Chilli: Orange Habanero

Ingredients: Mango, Apple Cider Vinegar

Fermentation: Three Weeks, Salt Brine

Bottle: 100ml

Date: 10th December, 2023

Blesys Sherp, BATCH 001

Blesys Sherp Batch 001 was always going to be special - at the very least to us. The first steps of our hot sauce journey happened exceedingly quickly and it seems not so long ago that Kev, Chris, and myself were sat around a dinner table delaying our ritual Mario Kart session to talk further about chillies on our plates. We were surrounded by bottles, excitedly adding dabs and drips to our plates, laughing through the heat and admiring the flavours. One fortuitous evening of shared enthusiasm. Now, less than a year later, we’re bringing our own bottle to the table.

In this sauce, it is the orange habanero that we have placed in the spotlight. And, it truly is a chilli suited to the centre stage. When taking a bite, you’re immediately struck with citrus, with enough vibrance to surprise those who might not realise how exceptionally fragrant and fruity chillies have the potential to be. This is the fundamental character that we want to share with Blesys Sherp, that more than the euphoria of heat, there is vastness of flavour to explore.

Grown by the wonderful team at Cornish Chillies, these orange habaneros were harvested in November, 2023, which is something of a late harvest. The landscape, however, has experienced an unusual climate this year, being suitably warm but with only short periods of sunshine. This has led to most plants fruiting less abundantly than expected and slightly behind schedule too. 

Despite this environmental context, the chillies we collected tasted fantastic right off the plant. We were immediately enamoured by the flavour, even Chris who, after doubting their heat, chomped right up to the stem and then left the room for some water and a little cry. Well, I’m exaggerating his experience slightly, but they certainly strut into a good warmth with each bite.

We fermented the habaneros for two weeks in a salt water brine. This is a relatively short amount of time for fermentation but we’re taking small steps with each batch, wanting to experience and share flavours gradually as we dive into longer periods of patience. So, if you enjoy this sauce, we will likely be revisiting the orange habaneros with a more extensive fermentation time in the future.

Once completed, we blitzed the chillies with apple cider vinegar, supplied by our local Pete’s Apple Press, and mango. That’s it. Three, striking flavours that come together to support the heat and create an unforgettably delicious sauce. 

Looking at the bottle now, seeing the label sitting against the sauce, we can’t help but feel immensely proud, while simultaneously being excited for the future. Already, there are more chillies fermenting in what we affectionately refer to as our chilli shrine. Until they’re ready, however, we’ll be celebrating, raising a glass to our first steps into the world of spice.

 

Chilli: Bahamian Goat Pepper

Ingredients: Mango, Apple Cider Vinegar

Fermentation: Two Weeks, Salt Brine

Bottle: 100ml

Date: 20th October, 2024

Blesys Sherp, BATCH 002

The Bahamian Goat pepper was a chilli that, from the very first taste, we knew would become a Blesys Sherp hot sauce. It's an unbelievably charismatic pepper that scores through notes of pineapple, mango, and a whole range of tropical fruits, coupled with a bright and brilliant heat. 

For our first foray with this chilli, we wanted to keep it simple, working with our classic Blesys Sherp method and fermenting for two weeks before blitzing with a complementary fruit. In this case, that fruit was mango. However, don't believe that this is where the entire fruitiness of this sauce comes from because we added a relatively small amount and primarily to soften the sauce while also giving it an improved texture, never wanting to take the Bahamian Goats, with their sunshine vibrance, out of the spotlight.

The final product is one that will absolutely steal the show of any dish and should be used accordingly, especially to spruce up an otherwise modest meal. 

The only downside of BATCH 002 is that it is relatively small. The chillies were grown in Cornwall by the brilliant Cornish Chillies farm and specifically for us after an initial experimentation. We committed to a small number, unsure they would produce what we needed. Now that they've proven to enjoy the Cornish climate, and that they will make a great-tasting hot sauce, we're committing to them - expect another Bahamian Goat hot sauce in 2025.

Blesys Sherp, BATCH 002.1 & 002.2

This was a great year for growing Bahamian Goat peppers in Cornwall and after the initial harvest, the chilli plants kept fruiting. As such, we were able to produce two extra batches, becoming hot sauces 002.1 and 002.2, produced with chillies from these later harvests.

The difference between these two were in the fermentation, with 002.2 having an interrupted fermentation to ensure that the batch kept its essential fruity integrity. Both have an amazing bloom of flavour that revels in notes of tropical fruits, being identical to the original 002 hot sauce in its brilliance. 

