About this variety
A deliberate cross between the Bhut Jolokia and the Trinidad 7 Pot Douglah, bred to be hotter than either parent, and it worked. The red form is routinely put alongside the Carolina Reaper. What sets it apart from the ghost pepper it came from is the timing: where a Bhut Jolokia creeps up on you, the Bhutlah lands almost at once and lands hard.
There is real flavour under it for anyone equipped to find it. The ghost side gives the floral fruitiness, the Douglah side the deep earthy Caribbean richness, and the two together make something complex enough to justify a hot sauce rather than a dare. The pods are large, gnarled and heavily wrinkled, often finishing in a point, ripening to a glossy deep red.
The plant is as vigorous as the fruit suggests, reaching 1.5m or more and carrying a serious weight of pods, so the branches want support by late summer. It needs a greenhouse or polytunnel and the longest season you can give it. This is not a chilli for the curious. Wear gloves and eye protection when picking and processing the fruit, and use it in fragments rather than pods.