0024—Head first into 2020
There was noticeable uncertainty growing in the world. I tried to not let it slow us down. I did a one off sauce with a local CBD business and got busy with chocolate.
There was a big question mark hanging over the world at the start of 2020. Reports of infections and deaths started spreading out from the earliest reports of a virus gaining traction in China.
Meanwhile, my reach into London was growing. I’d picked up another couple of stockists in the big smoke and I’d made friends with other saucemakers there too. Success in London, no matter how small, was viewed as impressive here in North East Scotland. Having previously lived in London, I didn’t have the wide eyed romanticism of the UK capital that some in our part of the world do.
I think that got me further on, more quickly.
No fear.
Wee Hottie
Back when I won the “One to Watch” competition which secured me a stall at Taste of Grampian, one of the other finalists was The Wee Hemp Company. Specialists in CBD.
At the time, they also ran Wee Hemp Spirits where they had a few lines of spirits, each packed out with CBD. I don’t know about anyone else but It was a whole new world for me, and they had rum. My ears pricked up.
We’d been chatting ever since we shared the finalists table at the Taste of Grampian launch evening.
The thought of a hot sauce containing rum really fascinated me. The CBD angle was new. We soon agreed that we owed the world a CBD Rum infused hot sauce.
It was called the “Wee Hottie”
If I was to say, we went ahead and made it and it was the most perfect sauce yet, I’d be a liar.
The truth is I got this one wrong. I put far too much heat into it. We had agreed a medium heat level and I’d gone a bit too liberal on the use of Trinidad scorpions. I mean, It should have been obvious that it was going to be too hot but my own heat tolerances were already wild and I was fast becoming the wrong person to ask what “too hot” tasted like.
When I tasted the sauce, I knew I’d made an error. Yet somehow I forced the Wee Hemp guys to try it also, you know, just in case I was being dramatic.
I was not being dramatic.
I had to abandon the first batch and go again from scratch. This meant I made nothing at all on this batch of sauce. It was my mistake and I had to suck it up. Which I did. It was the right thing to do.
The method of making this sauce went back to the very roots of Singularity Sauce Co. I used the process from our earliest experiments because I’d learned how to engineer a sauce in a particular way where dried ingredients are required. This was about re-hydration and absorption of flavours over a number of days. Which was lucky actually, had I fermented, my mistake would have cost me another month of delay.
The dawn of Buy Ice Cream
I didn’t know it yet but I was about to unleash a yearly monster. I’d been fascinated with hot sauce on desserts for a while and I was keen to push that limit.
Because nobody else did, I created “Buy Ice Cream”.
I’ll cover the first sauce which would go on to become a legendary yearly release. Different every year but designed with the same two principles each time
A hot sauce built primarily to go with ice cream but equally at home on a tidy Victoria sponge, cheesecake or some filthy chocolatey mess.
As hot as possible without losing it’s soul (or you losing yours)
It wasn’t yet called “Buy Ice Cream”, that saw its debut a few months on from this point.
Further ahead in 2021, it was joined by some legendary artwork. The first ever Hot Sauce commission for my guy STALLAN. We’d go on to do several pieces of work with Stu but other saucemakers had just noticed how good he is and I was asked by one of them to make an introduction. He rapidly got into his stride, shipping out artwork for Thiccc Sauce, Tubby Toms and Lou’s Brews in particular. I was absolutely made up for him. Still am :)
The “Buy Ice Cream” name itself was a call to action, a warning and something that can’t easily be ignored, wrapped up in one. It got me a lot of attention. It felt like nobody else in UK hot sauce had taken the idea of a dessert hot sauce seriously. To be honest, I wasn’t aware of anything like this anywhere in the world. It set Singularity Sauce Co apart once more.
In a game full of common sauce styles, I’d just next levelled the perception of what was possible in our industry.
And oh boy, did it sell.
Chocolate, Cherry & Scorpion
You’ve heard it too. “Chocolate and chilli” are one of the oldest flavour combinations in the world.
Let’s give that a flex and see if we can’t take that combo as a starting point to create a dessert hot sauce.
And remember, Singularity Sauce Co absolutely loves a fruity face melter, so let’s roll a bit of that in while we’re at it.
We’re going cherries and blackberry cider vinegar.
For the heat, it was tempting to go with ghost chillies but this demanded a little more crazy. I picked Trinidad Scorpions because they are bonkers hot and have a fruity flavour which would pair with the cherry and blackberry notes. The chocolate would smooth the spikiness of their heat out.
I’d need some assistance from ginger and shallots in the ferment but I’d leave the latter of these out of the blend.
Recipe down below the paywall.
I sent Dragons Den on their way
An email from the researchers at Dragons Den landed in my inbox. They’d done some research on Singularity Sauce Co and explained we’d be a perfect fit for the TV show. They wanted to know if I was interested and when I could be available. I got them on the phone and had a chat with them. As flattering as this was, I sent them away with a clear no.
Didn’t even take a day to think about it.
Because even if I believed they’d shoot straight dice, I was not up for giving away a huge share of what I’d built from zero. Don’t even start with the “the success of Reggae Reggae sauce” chat ;)
I can hear certain sections of you aghast at why I would close that door.
I also feel the virtual high fives of other small business startups. You’re always going to be my people.
See ya next time free readers. For our paid subscribers, behind the paywall, you’ll find the recipes from above and a little more info about why I turned down a shot at Dragons Den.
