Matouk's Trinidad Scorpion Pepper Sauce - 10 fl.oz

Quality: I appreciate that Matouk's is made from whole peppers complete with seeds, a "natural" sauce. I may be in the minority but I pass on a lot of Carolina Reaper/Ghost Pepper/Naga Viper sauces not because I can't take the heat but because they are made from extracts and concentrates that have a chemical/kerosene flavor to me. Like police pepper spray on your food. Not so with Matouks. I also like peppers from their original place of origin.Nature: For those pepperheads unfamiliar with Moruga Scorpion, it is the polar opposite of a Chiltepin. Not only much hotter, but it doesn't hit you with heat immediately and then go away. It builds and builds and builds to the point your mouth will be on fire. If trying for the first time, use a little and be patient. Don't assume you didn't put enough because you don't get the heat right away and pour more on there. Give it time. It can build to where it's pretty violent.Heat: Well of course it is very hot. In 2012 prior to the Reaper and "Pepper X" it was the hottest in the world. If your idea of hot is Tabasco, Frank's (it is literally, by SHUs a thousand times hotter), Cholula etc.; or if Habaneros or Scotch Bonnets are your upper level - this may not be the sauce for you. The first ingredient is peppers; not water, not vinegar, not carrot or mango juice to cut the heat. Though it does contain some Scotch Bonnets as well, it is very close to the same heat as the actual Moruga Scorpion pepper, which is about 1.5 million SHU.Flavor: It is almost straight Scorpion but if you are used to heat can detect a slight fruity flavor characteristic of this pepper and also some garlic notes.Note: there is a review showing something in the bottle that is assumed to be mold or something. That is a piece of herb ("West Indian spice" in the ingredients), not mold. This stuff keeps for a long, long time. The peppers are pickled and it contains so much capsaicin that almost nothing will grow in it. Mold or mildew growing in a pickled sauce this hot and with a Ph almost equal to vinegar (2.2) is exceptionally rare. Particularly if it has never been opened. Mine has a year before the 'best by" date (which is NOT an expiration date) and has the same little bits of herbs in it.Bottom line: can't wait to try Matouk's other sauces as well. This isn't for the faint of heart, but for those that like VERY hot with good flavor you won't be disappointed.