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Taste The Fear…Battle of the Bottles 2
By admin | April 1, 2008 | 
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Garlic Chili Edition
Here we are once again with another BATTLE OF THE BOTTLES™ and we got one hell of a showdown. This is Buddah, and I’ve enlisted a couple of fellow Chileheads, Hudd and Justin to help me decide the fate of two award winning garlic chili sauces. I have had both products before and they both rock, so to me this is going to be hard to decide, so I had to really put them through several tests. Anyone who has ever had either of these products knows they are deserving of all the allocades they have been given by the Fiery Food Industry. So what are these great products? Let’s tell ya a little about them before we shove them into the Ring of Destiny™ and decide their fates.
In the far, far, far Northwestern corner we have Droolin’ Devil’s Garlic Chilli Sauce pictured with the devil that drools, hence the name. Clever ain’t it?
You can find the entire line of Droolin’ Devil Products and a whole lot more at www.unclebig.com. This is one of the first products that I fell in love with on my journey to introduce my tastebuds to new hot sauces. Garlic is a flavor most people love to have, but hate to have linger long. Droolin’ Devil brings the garlic and your taste buds appreciate it. Yet there is a lot more to this wonderful condiment than garlic. Here are the list of ingredients:
Fresh Red Peppers, Vinegar, Lemon Juice, Garlic, Salt
Well it is good to know the red peppers are fresh. In contrast to Droolin Devil’s competition, the ingredient list is short and simple. You also have to love the devil that drools on the label living up to the company name. For those that do not know, this is a product of Canada, and with Canadian tradition, there is some french translation here and there on the label. This makes me feel like I am having something special that other parts of the world have had to pleasure to dine with. The French really know cuisine. Who else could make a slug in a shell taste so good?
Let’s see how it holds up to the taste test against their fierce competition. That competition is Sweet Sunshine’s Roasted Shallot & Garlic Chili Sauce.
Below is the two bottles, but the one I received from Sweet Sunshine is their old bottle and label. I really like the old label’s colors, but I can see that the new label is probably an easier seller because it keeps things simple and you can read it better. Not to mention the 6-sided bottle makes for easier gripping. We aren’t here though to judge the bottles, but to judge the sauce.
Sweet Sunshine’s Roasted Shallot & Garlic Chili Sauce’s list of ingredients is as such:
Water, Sugar, Shallots, Vinegar, Roasted Garlic, Tomatoes, Corn Syrup Solids, Salt, Mustard Seed, Ancho Peppers, Molasses, Cayenne Pepper, Habanero Pepper, Onion, Spices, Natural Flavor, Citric Acid, Xanthan Gum.
As you can see this is a much more complex chili sauce than the Droolin’ Devil Product. I also want to point out all the sweet stuff that makes up this sauce. Notice that the second ingredient on the list is sugar, and there also is Corn Syrup Solids? Never seen that one before. Then there is also Molasses to boot. No wonder the serving size of 1 tbsp has 4g of sugar per serving. I love the sauce, but I have to be careful how much I use at once. Did I just say I loved the sauce? Yes folks, I was introducted to Sweet Sunshine’s Chili Sauces at the 2007 Weekend of Fire and it was one of my favorite tasting products at the show. I just haven’t used it on food because of the high sugar content. At least not until the BATTLE OF THE BOTTLES 2™.
Let us put these two great products head to head in the Ring of Destiny™ and let them fight it out, and see who comes out the winner.
Hudd:
Just upon picking up these 2 bottles of sauce at Jungle Jim’s my first impression was, “if these taste the way they look, I’m going to like_______ the best.”
Here’s my observation of the two.
The appearance of the two is quite different. The Droolin Devil (DD) looks thin and vinegary, and the Sweet Sunshine (SS) looks thick and syrupy. I opened them and gave a sniff to each, and the DD didn’t smell as I had suspected. No vinegar smell to it, just a sweet pleasant smell. The SS smelled as I expected. Sweet and BBQie.
