The hottest sauce in the world was made in New Jersey and can kill you: “the consumer exempts the company from any liability”
Blair’s 16 Million Reserve’ was produced in 2007, only 999 bottles were made and has the highest level of spiciness that can be created.
The consumption of spicy food in hot countries has a strong logic and an important cultural component. Although it may seem contradictory, the spiciness of the food produces a sensation of heat that helps to cool down. To give an example, in those same countries they prefer to take a shower with very hot water to combat the heat and the sensation of freshness when they get out of the shower.
The tolerance for spicy food in India, Indonesia, Mexico or Korea is very different from that in Europe or the USA. Eating street food in Thailand can be quite a challenge for a tourist. Capsaicin, a chemical compound found in spicy foods, is to blame for the spiciness that sometimes causes cold sweats and even hiccups when eating a chili. It also has pharmaceutical uses in, for example, pain-relieving creams.
The system that measures the hotness of chili peppers according to their capsaicin level was devised in 1912 by a pharmacist, Wilbur Scoville, and is known as SHU (Scoville Hotness Units). It ranges from 0 to 16 million. The hottest chili variety was for a long time the ‘Ghost Pepper’. It is grown in northeast India and reaches 1 million SHU. American chili breeder Ed Currie, a legend in the spicy world, created the Carolina Reaper (1,641,183 SHU) in 2013 and the Pepper X (2,693,000 SHU) in 2023. For the sake of comparison, the Tabasco that almost all of us have at home contains only 5,000 SHU in its spicier versions and that is the maximum a European can tolerate on average. In Mexico, the average tolerance is about 20,000 SHU. The pepper spray used by the police has between 2 and 5 million SHU.
However, one company, Blair’s Sauces and Snacks, located in Middletown, New Jersey, had already managed to reach the absolute level of spiciness, 16 million SHU, in 2007. It did so with its legendary ‘Blair’s 16 Million Reserve’. This product is made from pure capsaicin crystals and was marketed in bottles containing a 1 ml vial. To understand the quantity, a teaspoon of coffee contains approximately 5 ml. Only 999 bottles were produced, all of them numbered, signed by its creator, Blair Lazar, and sealed with white and gold wax. It was created as a collector’s item and a bottle can fetch up to $2,000 today.
Capsaicin is hydrophobic, colorless, odorless and its handling requires extreme caution. Gloves, tweezers and eye protection must be worn when handling it. Direct exposure can cause severe burns, severe pain and blindness if the eyes are affected. In addition, inhaling capsaicin can cause respiratory problems and sore throat. It should not be used as a sauce, but as a food additive in extremely small amounts (a dilution of at least one part per 1,000 is recommended). The packaging is printed with several warnings about the potential danger if used incorrectly and a document is included in which the purchaser exempts the company from any responsibility for the consumption of the product.
According to studies conducted in 1980, consuming two pounds of ‘Ghost Pepper’ can kill a 70 kilogram person. Blair’s 16 Million Reserve contains 16 times more capsaicin than Ghost Pepper.
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