"This hot sauce is hot" is a gross understatement. Even a drop of the hottest hot sauce will leave you gasping for breath. But then, there have never been a dearth of people who like to live on the edge and even the hottest hot sauce gets lapped up in no time. Trust the hot sauce to come up with trumps every time.

The hot sauce is a tangy sauce with vinegar and chili peppers (fruits of plants of the Capsicum lineage) as its main ingredients. And it is the substance capsaicinoids occurring in peppers that imparts the characteristic spicy taste.

Given the popularity of the hot sauce in cuisines across the world, especially Mexican, Cajun and Asian, it was not long before the various brands of hot sauces started vying for the top slot. The yardstick, the Scoville Scale came into being to test the limit of hotness. 16,000,000 Scoville units is what the hot seat costs.

Hot sauces are abundant in the market, each with claims to be the hottest hot sauce in the world. However these are not just tall claims. There are actually hot sauces packed with enough heat to leave you dizzy.

The Source Hot Sauce is easily the hottest hot sauce with a 7.1 Million Scoville Units rating. So hot it is that its package carries a disclaimer. A disclaimer for a sauce? Incredible!

Its title has a captivating past. Ancient cultures believed that all things, good or bad, were fuelled by energy. And the keys to this Source of energy lay with the God of Love. When forced to side with the evil forces, he hid this Source. When he refused to divulge the Source's whereabouts, he was exiled. He took the secret of the Source's location to his grave.

The Source Hot Sauce claims to be that coveted and long-lost Source. The hottest hot sauce is definitely blue blooded. The Source Hot Sauce was adjudged the Best Super Hot Label in the 2002 International Fiery Foods Show and the 2003 Scovie Awards.

Close in the heels of the Source Hot Sauce is the 1 Million Scoville Pepper Extract. The name reveals all. The disclaimer sounds menacing. It forbids its use as anything but an additive and claims to be injurious if in contact with bare skin. Not only this, you have to vouch for your sanity and integrity when you buy this product. Whew! You definitely have a livewire in hands.

The 1 Million Scoville Pepper Extract has to be used only in trace amounts. It promises enough heat to bring you down to your knees.

Heating up the race for the hottest hot sauce are Poison Pepper Co's Cool Million Pepper Extract and Mad Dog's Revenge, both pegged at 1 million Scoville units. They are also to be used in minute quantities, if you do not want your tongue and guts to go up in flames.

The mad rush to become the hottest hot sauce is on. Prepare to have your taste buds assaulted.