I grabbed a spoon and tried a spoonful of each. The DD was thin and had a bit of heat to it. Didn’t detect the vinegar I was expecting. The SS was as I expected from appearance and smell, sweet and BBQie and it also has a little heat in it.
I had a bag Tostito Scoops sitting on the table, so I poured some of each on a Scoop. Didn’t change the outcome of the taste any, I just like Tostitos.
Last night the wife had made sloppy joes with Manwich sauce so I had her save some of the hamburger back with no Manwich in it so I could use it for this review. I Mixed up some of each and had lunch. Both worked well as a sloppy joe sauce, but the SS was more at home in the hamburger. This sauce could possible become my go to sloppy joe sauce.
Later in the evening, I put some wings on the grill along with a boneless skinless chicken breast. The DD is thin and didn’t hang on too well, but once cooked into the chicken, it was pretty tasty on the wings. The SS hung on like a BBQ sauce, and got my vote here also. I liked it as a dipping sauce for the chicken breast also.
The two bottles were both under five bucks at JJ’s, but I feel the Sweet Sunshine was the better buy. It seems to have more uses than the Droolin Devil. I can already taste it in my mind in some baked beans.
So that being said, I picked the Sweet Sunshine over the Droolin Devil. Both were good but I liked the Sweet Sunshine better.
As a side note, I had my son Danny do a blind taste test when he got home from school. I put some of each on Tostitos and he tried them. Not knowing which was which he picked the Sweet Sunshine also. I had to take it from him so I could have some left over for baked beans.
Justin:
Sweet Sunshine
Both of my sauces are being tested on chicken nuggets. This sauce is just right on the consistency. Its thick enough to cling to my nuggets as a dipping sauce, but still pours easily. It smells very sweet and reminds me of a bbq sauce. The first thing I think of in the taste is also a bbq sauce with the initial flavor being onion and garlic. I didn’t really know exactly what a shallot is so I looked it up and it said similar to an onion only sweeter, and that’s definitely what I tasted in this sauce. The garlic is there to but not as strong as I would like it to be. Other than the sweetness from the shallots and garlic there is also sugar listed as the second ingredient from the top, and a little further down corn syrup and also molasses. The molasses is well hidden in the bbq flavor bit is still detectable.
I don’t really like sweet sauces, but I can stand a little sweetness in bbq sauces. If I where to buy a Sweet Sunshine product again it would be the hotter version, that is still sweet, but not as sweet as this one. I can stand this one its just not my first choice. My overall judgment of this one is good but really just another bbq sauce.
Droolin Devil Garlic Chilli Sauce
For the review I stuck with chicken nuggets because I wanted to do them both on the same food, but its really not the best choice for this one. The flavor goes good with the nuggets, but its just to thin for dipping. If I had the 2 bottles in the fridge I would grab the sweet sunshine for nuggets ,but that don’t mean it’s the winner. Like I said before its just another bbq sauce with a bit to much sugar. If im eating something that I like BBQ on, like chicken nuggets, I would grab that one. Droolin Devil is more unique though, and really goes great on a variety of foods. I have had it before and I can tell you that its really good with pizza and also on eggs. It is also a sweet sauce but not nearly as sweet as the Sweet Sunshine.
The Droolin Devil ingredients list is short and doesn’t really have anything that would make me think of a sweet sauce listed on it. Fresh red peppers, vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, salt. The main flavors of this sauce are the garlic and fresh red peppers, the rest are just flavor enhancers. I do wish it was just a little thicker, even on pizza and other non dipping foods it was hard to keep in place. Even though both of these sauces are garlic chilli sauces they are completely different from each.
Droolin Devil is my favorite between them by a landslide, but I could see them both in the same fridge for different meals.
My overall rating for Sweet Sunshine: 3/10 the hotter version would of gotten a lot higher rating from me but still would of gotten its ass kicked by Droolin Devil though.
