It is somewhere in the middle, but that my friends is a good thing. My favorite Zane & Zack sauces are some of my favorites in the fiery food industry. On the top of my Zane and Zack list are the Tina’s Too Hot Honey Habanero, then the Hot Habanero Chipotle, and a close third is the 3 Brothers Hot Pepper Sauce. I would place the 4 Brothers Pepper Sauce right after these.
This sauce is thick, but even with the thickness and a good bottle shake, liquid pours out first before the clumpy sauce. I bought a chicken kiev dish at the supermarket and put the sauce to the test. I was pretty disappointed with the chicken kiev because in my book this wasn’t much of a kiev dish. Whatever the chicken lost in the kievness, it picked up in the smokey garlic flavor. It is really tasty and I licked the plate clean like a dog.
Next came some chicken fingers and fries. I have a new restaurant in the area that makes awesome chicken fingers, but most of their many sauces are quite lacking. In steps 4 Brothers to cast a spell on my food. The sauce is a little too thick for dunking fries or the fingers, but I made do. The flavorful sweetness mixes well with the smokiness to really enhance my food.
As much as I think steak would be perfect with this sauce, I never got a chance to try it that way. I saw a mini quiche and some delicious looking mac ‘n cheese in the supermarket so I next tried that with the sauce. The 4 Brothers with the quiche was a wonderful addition, and with the bits of bacon and onions in the meal made for one snappy tasting dinner. I thought the mac n cheese was lacking and didn’t work with or without the hot sauce.
To round out my review I topped some instant potatoes with the 4 Brothers and it was a wonderful ending to a very delicious hot sauce. The instant potatoes have quickly become a staple in my reviews because you can really capture the flavors of products so well with the tatas.
If I was you and was going to order from Zane and Zack’s World Famous Honey Company for the first time, I would first order the other products I mentioned, but I would make sure this hot sauce was a part of the package. Try it on steak and tell me if I was right or wrong.
Reviewer 2: JUSTIN
The smell of this sauce is amazing. Just like the label implies, it is smoky and garlicky. The habaneros are also a big part of this sauce, but not until you taste it. I also noticed in my sniff test that it has a little sweetness to it, and sure enough honey is listed as an ingredient. The sauce is a not so good looking brownish-green color, but I never judge something by looks and the consistency seemed to be about right. I sampled a little straight from the bottle and it was a perfect mixture of smoked salt, garlic, honey, and onions. I didn’t really notice the vinegar or chipotle in it and although I do like chipotle I was glad that it wasn’t a big part of the flavoring of this sauce because sauces with smoked salt or liquid smoke are much more rare and unique. The smoked salt is more of a hickory smoked flavor that don’t work with just any sauce, but if done correctly can really turn out great.
My first impression of this sauce was that it was great, but when I started using it on food my feelings for it dropped a little, to good. I first tried it on chicken, and later I had some on a burger. I put it on a few other meals, but these were the best. The problem I had was how overpowering it was. You really can’t use a lot of this stuff without losing the flavor of the food to it. Fortunately there is a good heat level, and I can get the heat and flavor that I want with just a little sauce which makes the bottle last a long time.
The only other complaint I would have against this sauce doesn’t come until the bottle is 2/3 empty, and that is the consistency is a lot thicker than when I started. I probably could have avoided this if I had shaken it up better. The juices that separated from the rest while I ate the sauce were not so overpowering on food, so I let them run out first. They had the same great flavor but not as strong, my recommendation would be to maybe dilute it a little bit while at the same time making it a bit thinner. That is probably just me, but I do look forward to reading this review and seeing what everybody else has to say. My overall judgment is that its worth trying, but if you are only getting one between this and the 3 brothers hot sauce go with the 3 brothers.
Reviewer 3: HUDD
This review is on Zane and Zack’s 4 Brothers Hot Pepper Sauce – Smokey Garlic Habanero. First off I must apologize to Sam and to Buddah for being so late with this review. Things have been crazy around here and I had misplaced my original review of this product. I hadn’t given it a thought until last night when Buddah asked about the review. I found the sauce opened in the fridge, so I had either used it and not reviewed it or I misplaced my notes downstairs somewhere. However, I have come through with a review and I found a new recipe that I enjoy. So on with my review.
As always, I look at, sniff and taste the sauce I’m reviewing. The inital appearance is thick, dark brown and quite chunky. The chunkiness is no doubt the garlic and onion in it. The label is just a generic, plain white label. The ingredients are: Vinegar, Habanero Peppers, Chipotle, Garlic, Honey, Onion, Smoked Salt.
