I've ordered a few times from Maritime Madness and have always been ecstatic with the sauces. When they had the last sale on, I did some research (watching the videos of the challenge) and decided to by the two pack. I got them this morning. Not the hottest I have ever experienced but by god it's a good second. The fact it wasn't the hottest didn't matter; what did matter is the manner in which the heat was delivered. I will start at the beginning and progress through the experience. On first look, the brittle looked well behaved yet mischievous, an unassuming square with a reddish dusting. Being cautious, I wore gloves as I removed the "treat" from the package. The first sniff was inconclusive and after a moment of hesitation, I stuffed the square into my mouth. Here is where the insidious nature of the challenge comes into play; as I was chewing, the brittle became less brittle and more gooey. I could immediately taste the peppers but wasn't overly concerned as I've had reapers before. If you enjoy the flavour of hot peppers, you will probably find this tasty. The introspection on the flavour lasted for approximately 10 seconds as the heat started to kick in. The heat built and built and built. My tongue became numb, the roof of my mouth began to tingle as the heat became fully pronounced, and yet, it got hotter. I swallowed and was rewarded by the burn consuming the back of my throat. I thought to myself, "Now I wait for the eventual loss of heat." I was wrong, the gooey brittle was still stuck in my teeth and continued to feed the fire. This forced me to use my tongue in a foolish attempt to dislodge the candied goodness. My tongue screamed voicelessly at my stupidity. My eyes began to sweat and my nose began to cry. After enduring this "entertainment" for an eternity (about 4 minutes to those watching from the outside), I took some refreshment to cool myself. The heat did go down fairly quickly but it has been nearly 8 hours since I did this, and my tongue is still sensitive. Meanwhile the second chunk is sitting in the corner mocking me to do it again. Well done Maritime Madness, well done.
