Here at Food & Dining Magazine, we’re as enamored of Johnny Knoxville-style exhibitionist stunts as the next food and drink publication, so when our friend and colleague Kevin Gibson revealed his epic encounter with an Armageddon pepper, we jumped at the opportunity to share Kevin’s pain with the planet.
It’s a noble burn, don’t you think?
What it’s Like to Eat a 1.3 Million Scoville Unit Armageddon Pepper
The Armageddon checks in at 1.3 million Scoville units, which is how capsaicin is measured in peppers — that’s just behind the Carolina Reaper pepper, which is recognized as the hottest in the world, which is measured at 1.5 million.
For comparison’s sake, the Jalapeno pepper averages about 5,000 Scoville units, usually landing between 2,000 and 8,000. The Armageddon is a hybrid that was created in the U.K. in the last two or three years and hasn’t yet been widely distributed in the U.S. It’s considered an F1 “super-hot pepper,” which means it’s a first-generation hybrid that comes from the Habanero family … although it’s a lot hotter than the Habanero.
Kevin’s friend Stephanie Lyles produced a series of artful memes documenting the performance, two of which she has graciously allowed us to use today.
Kevin Gibson has been a professional writer for more than three decades, having written about restaurants, beer, bourbon, sports, night life, music and plenty more. He has won numerous awards from The Associated Press, Society of Professional Journalists and Indiana State Press Association, among others, but can’t remember where he put most of them. In addition, he has written for publications like Food & Dining Magazine, LEO Weekly, Bourbon+ magazine, Thrillist, Alcohol Professor, Louisville Magazine and many more, including various newspapers. When he’s not busy writing books or stories about Louisville, he’s likely hanging out at a brewery with his dog, Atticus.
