The BBQ Report

TABASCO sauce, the grandaddy of all hot sauces, has been king of the hill since its introduction in 1868. The ubiquitous pepper sauce, TABASCO is a great way to add a shot of heat to just about any type of food, from chicken wings to eggs to home made barbecue sauce. So just what makes this hot sauce so popular? I decided to take a deeper look at this fiery staple and discovered some interesting facts.

How TABASCO Sauce is Made

TABASCO Pepper Sauce is manufactured by the McIlhenny Company from a special variety of fully-aged red tabasco pepper, grown exclusively on Avery Island, Louisiana. The peppers are turned into a mash and mixed with high-grain vinegar and a small about of Avery Island salt. The mash is then allowed to ferment naturally for up to three years in white oak barrels.

The pepper itself is a special variety of red pepper cultivated by company founder Edmund McIlhenny. In 1888, McIlhenny’s pepper was officially recognized by a noted American botanist and is now classified as Capsicum frutescens var. tabasco.

Each batch is personally inspected for proper color and aroma by a member of the McIlhenny family before final production. Running at full capacity, the TABASCO plant can bottle over 600,000 2oz. bottles per day. The plant also produces 1/8 oz, 5 oz, 12 oz, and even gallon size bottles of sauce.

The History of TABASCO Sauce

TABASCO has been manufactured since 1868. Founder Edmund McIlhenny came up with the brand name Tabasco after his original name for the product, Petite Anse Sauce was rejected by family members. (Petite Anse was the original name of Avery Island). The name is shared with the Mexican state of Tabasco, which despite a reputation for spicy seasonings, is not involved in the production of TABASCO sauce.

There’s some disagreement between scholars who translate the word “Tabasco” as Central American Indian word meaning either “land where the soil is hot and humid” or “place of coral or oyster shell”.

The Many Flavors of TABASCO

While most everyone is familiar with the original TABASCO red pepper sauce, there are actually several additional flavors to choose from.

• Green Pepper Sauce – a mild jalapeño sauce
• Garlic Pepper Sauce – made from garlic and a combination of cayenne, oak-aged tabasco pepper mash, and mellow red jalapeño
• Habanero Pepper Sauce – a Jamaican-style pepper sauce, blended with mango, papayas, tamarind, banana, ginger and ground black pepper. Super Hot!
• Chipotle Pepper Sauce – rich, smokey jalapeño sauce

While you may not be able to find all of these varieties in your local supermarket, they are all available for purchase from the TABASCO Country Store website. Their store by the way, also sells everything from TABASCO branded boxer shorts and neck ties to chili.