15.307 The Hot Ones Season 25

Cycle 15 – Item 307

7 (Thu) November 2024

Hot Ones Season 25

3.0

by me

at home

-Changgok, Sujeong, Seongnam, Gyeonggi, Republic of Korea-

with DJ and IZ

Having improvised wannabe versions of The Hot Ones, first with hot sauces that I had on hand (see 14.017 Hot Ones: The Pantry Edition) and then with Korean hot sauces purchased at the supermarket (see 14.024 Hot Ones: The Korean Edition), I am very pleased to present the real deal.  Season 25, still so fresh that the most recent episode dropped tonight (see Rosé Needs a Stress Ball While Eating Spicy Wings).

I had ceded that she could dump the box, though I would’ve loved to have it; oh well, the line-up card will have to do.

At my request, Number One Fan LJY brought the set on her recent visit – it was a big ask, literally, necessitating an additional bag to accommodate the bottles, which I now realize must also have been quite heavy, all being glass – what a pal!!

Keeping it simple this time – primarily so as not to waste any of the precious sauces.

In prior attempts, the wings had been tossed with the hot sauces in bowls.  But I found that the wings came out way oversauced.  And left a lot of residual sauce in the bowls.  And required all those bowls to be washed.

Sticks of carrots and celery with ranch dip, to make a meal of it.
  1. Hot Ones – The Classic (1,800) (3.0): very tasty, tangy, versatile, not at all spicy (available on Amazon, we already have this one (see generally 15.138 Fish & Chips (&  Chicken Tenders))
  2. Little Dick’s – Ghost Pepper Pear (6,900) (3.5): sweet yet slightly bittersweet, distinct pear flavor, bit of kick
  3. Neil’s Real Deal – Smoked Onion (17,000) (3.0): like American BBQ sauce, though neither too sweet nor too smoky, bit of kick
  4. Hot Ones – Los Calientes Verde (36,000) (4.0): very very nice, well balanced, vegetal in a great way, good kick
  5. Dawson’s – Apple Caraway (52,000) (3.0): caraway aroma off-putting initially, but nicely paired with apple flavor on subsequent tastings, good kick
  6. Pepper North – Jerk & Scotch Bonnet (71,000) (4.0): subtle curry flavor, pleasantly smoky, good kick
  7. Pepper Ninja – Ninja Napalm (133,000) (2.5): sharp and tangy, though somewhat flat in flavor, strong kick
  8. Da Bomb – Evolution (135,600) (0.5): not as terrible as suggested by the reactions on the show, though this version is supposed to be more natural in flavor, immediately and unpleasantly spicy, clearly engineered to be
  9. Fresco Sauce – Arbol Scorpion (820,000) (1.0): overpowering chili flavor, way too spicy
  10. Hot Ones – The Last Dab Xperience (2,693,000) (2.0): good flavor, but too spicy
Perhaps not coincidentally, we liked the greenish/yellowish ones over the reddish/orangeish ones.

The unanimous favorite was the Hot Ones – Los Calientes Verde, with split opinions on Little Dick’s and Pepper North for runner up.  I liked Hot Ones – The Classic, Dawson’s, and Neil’s Real Deal as honorable mentions.  Permanent passes on Pepper Ninja, Da Bomb, and Fresco Sauce.  Wait and see on Hot Ones – The Last Dab Xperience.

In this morning’s Korea Times, an article announcing our upcoming winter Open House; a similar article in advance of our summer sale (see Over 500,000 English-language books available at Tongbang Books Open House) had been picked up by various expat platforms and spurred a record-number of expat customers.  

(See all GLOBAL FOOD GLOSSARY)

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