On to the sniff and taste. The vinegar is obvious, but not as strong as most vinegar based sauces I’ve had. The ingredients blend well together and smell very good. I poured a small amount into a spoon and tasted away. I was expecting the chipotle to mess up the taste for me. I don’t care for chipotle peppers and was quite pleased that this didn’t come through. I got a nice chunk of garlic right off, then the sweetness of the honey, and then came the habanero burn. Not outrageously hot, but a nice little lip and tongue burn. I was very pleased with the taste, I knew right then I was going to like this sauce.
I’ve heard some of the other TTFers talk about Mac n Cheese with hot sauce in it. Well I decided to fix a Kraft macaroni and cheese dinner, (not the cheap powder version), and when it was done I added a can of Armour Chili with beans. I dished out a spoonful and added a nice amount of 4 Brothers to it and mixed it in. I took a bite and right away and I knew I found a new medium for doing reviews. The 4 Brothers added a very good “ZING” to my Cheesy Chili Mac. I enjoyed that spoonful and dished out another, and added quite a bit more of 4 Brothers this time. Good thing Danny was here to help me eat the Cheesy Chili Mac. I would’ve eaten the whole pan of it and finished off the 4 Brothers.
I really enjoyed this sauce, and I’ll be trying it on wings for sure. I’m sure it will be great poured on the top of a burger also. Sam you have good sauce here bud!
1-866-458-0699
425-785-1289
Zane & Zack’s world Famous Honey Co.
12705 SE 187th Place
Renton, WA 98058
E-mail: sam@zandzhoneyco.com
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Topics: General, Hot Product Reviews, Reviews | 11 Comments »
Before I read the reviews I gotta say that this is one of the best sauces I’ve ever tasted. I love this stuff!
The 4 Brothers sauce was a staple for me during the TTF Biggest Loser contest. I would have it with my Southwest Chicken Salads from McDonalds on almost a daily basis. I would get the salad with regular Ranch dressing instead of the southwest one that normally came with it. I would mix a generous amount of 4 Brothers with the ranch dressing and put it on the salad.
Aside from tasting it straight from the bottle when I first opened it, that’s the only way I ate it. I’ll definitely be ordering more of this wonderful sauce soon. Great job Sam and krewe!
Ok, now to have a cup of coffee and read the reviews. I’m looking forward to seeing what everyone’s thoughts were on this.
Great reviews everyone. I agree with the overall take from everyone. Well, except :nerd:. This is my hands down favorite sauce from Zane & Zacks.
Justin’s take on the smokiness was dead on. I thought it was really smokey tasting, but didn’t think it was from the chipotle. I’d never had smoked sea salt before, but figured that was the main source for the flavor. And the sweetness from the honey was just enough to know it was there. The heat was what I would call a medium, but as
states, it does tend to build as you eat more of the sauce.
As for the consistency, I think everyone hit it pretty good. :nerd:’s first pic shows it really well. I think the only issue I would have would be the separation though. I loved the chunks, and the sauce really poured well for being that think and chunky. It just required a lot of shaking to battle the separation of the liquid. The flavor far overshadows any issue with consistency though. This is one awesome tasting sauce.
Hudd, the Cheesy Chili Mac sounds delicious :bro:. I’ll be making it for sure, probably before my reorder with Sam.
This was a nice box of goodies Sam and Tina sent us. There was a couple of other products in it that I liked even better. Stay tuned for more info.
DK, the Cheesy Chili Mac is pretty tasty. Had it just the other night and used the Gator Man sauce I had in the fridge. Yum-O!
buddah, i found the pics you asked about for that other review, i will send you an email to make sure you know what im talking about. it might of already got posted imnot sure.
I am going to order some of this right now.
Order submitted.
I have never tried this one. I WOULD if my package ever gets shipped. I thought I was bad about that
Z&Z has some great sauces (and chocolates too). It was a real pleasure meeting Sam, Tina & Zane at ZestFest. Good review everyone and congratulations Z&Z.
Thank you for reviewing our sauce. The generic label is a temporary thing, there is one other version right now that has at least our contact info on it. I really like this one though, it reminds me of the old generic beer cans that just said beer in black letters on a white can. When Maxx gets a little older and his facial features develop a little more we will change the label to one very similar to the Three Brothers label except of course with pics of all 4 boys. Thanks again to all the reviewers and TTF staff for posting this.
This week my friend, sorry for the delay.