Chilli: Hot Chocolate Habanero

Ingredients: Blackberries, Apple Cider Vinegar

Fermentation: Two weeks, salt brine

Bottle: 100ml

Date: 20th October, 2024

Blesys Sherp, BATCH 003

 

The name hot chocolate habanero works very well for BATCH 003, because not only is this chilli higher on the Scoville scale than the chocolate habanero but it is a title that also suggests a cosiness associated with warming beverages. And, that's what BATCH 003 is all about.

We chose these chillies because we wanted to embrace that dark and vibrant area of the flavour wheel, a place where, instead of the tropical fruits we explored in BATCH 001, we were certain to find chocolatey, nutty, and even savoury profiles. The fermentation worked really well to highlight the tastes we were looking for and, when balanced with the blackberries that we then added, served to make a dark and rich sauce that is ideal for cowboy beans or barbecued dishes.

As always, the chillies used here are single variety and Cornish-grown. 

Blesys Sherp, BATCH 003.1

BATCH 003.1 was created in the same way as BATCH 003 except the hot chocolate habaneros were harvested slightly later in the year than the previous batch and we swapped the apple cider vinegar for a more complementary malt vinegar. The difference of time was only a few weeks and, aside from a greater taste of maturity, the batches taste almost identical, having the same rich, warming flavour in each bottle.

Chilli: Orange Habanero

Ingredients: Mango, White Vinegar

Fermentation: Two Weeks, Salt Brine

Bottle: 100ml

Date: 21st October, 2024

Blesys Sherp, BATCH 004

 

We hadn't planned to return so quickly to the scorching brilliance of the orange habanero so soon but our wonderful chilli growers, the Cornish Chillies farm, let us know that it had been a great year for their fruiting and, if we wanted some, they were there for taking. 

How could we refuse?

So, we followed the same recipe we did for BATCH 001 (aside from testing out a slightly different fermentation method) and sought to replicate the fire of our inaugural BATCH scaled up to ensure that we could meet customer demand, remembering that last year we sold out of hot sauce very, very quickly!

The resulting product is, even with a different 'vintage' of chilli, extremely similar. The orange habaneros revel in being fermented, developing a real complexity to their naturally rich citrus profile. And, once more, the heat is unbelievable, filling the mouth instantly and wrestling with the fruitiness of the sauce for dominance. We think the orange habanero might just be one of the hottest habs in town.

This sauce is an ideal condiment for those that want to absolutely elevate their dinner while simultaneously experiencing a heated euphoria. Dab carefully!

 Chilli: Yellow Ghost

Ingredients: Pineapple, White Vinegar

Fermentation: Two Weeks, Salt Brine

Bottle: 100ml

Date: 21st December, 2023

Blesys Sherp, BATCH 005

For those unfamiliar with the ghost pepper, aka the Bhut Jolokia, it was formerly the hottest chilli in the world. It has, of course, since been displaced (recently with Pepper X) but this doesn't mean it is any less formidable. It's a super hot chilli with a distinct, slow-building heat.

We should note that we actually expected Jay's Peach Ghosts, and so did our grower. However, when it came to fruiting, for an unknown reason, yellow ghosts appeared instead. We didn't at all mind - a fruity, exceptionally hot pepper is what we wanted and that's what we got.

During the fermentation phase, some chillies can see their colour affected by the brine. These yellow ghosts, however, were resilient and kept their lurid appeal while in the jars. This, coupled with the upbeat flavour of the pepper, is why we added a little pineapple to the sauce, aiming to maintain that visual appeal. 

It does feel odd to say that this is the most potent hot sauce we've made because, while it is the greatest level of Scoville we've wrangled, the shape of the heat doesn't feel aggressive. Some hot sauces, like BATCH 004, strike straight away. You know that they will be hot. Here, you get only mouth-watering fruity characteristics on the tongue and then, just as you start to question where the heat is, it creeps in with a slow-motion burn that will make you want to sit down for a few minutes. It really is a special experience.

We may not have expected the yellow ghost but we're sure glad we got them.

Chilli: Fatalii

Ingredients: Golden Kiwi, White Vinegar

Fermentation: Two Weeks, Salt Brine

Bottle: 100ml

Date: 7th November, 2024

Blesys Sherp, BATCH 006

Originally from the African continent, the Fatalii is a bright yellow fruit that brings a brilliant amount of citrus to the palate, with sweet notes and hints of lemon. This was a chilli that, as soon as we took a bite, was destined to end up in one of our sauces, championed by Chris who considers this one of our best sauces so far. 

