Disha Hot mini review

My artsy attempt at a product photo of Disha Hot hot sauce packets.

Taco Bell® is currently offering a new limited time sauce—one which I sort of wish they’d keep permanently. Before getting into it, here’s a little recap of my opinion of the other standard sauces:

• Mild—Why even bother?
• Hot—Fine if you’re a lightweight for spice; minimum effort. Barely hotter than a Dorito® as far as I’m concerned.
• Fire—This is my go-to I always use. Good flavor. Could be a little spicier for the “Fire” moniker, but it’s adequate.
• Diablo—Has the spice I think Fire should have, but I dislike the flavor. I don’t believe its heat comes from peppers. Artificial.

Screenshot from the Taco Bell mobile app describing Disha Hot as a smoky sauce made with habanero, jalapeño, and chile de árbol.

And that brings us to the current special edition, Omar Apollo’s Disha Hot™ hot sauce. You read that right. It’s not Disha Hot Sauce, it’s Disha Hot hot sauce.

With a name like “Disha Hot,” I might have expected it to be a little spicier, especially since one of the packets I received (but not all of them) read “hotter in person” as the cutesy little message Taco Bell prints on all its sauce packets. It’s absolutely not hotter than Diablo. I’m not even sure it’s hotter than Fire. Pretty close.

Screenshot from the Taco Bell mobile app listing the 20¢ price for a sauce packet and promo wording that says, “Omar Apollo’s family hot sauce that takes inspiration from his heritage.”

But the flavor is fantastic! It’s described as “smoky” and is flavored with habanero, jalapeño, and chile de árbol. It’s very very good.

I know there are people who would rather avoid Taco Bell. I respect that. I certainly don’t frequent the place, but indulge an occasional craving. If you’re inclined to make a trip, I most definitely recommend trying the sauce.

Caveat 1—Supposedly it’s only in early access mode right now, which I believe means you can only order it via the web or mobile app, and that workers aren’t supposed to sell it to in-store orders. Maybe some don’t care and will sell it anyway. Who knows.

Promos from the Taco Bell mobile app. “A Tradition Generations In the Making: Omar Apollo’s family recipe was passed down for decades. Disha Hot™ is a smoky sauce with just the right amount of kick. Meet Omar Apollo: The Mexican American singer-songwriter is spicing things up with Disha Hot™ and his new album, ‘God Said No.’”

Caveat 2—Early access or not, it’ll set you back 20¢ per packet (at least that’s the price at my store), or you get three included with the Disha Hot Discovery Box™ for $8.99 (again, the price at my store) which includes, by default, a medium drink, Cheesy Gordita Crunch, Nacho Cheese Doritos® Locos Taco, Crunchy Taco, and chips with nacho cheese sauce. There are lots of customization/swap options.

Probably won’t happen, but consider this my vote for Taco Bell to offer this sauce permanently.

If you’re interested in what the ingredients are and can’t read them out of the photo above, here you go:

crushed tomatillo, water, concentrated crushed tomatoes, distilled vinegar, salt, contains 2% or less of onion juice, spices, dried de arbol chiles, red habanero peppers, food starch-modified, jalapeño peppers, acetic acid, calcium chloride, caramelized sugar syrup (sugar, water), dried onion, dried garlic, lime juice concentrate, garlic, citric acid, xanthan gum, natural flavor, potassium sorbate and sodium benzoate (preservatives).