The thermostat seemed to increase in an already warm Indian summer-bathed showroom. This is what happens.” Heat Up, Endorphins UpĪs if the chipotle sauce wasn't hot enough, we moved on to jolokia sauce. “ Has anyone ever brought beer to drink with the hot sauce tasting?” somebody asked. Minutes later, we were equipped to continue - Emil, too - with beers in hand, a tray of palate soothing crackers at the ready. “ What's the best drink to go with hot sauce?” we asked.Įmil's without-a-beat response: “ Beer, of course.”įollowing his expert advice, a few of us shuffled off to a nearby grocery store, the fire of chipotle barbecue sauce still searing the ends of throat nerves and glands we never before knew existed.

Getting into the hot sauce tasting…Ī half dozen bottles into the tasting, however, we began to reach a chili saturation. Like only a sommelier could, he'd modify our path - straighten it a little here, kink it a little there - ducking back into the refrigerator room to pull a few more bottles to custom-tailor the experience. He walked us across an oral firestorm, from mild mango-infused chili sauces to pepper extracts so hot it was only possible to take them in toothpick-tipped doses.Īlong the way, he would ask our opinions, plumbing our preferences for citrus or sweet, smoky or sour. Then, one by one, he dealt up hot sauce bottles from behind the counter and from a refrigerated tasting stash in the back. Within minutes, Emil - our hot sauce sommelier - brought out small bowls and tasting spoons. After scanning the selection of hot sauces at Pfefferhaus, our group was headed toward the door when we heard: “ Do you want to do a tasting?”Ī hot sauce tasting? Well, why not? What's there to be afraid of? Our afternoon hot sauce tasting episode in Berlin fell into the category of the completely unplanned. When you do that, you can really begin to appreciate and understand.Īnd when you do that, you've arrived. It's along a flavor and experience continuum that you can see, taste and feel subtle differences. And through them all we noticed something about the power of progression and comparison. In Berlin, we'd experienced wine tastings, brandy tastings, beer tastings, even a whiskey tasting. A few hot sauce favorites from a tasting at Pfefferhaus, Berlin Have you ever planned a hot sauce tasting? Ever even imagined one? Well, maybe you should.

A quick visit to a hot sauce store in Berlin turns into an unplanned three-hour hot sauce sampling that made us feel like we just dropped acid.

Pull the pin hot sauce