We fermented the fatalii and then pair them with a white vinegar (apple cider vinegar had too much influence on the fruity notes) before matching the result with golden kiwi, something that not only makes for a brilliant flavour but also leaves the sauces with a handsome speckle. 

Chilli: Peach Habanero

Ingredients: Papaya, White Vinegar

Fermentation: Two Weeks, Salt Brine

Bottle: 100ml

Date: 4th November, 2024

Blesys Sherp, BATCH 007

If you remember the orange habanero, you will know that these chillies can pack a surprising punch, delivering a brilliant heat in a quick flash. While the peach habanero isn't too dissimilar in that sense, there's a delicate maturity to its profile, something that came through exceptionally well during fermentation. We then paired the pepper with papaya, thinking that it needed something suitably characterful to support the chilli's inherent, well, peachiness. 

This is a hot sauce that well suits breakfasts and dinner alike, being the perfect partner for avocados and cream cheeses just as much as burritos and pizzas.

Chilli: Yellow Habanero

Ingredients: Mango, White Vinegar

Fermentation: Two Weeks, Vacuum Ferment

Bottle: 100ml

Date: 2nd April, 2025

Blesys Sherp, BATCH 008

Our first BATCH of 2025 is here and we've experimented. 

Our previous batches have been made with lactofermented chillies. It's a method of fermentation we've become very happy with. However, we've been eager to begin trialling other methods too. That's why, at the beginning of the year, we began making hot sauce with vacuum-fermented chillies. 

Our first trials were really successful and the moment we opened the bags (some being ready to burst after just a week or two!) the room was filled with the aromatic bloom that we've come to associate with Blesys Sherp bottles.

Then, we took to ferment a large amount of chillies, specifically yellow habaneros, and set about making BATCH 008 of hot sauce. Once ready, we paired them with fresh mangoes, a fruit that we knew would complement the character of the fermentation without overpowering it, and whose juice makes for a brilliant consistency. 

Interestingly, we very nearly swapped our trusty white wine vinegar for rice wine vinegar after an early vinegar experiment (see our blog here) but decided against it after test sauces tasted, well, slightly too savoury.

So, here it is. A bright, fruity, and tropical bottle that puts the feeling of summer sunshine on the palate. 

Chilli: Rocoto

Ingredients: Flat Peach, White Wine Vinegar

Fermentation: Three Weeks, Salt Brine

Bottle: 100ml

Date: 2nd September, 2025

Blesys Sherp, BATCH 009

We were attracted to the rocoto chilli instantly. It's fresh and charismatic, as well as being the first Capsicum pubescens we worked with. Plus, we wanted a chilli that was milder in heat than our usual foray, not only to try and work with milder Scoville but also because it would fruit earlier in the year.. 

After fermenting for three weeks, we dipped in and found the chillies had taken on a good complexity along with a prominent character of tomato, which was a pleasant surprise. The comfortable heat persisted, neither growing or diminishing, and once the chillies were blended with vinegar and brine, we added the flat peach to round the profile out.

The result is a brilliant hot sauce that feels like the perfect addition to a breakfast or sandwich.

Chilli: Khang Starr Lemon StarrBurst

Ingredients: Nectarine, White Wine Vinegar

Fermentation: Two Weeks, Vacuum Fermentation 

Bottle: 100ml

Date: 20th August, 2025

Blesys Sherp, BATCH 010

We've been immensely excited to try this chilli, having heard about its brilliant citrus character, and were then understandably elated when the Cornish Chilli farm kindly agreed to have a go at growing it. 

With a fantastic growing year behind it (the great 2025 vintage of English chillies!), the fruits were all that we could have imagined; fresh, bright, and saturated in a sweet lemon zing. 

We decided to vacuum ferment these chillies with the intention of keeping them 'uncompromised', so to speak. When compared with lacto-fermentation, we occasionally find that vacuum fermentation benefits tropical and bright fruit tastes. And, while we haven't yet made a lacto-fermentated BATCH to compare them too, the result of our first foray was prime for a Blesys Sherp hot sauce.

Paired with nectarine, this bottle is delightfully acidic and exceptionally fruity, delivering an addictive heat to the palate. Perfect for tacos.