Jade City Lupin III Hot Sauce Review
This review is not sponsored; these sauces were bought with TabbieWolf’s own money. They are available at Jade City Foods.
So last year, Jade City Foods started producing Lupin the Third-branded hot sauces, coffee, and matcha tea. And being ever curious and loving everyone’s favorite thief, I bought the full set of sauces, got some friends together, and we decided to do a review!
I was joined by CF, Zack, and my partner, SpotWeld, for these reviews. Almost all taste tests were done on panko-breaded chicken tenders.
Lupin III - Green Jacket Sauce
First up, the leader of the gang, Lupin the Third. Lupin’s sauce is, surprisingly, the weakest of the bunch. Jade City rates it on their hotness scale a 3 out of 10 (I will be critiquing this scale later in this review, though, be aware), and it is primarily jalapeños, cilantro, and lime, with a bit of garlic. It is a thin sauce, with a little bit of texture to it.
Of all of the sauces, this is the most flavorful. It’s got more character than Tabasco’s jalapeño sauce, due to the addition of cilantro and lime. It would be excellent on tacos, and probably on seafood as well.
Ratings
CF: 8.5/10
Zack: 8/10 “I quite like it. A good crowd pleaser hot sauce.”
Spot: 7/10
Tabbie: 8/10
Overall Rating: “Very jalapeño-y.” It was the most unique flavor-wise, of all of the hot sauces.
Zantetsuken Sauce
Second up, because we’re going by Jade City’s scale, is Goemon’s Zantetsuken Sauce. Jade City rates this 4 out of 10 on their hotness scale.
Goemon’s sauce uses cayenne peppers and garlic. It is very thick. It is also not nearly as flavorful as Lupin’s sauce. It would probably be good on chicken wings or pulled pork.
Ratings
CF: 5/10 “Hashtag basic.”
Zack: 5/10 “Average hot sauce.”
Spot: 8/10 “Lives up to the mid-rating it was given.”
Tabbie: 5/10
Overall Rating: Not something to go out of your way for, and not nearly as sharp as zantetsuken.
New Dimension Sauce
For our third hot sauce, we dipped into Jigen! “Jigen” means “Dimension” in Japanese, which is where this hot sauce gets its name. And, unlike the other hot sauces, it has no garlic, because Jigen is not a fan:
Instead, the sauce is made of orange, mango, pineapple, habanero, and raisins, and is rated 6 out of 10 on the hotness scale. We went in expecting a bit more punch than we ended up getting: the sauce is actually quite mild, and all the flavors sort of blend together.
It would probably work well as a steak sauce: it has a bit of a Worcestershire flavor to it (probably the raisins), which is Jigen appropriate! However, we all agreed it lacked an essential smokiness that any food based on Daisuke Jigen should definitely have.
Ratings
CF: 7/10
Zack: 7.5/10
Spot: 6.5/10 - “A lot more chill than expected.”
Tabbie: 5/10
Overall Rating: Interesting, but much less hot than promised.
The Obsession Sauce
Rated 10 out of 10 on the hotness scale, the Inspector Zenigata sauce is made with ghost peppers and garlic and is much hotter than the New Dimension sauce. The flavor of ghost peppers is mostly heat, not necessarily pepper. As Zack put it, it’s “not something I would seek out for flavor, it’s something I would seek out for heat.”
After the disappointment of the New Dimension sauce on the heat scale, though, it was nice to get a sauce that fulfilled its promised 10. It also, very much like Inspector Zenigata himself, lingers, hanging onto both your palate and the back of your throat.
Would be excellent on wings, Hot Ones-style.
Ratings
CF: 8/10
Zack: 7/10
Spot: 8.5/10
Tabbie: 6/10
Sensation Seeker “Sauce”
So, Fujiko’s Sensation Seeker claims to be a sauce, but is actually a chili extract. It looks like blood, a deep deep red, and pours thick but smooth.
It also, very seriously, will kick your ass.
This, again, is an extract. It’s not really designed to be a sauce — which is why I used a toothpick to taste test it. My three partners in crime used it like a normal sauce and had a lot of regrets; we went through almost an entire quart of milk thanks to this sauce.
And this is where I have to critique Jade City’s rating system: we were less nervous about this sauce because of its 10/10 rating. That rating was shared with the Zenigata sauce, which was very spicy but not “spit it out or you’ll die” spicy. This “sauce” is hot.
Sensation Seeker could probably be used in a chili or added very sparingly to mayonnaise to make a spicy aioli. Would NOT recommend eating it on wings, unless you enjoy the flavor of pain.
Ratings
CF: 10/10 on delivery but negative 10 on taste
Zack: 1/10 & 10/10 “I’m crying. That’s my review.”
Spot: 5/10
Tabbie: 4/10
Bonus Review: Emerald Heist Matcha Tea
This is NOT just a tea!
It is super sweet, and basically a large commercial coffee chain-style matcha latte in powder form. It is not to my tastes — it is far too sweet — but if you like your matcha prepared by a barista, it is a good option for your home kitchen!
I wish they didn’t advertise it as a tea, because it is very much a sweetened tea mix.