My overall rating for Droolin Devil Garlic Chilli sauce… 7.9/10
Buddah:
When I think of Chili Sauce, I think of Asian cuisine. So I stopped over to Wegman’s Supermarket, and picked out a few things from the Asian Hot Food Bar. I took a little beef and mushrooms, some chicken, mini eggrolls, a little veggie dumpling action, along with some white rice. So it was time to put them into the first round of the competition in the Ring of Destiny™. Pouring a little bit of each sauce into a separate dipping cup, you begin to see the difference between each chili sauce. The Droolin’ Devil(DD) product is a lot thinner and easier to pour, while the Sweet Sunshine(SS) sauce is much thicker and darker.
I went to town on the mini eggrolls first. They were about the size of my thumb, and about as thick as my stubby digit as well. The less viscous DD dripped as I attempted to take a bite. There was still plenty sauce on the mini chinese treasure, but the drip was note worthy because when I dipped the egg roll into the SS, no drip was detected. The SS clung like honey onto the crunchy surface of the egg roll like a barbeque sauce. Taste wise they both were quite good this way. Before I could even make a decision, the mini bite sized treats were history. I did detect a slight heat from the SS sauce.
I needed more experimentation so I poured some on the white rice. Eureka! You really can begin to notice the big difference in tastes. Quite a sweetness arose from the rice with the SS and it is hard to resist the sweetness on the tongue. Pleasure centers know the difference, and sugar is sugar after all. The SS stuck to the rice just like the egg roll, and it made it easy to eat all the sauce without leaving a trace behind. The DD although not as sweet was really good as well on the white grain, but in a more garlicky way. I liked both here, but I think the advantage would have to go to DD on this one. It tasted more like a meal with the garlic complexity of the DD.
Next came the best part of my meal as I would soon discover, the dumplings. The SS once again clung to the food, and the dumpling would look like it was dipped into a dessert sauce. The taste once it hit my mouth sang in a harmony with my tastebuds. I returned to the dunking cup and polished off that dumpling within a few more bites. There was no use denying how good it was. DD could not compete with that sweetness. Or could it? DD with the dumpling was truly fantastic too, and if I didn’t have the SS with me that day, I would not have thought any less of my meal for the taste was great. Yet, the SS was incredible and despite the DD’s best effort, it took a hard blow to the jaw and I wasn’t sure it would ever recover after that.
I moved onto the chicken and beef, and no matter what I was eating, I regretted not having more dumplings or at least saved them for last. I always loved to save the best for last, but I didn’t know, I just didn’t know. The chicken as well as the beef with shrooms were good with both sauces, and I was really enjoying my dunking exploits. Once again, the sweetness of the SS was winning out. I am not sure I really enjoyed the mushrooms on the DD too much, but on the chicken and beef it was very good. The SS was great on everything.
Round two.
I tried some more a few days later, but this time I tried some on the japanese version of the dumpling, gyoza. I also bought a whole cooked chicken and pulled a little white and dark meat to sample with. The gyoza I bought was also a vegetable dumpling, but this one was cold, and I heated it up in the microwave. Not exactly the best way to have dumplings, but it was the way I was instructed. The outside of the dumpling’s corners were too rubbery too eat, but the main part was tender and juicy. I enjoyed the chinese dumplings much better, but with both sauces they made the meal so much more interesting. The one good thing about using DD, was that because it was less viscous, I could scoop the sauce into the opening of the dumpling so I could get more instead. The SS was more of a dipping sauce than the DD in this case. There was no denying the SS was the winner here as well.
Lastly came the chicken. I very much enjoyed the warmth of the chicken here with the sauces. The other day I had pieces of cooked chinese black pepper chicken, and by the time I got home it just lost the heat. I didn’t try cooking with either chili sauce until now. I poured a little of each sauce on a small piece of chicken and used the microwave again. Once again I noticed the heat of the SS on the back of my throat. It wasn’t hot hot, but it was noticeable more now than before. DD had so little heat I didn’t take notice. The SS also coated the chicken way better than the DD, and the taste once again went to the SS chili sauce.
