Culley’s Fire Water

All the way from New Zealand, Culley’s has a reputation for making delicious, high-quality products. They’ve been in business since 1975, and have a very diverse lineup of hot sauces, barbecue sauces, taco sauces, and more! I’ve never been disappointed by anything from Culley’s in the past as they are all expertly crafted.

   Culley’s Fire Water is indeed a sauce to be reckoned with. What it offers in scorching heat it equally delivers in flavour. Made with two of the hottest peppers on the planet and a handful of fresh, select ingredients, its flavour profile is sweet, savoury, and tangy. This sauce definitely hits the mark for me with regards to strong heat and unique flavour.

   New Zealand-grown Smokin’ Ed’s Carolina Reaper and Trinidad Scorpion Butch T peppers bring a fresh, blistering heat which should not be underestimated. Their sweet and fruity taste makes for a very pleasant taste, before the volcanic burn slowly sets in.  White wine vinegar is one of my favourite vinegars to enjoy in a hot sauce. The distinctive tang has fruity notes which greatly complements the taste of the peppers. The lime juice makes for a light tropical citrusy taste, while one of its best friends, Mexican tequila, adds a smooth flavour, though it’s almost unnoticeable. Palm sugar brings a decent amount of sweetness, while onions also add a light sweet touch and helps make a smooth consistency for the product. The ginger and garlic combo is one of my favourites in my dishes as well as my hot sauces. Though pretty subtle-tasting in this case, they add a light, warm, zingy bite to complement the sweet tang of the sauce. Salt and pepper ensure that the product is well-seasoned and that all the flavours can shine through.

   In terms of heat, I would give this one an 8.5 out of 10. I was leaning towards an 8 because of the sweetness, but then remembered that time I put a heaping tablespoon in my sandwich and began to cry tears of joy. It’s not quite at the heat level of the other 9/10s on my list because those sauces tend to focus almost solely on the heat and flavour of the superhot peppers. Other notable 9/10s include Hellfire’s Fear This, Hellfire’s Fiery Fool, and Reaper Squeezins by Puckerbutt. When compared to these bottled champions of pain, Fire Water is almost at the heat level of these ones, but not quite due to the other flavourful and complementary ingredients in the mix. Regardless, this is a very hot product and needs to be handled with caution!

   Given that this is a highly versatile sauce, add small amounts of Culley’s Fire Water to any food that could use a sweet and deadly kick! Try it with your BBQ meats, wraps, burgers, stews, mayo, ketchup, sweet chili dips, pasta, noodle dishes, curries, tempeh or tofu brochettes, pizza, seafood, and more!

   With such a great sauce you know they have a wide range of others.  Why not check out other Culley’s products we carry online and in-store? You’re bound to find something that will suit your tastes! When stopping by one of our store locations, give Culley’s Fire Water a try! You won’t regret it… probably!

 As always, Stay on the spicy side of life!

Alexis