Pepper X
Also known as: pepper-x, X pepper
Bred by Ed Currie of Puckerbutt Pepper Company in South Carolina, Pepper X became the world's hottest verified pepper in October 2023 at an average 2,693,000 Scoville Heat Units — surpassing his earlier Carolina Reaper by nearly half a million units. The pod is small, deeply wrinkled, and yellow-green when ripe.
Scoville
2.7M–3.2M SHU
Heat
Superhot
Origin
north america
Species
C. chinense
Type
Superhot
Plant height
30–48 in
Heat profile
Superhot heat — 2.7M–3.2M SHU
Step milder
Komodo Dragon
1.4M–2.2M SHU
This pepper
Pepper X
2.7M–3.2M SHU
Flavor profile
Earthy, slightly tropical first note that vanishes into the most intense sustained heat of any verified pepper.
Pepper X is the current Guinness record holder and likely the practical ceiling of pepper heat for now. Currie spent over a decade selectively breeding it from a Carolina Reaper lineage, optimizing for a thicker placental wall — the white pith where capsaicin actually lives. The result delivers heat that builds and sustains in a way no previous pepper does. Like its predecessors it has a real, fleeting flavor (vaguely earthy and tropical) before the burn takes over. Seeds are not widely available — Currie holds cultivar rights and produces sauce in-house.
Color
Yellow-green to greenish-yellow
Did you know
Pepper X was kept secret for ten years while Currie used it in Hot Ones' 'Last Dab' hot sauces — only revealed publicly when Guinness officially certified it as the new record holder in 2023.
How to use it
- —Used in tiny quantities in extreme hot sauces (Puckerbutt's 'The Last Dab Apollo' line)
- —Powdered for spice blends sold by specialty hot sauce producers
- —Largely a sauce ingredient — not used in home cooking due to extreme heat
- —Competition pepper eating challenges
Pairs well with
Substitutes
Can't find pepper x? Try one of these.
Carolina Reaper
Use 1.5–2 Carolina Reapers1.4M–2.2M SHU
The closest commercially-available substitute. Same lineage, roughly two-thirds the heat. Carolina Reaper is what most home cooks should be using when a recipe calls for 'maximum heat.'
Trinidad Moruga Scorpion
Use 1.5–2 scorpions1.2M–2.0M SHU
Similar superhot tier, different fruit profile. More floral and tropical than Pepper X's earthy character.
How to grow it
Growing pepper x at home
USDA zones
Perennial in 10–11, annual in 4–9 with greenhouse support
Germinate
25–40 days
To harvest
~140 days from transplant
Plant height
30–48 in
Sun
full sun
Water
moderate
Container
Container-friendly
Officially unavailable as seed outside Puckerbutt Pepper Company; secondary-market 'Pepper X' seeds are usually mislabeled Reaper or 7-pot crosses. Even with authentic seed, germination is slow and inconsistent. For practical home growing, choose Reaper or 7 Pot Primo instead — Pepper X is currently a closed cultivar.
Where to find it
Buying pepper x
Fresh
Not sold fresh to the public. Currie keeps all production in-house for Puckerbutt sauces.
Dried
Not commercially available outside Puckerbutt products. The pepper exists in hot sauces, not as a standalone ingredient.
Seasonality
n/a — closed cultivar
Seed sources
- Puckerbutt Pepper Company (official, limited)
If you want to cook with Pepper X, the only path is buying sauces that feature it — primarily Puckerbutt's 'Reaper Squeezin's,' 'Pepper X Sauce,' and Hot Ones' 'Last Dab' editions. The pepper itself is not a retail product.
History & origin
Where pepper x comes from
Ed Currie, the breeder behind the Carolina Reaper, spent more than a decade developing Pepper X as the spiritual successor — a pepper engineered for measurably more capsaicin. The strategy targeted the placental wall (the white pith holding the seeds) rather than the flesh, since that's where capsaicin actually concentrates. The pepper had been used commercially in Hot Ones' 'Last Dab' sauces since 2017 before being publicly revealed. Currie remains the sole legal seed source.
Cook with it
Recipes that use pepper x.
american · medium
May 19, 2026Grill-Roasted Chicken Thighs with Chipotle-Honey Glaze
Bone-in chicken thighs get a double dose of smoky heat through grill-roasting and a glossy chipotle-honey glaze that caramelizes beautifully over the coals. 60 min · 0 saves.
american · inferno
May 7, 2026Carolina Reaper Buffalo Wings
Traditional American buffalo wings get an extreme heat upgrade with Carolina Reaper peppers in this weeknight recipe for serious chili heads. 60 min · 0 saves.
american · reaper
May 4, 2026Reaper Smash Burger with Garlic Fire Sauce
Crispy-edged smash patties get loaded with Carolina Reaper heat in a garlic sauce that somehow stays delicious while bringing the burn. The thin patties and quick cooking keep all that fire power intact. 23 min · 0 saves.
Similar peppers
Other superhot peppers
Frequently asked
Common questions about pepper x
How hot is Pepper X really?
2,693,000 Scoville Heat Units on average — verified by Guinness in October 2023. Peaks have been measured over 3,180,000 SHU. That's about 400–600 times hotter than a jalapeño and 1.5–2× hotter than the Carolina Reaper, the previous record holder.
Why is Pepper X hotter than the Carolina Reaper?
Ed Currie deliberately bred for thicker placental walls — the white pith inside the pepper where capsaicin actually concentrates. Most peppers store capsaicin in the pith rather than the flesh; Pepper X's pith is unusually dense, which packs more capsaicin into each pod.
Can I buy Pepper X seeds?
Not really. Ed Currie / Puckerbutt Pepper Company hold the cultivar and have not released seeds for general sale. Most listings for 'Pepper X seeds' online are mislabeled Carolina Reaper or 7-pot crosses. If you want to cook with Pepper X, buy Puckerbutt's sauces — the pepper isn't sold as a stand-alone ingredient.
What's the difference between Pepper X and Apollo?
Apollo is another Ed Currie cultivar — sometimes claimed to be a parent or sibling of Pepper X. Both are used in Hot Ones' 'Last Dab Apollo' sauce. Apollo's official Scoville rating has not been Guinness-verified, but it's reported to rival Pepper X. For practical purposes the two are interchangeable; only Pepper X holds the official record.
Pantry examples
If you want to taste pepper x in a bottle or pantry product
These are optional examples of how this pepper shows up in real products. The profile above stands on its own even if you never shop from this section.
Grow your own
Superhot Pepper Seed Pack
For readers who want the gardening pipeline behind their own sauce projects and fresh mash experiments.
View example ↗357k Scoville
Mad Dog 357 Ghost Pepper Hot Sauce
A cult-status ghost pepper sauce with serious collector appeal. Use it in drops for chili, soups, or challenge situations — not as a table pour.
View example ↗