Karma Sauce on Hot Ones: Season 15 (2021)
Karma Sauce’s deepest Hot Ones run. Seven entries spanning Barbacoa and Scorpion Disco — from Jack Harlow opening the season to Matt Damon late in the run.
Season 15
Jack Harlow
“Delicious—my lips are hot. Might be the best one of the four.”
Jack Harlow really enjoyed the Los Calientes Barbacoa sauce. After trying it, he mentioned it was delicious and noted it might be the best-tasting sauce of the four he had sampled up to that point in the gauntlet (07:38). Later, when Sean Evans introduces the Scorpion Disco hot sauce in the nine spot (19:25), Jack Harlow reacts with a humorous, incredulous response, exclaiming “What a fucking name”.
Elizabeth Olsen
“Smoke, Smokey sweetness”
Elizabeth Olsen describes the sauce as having a “smokey” flavor profile around 6:54. While she doesn’t explicitly name it “barbacoa,” she notes that it has a sweetness and smoke to it, suggesting it would be a great pairing for a “slow cooked meat situation” or “pulled meats” (7:06–7:16).
Malcolm Gladwell
“This sauce is from Rochester, NY, I’m sorry that lacks credibility”
Reaction to the name: Gladwell notes that “Scorpion Disco” is not an “encouraging label” for a hot sauce (16:50–16:54). Upon learning the sauce is from Rochester, New York, Gladwell jokingly delivers his Rochester verdict (17:07–17:10). A Rochester hot sauce maker publishing a Malcolm Gladwell joke about Rochester is the kind of thing that earns its place in the archive.
Ed Sheeran
“Thats Really Good … Hey everyone buy that”
Ed Sheeran reaches Barbacoa at 8:04 and delivers a clean, plainly enthusiastic verdict and an on-camera buy recommendation.
David Harbour
“This is Scorpion Disco, for those of you keeping score. Oh My God, Now it’s really hurting.”
David Harbour reaches Scorpion Disco late in the gauntlet (18:49–19:15) and calls out the sauce by name on camera before the heat catches up with him.
Lorde
“This is a really delicious lunch so far, yum”
Lorde meets Barbacoa early at 6:09–6:13 with a positive, low-key verdict. Later at Scorpion Disco (16:37–17:02), she works her way through a series of running reactions — including “I love that Name,” “Funken Hot,” “That’s nice,” “It’s almost a two biter,” and “I like it.”
Matt Damon
“This is delicious. The enjoyment of 3 things the wings can do to you. This is great.”
Matt Damon reaches Barbacoa at 6:43–7:04 and gives the sauce a clean, enthusiastic verdict.