Crazy Steve's Bloody Mary Mix, Spicy Rim Salt and Cajun Cukes

Today, I woke up early to work.  For some people that means heading to the office, listening to three hour long conference calls, or shuffling around endless amounts of paper work.  But for me, work means tackling the two bottles of bloody mary mix, rim salt and Cajun pickle slices that have been eyeing me down for months.  So without further ado, here are my thoughts on Crazy Steve's products.

Crazy Steve’s Badass Barnacle Bloody Mary Mix

My first impression?  Could Crazy Steve’s secret ingredient be cumin?  All four products seem to contain this distinctively fragrant aroma.  In Crazy Steve's Badass Barnacle Mix, a complex spice blend with cumin at its helm invades each savory sip and provides an almost perfume-like aroma.  It’s interesting and unique and reminds me faintly of this recipe from Chef Marc Forgione.  But without another strong flavor component to counterbalance, the spices seem almost lost at sea in this mix.  Red wine and cider vinegars provide a nice acidity and there are slight hints of heat, but they can only do so much to liven up what is otherwise a rather flat tomato paste flavor.  Although the 18 ingredient spice blend is admirable, it may be just too much for this mix to handle.   2.5 Celery Stalks

Crazy Steve’s GhostShip Bloody Mary Mix

However, Crazy Steve’s GhostShip Mix will blow your mind.  If there is another secret ingredient up Crazy Steve’s sleeve, it’s the ghost pepper.  As far as I know, this is the first bloody mary mix that I’ve tried with this ingredient.  And just wow.  It has all the components of the Badass Barnacle mix but with the addition of the world’s hottest chili pepper.  The spice blend is no longer overwhelming, because you will literally be burning your little taste buds off.  I can safely say this is the spiciest bottled bloody mary mix I have ever tasted.  3 Celery Stalks

Crazy Steve’s Shot Over the Rim Spicy Bloody Mary Salt

This is no run-of-the-mill rim salt.  It’s not just Old Bay, or salt and pepper, or even that smoky concoction that gets passed off as bacon salt.  It’s something different.  Cumin is again the star but with something sweet that’s not typically found in your average rimmer.  With all the interesting spice choices, it would not surprise me if Crazy Steve added another crazy ingredient to his Shot Over the Rim Salt.  My guess is cinnamon.  3 Celery Stalks

Crazy Steve’s Cajun Cukes

Out of all of Crazy Steve’s craziness, the Cajun Cukes play it the safest.  There’s some Cajun seasoning and maybe a little heat, but for all the spices floating around the jar, there really isn’t that much flavor.  You get a light, cool, crunchy cucumber with just a hint of something else.  And that’s about it.  3 Celery Stalks

All in all, Crazy Steve takes some crazy liberties with his bloody mary recipes.  And I like that.  Cumin, cinnamon and even ghost pepper are not your typical ingredients, and although the execution wasn’t the most balanced, I give him props for doing something different.  Also, I dig the pirate theme.

Crazy Steve's products are available in select stores, through his website, or via Amazon.com.

***I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”