Hot Stuff: South Carolina’s ‘Pepper X’ Shatters World Record With 2.6 Million SHU

Ed Currie has done it again. The owner of PuckerButt Pepper Company in Fort Mill, South Carolina, has broken his own world record for developing the spiciest chili pepper on the planet. Are you ready for Pepper X?

Currie already held the record with his iconic Carolina Reaper pepper. On October 9, 2023, the Guinness World Record for "hottest chili pepper" was awarded to the even spicier Pepper X.  This new mouth-melting nightshade is actually the result of cross-breeding with the Carolina Reaper. It took Currie about ten years to do it.

To get an idea of how hot this thing is, a poblano pepper is about 1,000 Scoville Heat Units (SHU), a jalapeno pepper averages 5,000 SHU, and a habanero pepper, one of the spiciest non-hybrid peppers, is about 100,000 SHU. The Carolina Reaper clocks in at a frightening 1,640,000 million SHU. A team at Winthrop University in Rock Hill determined that the Pepper X blows all those peppers away at an irresponsible 2,693,000 SHU. It packs more punch than pepper spray and bear spray!

Pepper X isn’t just hot. It’s painful. Currie, himself, admits that eating one is not a pleasant experience. He told AP News, "I was feeling the heat for three-and-a-half hours. Then the cramps came."  He added, "Those cramps are horrible. I was laid out flat on a marble wall for approximately an hour in the rain, groaning in pain."

For now, Pepper X is being kept proprietary, meaning pods and seeds will not be made commercially available. The public can try the pepper through the release of Pepper X hot sauces. In the meantime, you can watch Ed Currie unleash the beast on Sean Evans' YouTube series, Hot Ones, below. Oh, and Currie hints that he may already be working on something even hotter.

There are restaurants that deservedly receive a lot of attention and publicity. And typically for great reason. But now it’s time to delve into some different restaurants. Not necessarily the newest or the trendiest, but definitely some of the best. And these three restaurants in South Carolina are wonderful hidden gems. They were named amongst the top 25 hidden gem restaurants on TripAdvisor's recently released Best of the Best list. This list is nationwide so to have any restaurant included is impressive, but to have 3 of the 25 is certainly something to be proud of.

The most surprising part of this? The three restaurants recognized by TripAdvisor are in three different cities. Typically we see Charleston receiving this recognition time and time again. And while it's deserved (and one of these places is in Charleston), it's also nice to see other South Carolina cities getting some love! All three restaurants are on the coast though. Not only was South Carolina recognized North Carolina also had two restaurants named as the best of the best hidden gems. If you aren't good at math- that 20% of the best restaurants are in one of the two Carolinas.

Other states that got some love include New York, Tennessee, and Florida. Each of those states had multiple restaurants make the list as well. How were these restaurants selected for this top 25 list from TripAdvisor? TripAdvisor says that the Travelers’ Choice Best of the Best restaurants have "a high volume of above-and-beyond reviews" from users over a 12-month period. Fewer than 1% of Tripadvisor’s 8 million listings are awarded Best of the Best. You can read the full list and more about the 3 South Carolina Hidden Gems Award winners here. Love a restaurant and want us to highlight it? Let us know on social media!

42nd Street Bar and Grill prides itself on "great food and great company". You'll find it on North Kings Highway in Myrtle Beach! View the menu here.

The Jazz Corner is an iconic and award-winning jazz club and restaurant on Hilton Head Island. View the menu here.

Cru Café in Charleston serves up some of the best gourmet comfort food in the Lowcountry. Highlights include the Four Cheese Macaroni and Thai Seafood Risotto. See the menu here.