Shinedown are getting their own hot sauce. Made in collaboration with specialty sauce brand, Torchbearer Sauces, Shinedown getting a hot sauce isn’t just a delicious marketing move, it’s a right of passage and marker of a truly ascendant rock band. The Killers have one, Lynyrd Skynyrd has one (see Shinedown’s dope cover of “Simple Man”), GnR guitarist Bumblefoot has, like, six… You get our point, having a hot sauce solidifies your legendary status.
That, or, you know, it’s Shinedown’s nearly 20 number-one singles on the Billboard Mainstream Rock charts and the multiple platinum plaques.
But this isn’t just a hot sauce for superfans. It’s spicy but not challenging, and has a flavor that works on a lot of different foods. Dubbed “Symptom Chipotle Garlic Sauce,” the sauce is actually the first in a series of Shinedown-themed sauces and features a blend of chipotle jalapeño peppers and garlic. According to the band, the key ingredient is actually a sincere passion for food — which translates into a layered and nuanced flavor profile (more on what this stuff tastes like in a bit).
“Having our hot sauce is an extension of our love of food,” drummer Barry Kerch tells us, “We still have dinners together as a band. Meals together allow us to have a moment to decompress and talk about our thoughts and families. Zach (Myers) and I even enjoy cooking on show days for our band, crew, and bands/crews that are touring with us… Food, and now this hot sauce, is our love language. Sharing our love with our fans speaks to our message of unity and supporting each other.”
As the resident “hot sauce nerd” of the band, Kerch had the full support and trust of the rest of Shinedown to go nuts with the people at Torchbearer to perfect the flavor.
“My love of hot sauce began when I was a young kid,” he says. “My family, being from Wisconsin, typically ate a meat and potatoes midwestern diet. They didn’t use a lot of seasoning aside from salt and pepper. However, my father was a military man, and I grew up in Panama City, Florida, which was rich with southern cooking and a bottle of hot sauce on every table. I was hooked the first time I tasted the simple heat of classic Tabasco sauce. It opened up my palate to a whole new level.”
So what does this stuff taste like? Saying “Chipotle Garlic” doesn’t paint the full picture — this sauce has a deeper flavor than that. The consistency is thick and luxurious, which is always a plus with a spicy sauce. Flavorwise, what hits the palate first are bright vegetal pepper notes, and then comes the garlic, which ups the savory quality and adds a buttery vibe. Once that one-two punch clears, you start to get a sense of earthiness from black pepper with a sharp tangy finish.
What I really love about Shinedown’s Symptom Chipotle Garlic are the moments between tastes. Once the sauce clears your palate, the layers of spice start to tiptoe across your tongue — it’s mouthwatering and addicting, to the point where you’re going to need another taste.
According to Kerch, the sauce was designed to go with just about everything, but his favorite use cases would be “either raw oyster or a slice of pizza.” I’m going to take Kerch’s word on those. What I enjoyed this sauce the most with was Fried Chicken and Waffles. The tang, layers of heat, and savory garlic flavor serve as a perfect counterbalance to sweet sensations.
Fans of the band will make the connection that Symptom was named for the band’s crossover hit “A Symptom of Being Human,” but personally, it makes me think of the band’s recent single, “Brilliant,” which has the lyrical refrain “let me clear my throat, let me catch my breath…” and while that song is clearly about something deeper than hot sauce, the way the song stars as a gentle hymn before rapidly ramping up in intensity, can’t help but make me think of the sauce.
For a first attempt, Shinedown and Torchbearer knocked it out of the park, which makes us pretty psyched to taste whatever the next flavor is.
Pick up a bottle of Shinedown’s Symptom Chipotle Garlic sauce at Torchbearer.
