The test of time and temp for hot is a unctuous Mexican tripe and hominy stew called "Menudo".

Menudo is served with cut Key Limes, chopped raw onion and a bowl of chopped fresh jalapeno (Much hotter than sauces and relished which used pickled or cooked versions of the fruit of the Gods).

I must admit to be enraptured with a variety of Oriental Chile/Garlic pastes/sauces, and an addict of recipes which contain both Nam Pla (Thai Fish Sauce) and chopped fresh chilis.

The goal is not pure heat, but the breadth of flavors in any chili. Comapring chopped fresh jalapeno with "Chipotle", the smoked version of the same chili when ripe and a cousin such as Guajillo gives one the same sort of scope and vision with which Micelangelo mounted the scaffolding to paint the Pope's ceiling.