excerpt telegraph.co.uk

e live in an extreme world," explains Blair Lazar, a hot sauce
creator. "And I make extreme foods.' In his hands is the hottest spice
in the world, an ultra-refined version of chilli powder so fiery that
customers must sign a waiver absolving him of any liability if they
are foolish enough to try it.

Locked in a crystal flask sealed with wax and a tiny skull, Mr Lazar's
mouth-blistering concoction is pure capsaicin - the chemical that
lends habanero and jalapeno peppers their thermo nuclear heat.

 
Blair Lazar: to taste his sauce is to experience ‘pure heat’
His "16 Million Reserve", which is released to the public this week,
is the holy grail of hot sauces, the hottest that chemistry can
create.
Although capsaicin does not actually burn - it fools your brain into
thinking that you are in pain by stimulating nerve endings in your
mouth - some medical experts believe that it could kill an asthmatic
or hospitalise a user who touched his eyes or other sensitive parts of
the anatomy.

Mr Lazar has trained his palate to endure the sensation, but he
remembers the moment he dared to taste his "16 Million Reserve".

"The pain was exquisite," he said. "It was like having your tongue hit
with a hammer. Man, it hurt. My tongue swelled up and it hurt like
hell for days."