Eventhough I have a clear winner, I love the Droolin Devil product, and will continue to use it over the Sweet Sunshine product for one good reason. Sweet Sunshine’s high sugar content. Healthwise for me, the DD is a safer bet. Most people won’t care as much as me because I had stomach surgery and its to my benefit to stay away from the high sugar sauces. Until the day comes when Sweet Sunshine comes out with a Splenda version, then I will stick to my good chili sauce friend Droolin’ Devil. Not to mention some of their other great sauces like one of my favorites, Liquid Sin.
Alas, in all fairness, the hands down winner for me in the BATTLE OF THE BOTTLES 2™ must go to Sweet Sunshine Roasted Shallot & Garlic Chili Sauce! Congratulations Sweet Sunshine, you make one hell of a tasty product. If you are looking for more heat, then try their Atomic Chili Sauce, it is my favorite of their chili sauces.
Droolin’ Devil Fine Foods World Headquarters are located in
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, the “Paris of the Prairies”.
We are located at:
#5 801 7th Ave N
(7th Ave N & Princess St. beside Lucky Dollar and City Perk)
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
S7K 2V5
Orders: 1-866-93-FIERY (866-933-4379)
Office: 306.244.2205
Fax: 306.244.2661
Email: info@droolindevil.com
No contact information given on their site. www.sweetsunshine.com
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Topics: General, Hot Product Reviews, Reviews | 91 Comments »
The only product I know of that has honey in it is his honey bbq sauce. Unless he has a new product I am not familiar with. When you debut you honey bbq sauce, then I will consider it. Until then, I would have to find a honey product equilivant to yours, and there is none I know of right now. I am a novice though in the hot sauce world, so I am probably missing a lot of great products.
Oh yead, I forgot Bee Sting Honey ‘N Habanero Pepper Sauce. I think that would be a better choice. What ya think?
Your right, it was a BBQ sauce. We would be happy to step in the ring with anyone you choose. Like I said before there are no losers in the battle of the bottles. I like Big’s idea of choosing a competitor as well. Maybe a new spin on the battle? Where you call out another manufacturer if they accept, game on?
I would definitely accept that form of battle, but I would see those companies funding the review. I would though like it themed, e.g.- honey habanero vs honey habanero.
I thought I’d just pop in to say that I really like the new label design of the Sweet Sunshine product. The bottle shape is nice as well, looks really sharp. I never cared for the old label whatsoever.
Hey INC, whats up? Good to see ya back even if it is just a coffee stop.
Just life :nerd:, just life.
It was an interesting past week. I had to miss the Indiana Fiery Foods show in Madison this past weekend due to my English Bulldog getting fixed this week. I didn’t think it would be prudent leaving her home alone for half the day with Mandy’s crazy pup.
The surgery went well though, so that I’m thankful for. The incision is very small, perhaps an inch long and healing wonderfully. She’s basically back to normal but that wasn’t the case a few days ago.
She got a bladder infection from all of it, would leak in the house which she never does, and would squat 5-10 times on a short walk. It was nuts, but medicine has her clearing up and back to her lovely self without the accidents.
Aside from that, my laptop has some sort of bluescreen issue. My tech friend believes it’s a memory issue and of course it’s not on the removeable slot. Oh well, what can you do!
Ok, that’s enough for now since I’ve no clue if someone will read this due to it being down on the list.
Okay there goes my breakfast. I think I am going to see bulldog leakage in my mind all day long.:shock:
You are probably better off posting in the no fear zone which would be seen and not buried here. I just caught it because I am up so early.
Sorry for all the folks that are worried about the sugar content, but the sauce is called “Sweet Sunshine”. I made it to my taste and I love sweet and spice together. I wanted it thick and viscous so it would stick to food. I wouldn’t worry about over consumption of sugar either, considering you use a tablespoon or so in a serving, the amount of sugar consumed is not very much at all. It is all natural, extract free, gluten free, preservative free, fat free and Vegan. It is meant to be a condiment, a flavor injection and not a main part of a meal. I agree with all that there are different tastes for different people, thats why they make chocolate and vanilla. This sauce is made for my taste, I love it and I am glad others feel the same way.
