Man Behind Carolina Reaper Continues To Choose Intestinal Violence, Develops Brand New World's Hottest Pepper

The man behind the famed Carolina Reaper — what was once the hottest pepper in the world — has broken his own record with his latest heartburn-inducing creation, dubbed Pepper X.

This is startling.

I once unknowingly ate some Carolina Reaper-infused jerky. It said Carolina Reaper on the bag, and I knew it would be hot, but I thought Carolina Reaper was just one of those overly aggressive hot sauces that other spicy foods always have. The labels are always threatening you with monikers like Nuclear Devil's Blood or Colon Puncher.

And so, I thought Carolina Reaper was like that, ate a piece of jerky, and then spent the next 20 minutes or so in a state of jerky-induced agony.

And yet, Ed Currie — the pepper cultivation world's Victor Frankenstein — decided to go ahead and develop Pepper X in a bid to make the Carolina Reaper feel like a refreshing Mentos mint by comparison.

According to CTV, Pepper X was officially christened the hottest pepper known to man by the Guinness Book of World Records.

It capped off Currie's pursuit of a pepper that offers the consumer "immediate, brutal heat." If you're into that sort of thing, it sounds like he delivered.

Currie detailed what it was like the first time he took a bite of his creation.

"I was feeling the heat for three-and-a-half hours. Then the cramps came," he said, per CTV. "Those cramps are horrible. I was laid out flat on a marble wall for approximately an hour in the rain, groaning in pain."

Why? Just why?

Probably for the same reason Evel Knievel jumped over buses. For the rush.

The Guinness Book of World Records reported on the Scoville Heat Unit scale — which measures how hot something is — Pepper X practically broke the scale at 2.69 million units. That's higher than commercially available bear spray which comes in at around 2.2. million. Meanwhile, the Carolina Reaper delivers 1.64 million units.

For reference, your average jalepeño pepper — the kind Ed Currie probably scoffs at — measures in at just 5,000 units.

Follow on X: @Matt_Reigle