Hi Paul, sorry that I wasn’t able to release this comment from moderation sooner. It was mixed in with a ton of spam. Now that the comment has been released, you will now be able to comment at anytime.
Welcome to TTF!!! Come back and stick around when you have more time.
Sweet
I am glad you finally came by to say hello. Welcome to TTF Paul. Tell Ed he should come say hello too.
Welcome aboard Paul!
I have yet to try Sweet Sunshine, but it’s on my short list (not to be confused with my
list!) of sauces to purchase.
Got one of your hats from FFS ’07, but I missed your booth somehow.
I didn’t make the ’08 show.
Paul will you be going to Weekend of Fire again? It wouldn’t be the same without the SS booth!
Again? I missed them at JJ’s last year too?
just to let you know, i didnt care for it because i dont really like anything sweet, your atomic sunshine sauce was awsome though. still a little sweet for me but not bad so it was perfect when i was in the mood for it. i made turkey meatloaf with it and it was the best meatloaf i have ever had.
yea, i dont remember them being there either. could be that i had never heard of them though so i didnt remember.
Paul I LOVE this sauce! But I must say I do use more then a tablespoon during a meal! As I do with any hot sauce. But I also do not need to watch my sugar, so I don’t keep an eye on those things.
But with all that said, I still LOVE this sauce! Good job! Now I just have to get some more!
Correction: anything that is not meat, can not be called MEATLOAF, you made a TURKEY loaf.
OK, now, you all may continue….
Or poultry loaf if you prefer…
Turkey is not meat? I think you are getting mixed up with the word “beef”. Beef is 100% better than turkey. Thinking of which, I need a bacon cheeseburger.
It was one of the first reviews I ever did for TTF. I reported from Jungle Jim’s via my phone. The people that didn’t try their products missed out. I still think they are one of the best products I ever tasted from the show. Justin is right about their Atomic version, it kicks serious ass.
i didnt realize that turkey wasnt a kind of meat. most things i prefere beef but with this recipe i really liked the ground turkey in it. maybe just because it was a change.
Turkey is meat. unless you’re eatin’ feathers.
Can meatloaf be made without breadcrumbs or is that required?
i use saltine crackers, a friends mom used to make it with bread crumbs and i hated it.
I was looking for a low carb version.
meatloaf is basicly whatever you feel like throwing into it. i use meat, eggs, vegtable soup, saltines, onion soup mix (powder), and bbq sauce.
i think the bbq has more carbs than the amount of saltines i put in it.
True enough, but Cry Baby has no carbs.
ok, im outa here for the night.
Night Justin!
I make my meatloaf with a mix of beef, veal, and pork. Then I add salt, pepper, Italian seasonings, and 2 slices of bread soaked in a 1/2 cup of water and a 1/2 cup of 1% milk.
Oh, and rosemary and thyme. YUMMMY!!!!!
Now you feel da love? I am outta here. Have a good nite!
Absolutely, not my favorite meat but definitely meat. Do you even have to think about it? It is the flesh (meat) of an animal. Technically you could have a fish meatloaf, but usually, because you don’t want to over cook your seafood people opt for fish, shrimp, crab, or lobster, etc, cakes (aka mini seafood meatloaves) Still flesh, still delicious.
No garlic, black olives, bell pepper, bacon and cheese?
I can see already that we are going to need a post dedicated to meatloaf recipes.
:tu:
I loved the meatloaf my mom would make. My wife makes a decent one too.
I wouldn’t mind having several good meatloaf recipes. Post em if ya got em.
Hey Hudd, I will send ya out a check and a little thank you next week, if that is cool. I have to try to get a couple hours sleep then 3 hours drive to Eastern WA. for some dirt bike riding, hiking, hunting for shed antlers, shooting, beer drinking… All the stuff that makes it worth going to work everyday (that I haven’t been able to do forever!).
Sounds good. Have fun!
We should definitely have a meatloaf recipe thread. Send all your recipes to EMAIL PROTECTED (Click To Reveal)