</head>America is going from a country of mayo spreaders to one of hot sauce heatniks, with no signs of stopping. Since 2000, the American hot sauce market has grown by 150%, as Quartz showed in a handy chart, leaving the usual and more mild suspects like ketchup and mustard in the dust (relish didn't stand a chance). And as wonderful as the wide variety of hot sauces from around the globe is, America's got a whole lot going on right here. Fifty states worth, in fact.
Welcome to: The United States of Hot Sauce.
The love affair goes way back. It was in Massachusetts that the first commercially bottled cayenne sauce went on the market in 1807. Bird Pepper Sauce (which no longer exists) popped up in New York City a few decades later. Today, New Mexico produces nearly half of all chiles grown in the U.S. for an industry that, in 2009, was worth nearly $500 million to the state. Sales of Huy Fong Sriracha next door in Cali reached $60 million just last year.
Who's eating all of this? About one in five adults, according to one study. And since every single state makes a hot sauce*—and even the District of Columbia has more than one—we decided to round up a hot sauce from every state. We tested them all (good thing we know how to quell the burn), established personal records for the amount of hot sauce one person can ingest before the taste buds are shot, and learned a lot about who is making hot sauce in every corner of the country. America's love for hot sauce is so profound, that we had to include two from Minnesota and Vermont—states that don't immediately scream chiles!!! Some of our picks are local and organic and come in bottles that are hiply designed. Some tend toward the vulgar end of the hot sauce biz, the naked ladies and profanities and names like, "Fear this!" Still, others have been burning mouths the same way for almost 100 years.
This not a Best Of, nor an attempt to define the one emblematic hot sauce for each state. There are certainly hot sauces tied to a region, like the aged, vinegar-based Louisiana-style or New Mexico's version made without vinegar, but as our 50 picks show, these regional styles tend to transcend state lines. This is a nod to our growing nation of chile heads, coating their food in chiles, vinegar, and even sometimes seaweed, from sea to shining sea.
*maybe. There is a "sauce" out in North Dakota that's called a hot sauce, looks like a salsa, and was unavailable for in-person verification. Ditto the hot sauces made in Arkansas, which we couldn't get a hold of for this story. Do you have favorites from these states, or from any other, that we missed? Tell us about them!
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A sweet and vinegary Lousiana-style sauce—and so pretty!
HEAT:
$3/5oz.; alabamasunshine.com
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A lovechild between red jalapeños and V8—that maybe had celery salt as a nanny. Raise your Talkeetna-spiked bloody Mary in honor of the Athabascan people, for whom the sauce is named.
HEAT:
$5.95/5 oz.; talkeetnafoods.com
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There's a garlicky fullness and distinct umami flavor to this ass kicking that helps us get past the boxer-clad ass glaring out from the bottle.
HEAT:
$5.95/18 oz.; shop.asskickin.com
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We'd love to try some of the sauces being made in Arkansas—but alas, couldn't get a hold of any for this story. What are your favorites, Arkansawyers? Back to the Top ↑
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The WSJ once called Dave Hirschkop "the granddaddy of ultra-hot sauces." For the less intense, Cool Cayenne has the color of buffalo wings and a round, mild flavor just crying out for homefries and eggs.
HEAT:
$5.99/5 oz.; davesgourmet.com
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The color on this sauce is gorgeous. It's a mild, classic hot sauce, with nice fresh flavor and a black pepper kick.
HEAT:
$6.99/5 oz.; peppers.com
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A pleasant, fire-roasted burn with great apple cider vinegar tang. There's a toasty smooth roasted garlic option, too.
HEAT:
$7.50/5 oz.; dragonsbloodelixir.com
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Like a salty, spicy barbecue sauce, this gets its fire from the notorious Naga Jolokia ghost pepper pulp.
HEAT:
$4.99/5 oz. ; sunponyinc.com
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Cook this salty, celery-seedy sauce with butter and toss with chicken wings.
HEAT:
$4.99/5 oz.; globalhotsauce.com
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This sauce makes no bones about being different: It's made with olive oil, three different kinds of habanero, plus cayenne, fatalli, and red scotch bonnet, and is oddly, wonderfully vegetal.
HEAT:
$4.99/5 oz.; menpawhotsauce.com
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The pink plastic brain isn't joking around: This is a seriously hot sauce. Made with mango, mandarin oranges, chipotle and habanero chiles, this sauce, as Crazy Jerry says, is for "The kind of folks who get their kicks spittin' into the wind and arm rasslin' big women."
HEAT:
$6.25/5 oz.; mcssl.com
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A salty, slightly spicy sauce that's more sour than tart.
HEAT:
$9.75/5 oz; amazon.com
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A classic garlic, chile, vinegar combo, with homegrown habaneros in all their orange glory.
HEAT:
$5.99/5 oz.; facebook.com/idahojimscrazyhotsauce
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We could dip chips right into this sweet and smoky habanero sauce from Chicago.
HEAT:
$7.99/8 oz.; fieryalyce.com
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A tomato-based sauce with a truly pleasant habanero burn on the tongue, and on the label: a truly scary rabid chihuaha.
HEAT:
$5.99/5 oz.; chestervillepeppercompany.com
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Thick enough to warrant a jar, this sauce has a short, sharp burn and a buttery savoriness that's we'd spread on a hot dog, or mix in with mayo as a spicy dip for fries.
HEAT:
$4.95/16 oz.jackandcharliesbigsauce.com
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This habanero sauce shut down our tasting for the day. Take the beautiful red color speckled with seeds as a warning. They're not lying about the 100% pain in this bottle, the only 5 on our flame scale, but if you taste closely, you'll also appreciate the Indonesian-sambal-style flavor.
HEAT:
$5.94/7.5 oz.; originaljuan.com
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This barbecue-style sauce is mild on spice and booze, so don't expect to get buzzed.
HEAT:
$11.99/5 oz; amazon.com
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Classic Louisiana hot sauce. 'Nuff said.
HEAT:
$0.89/6 oz.; brucefoods.com
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In 1775, Captain Henry Mowatt burned down half of Portland from his ships in Casco Bay. This blueberry-tinged sauce (we couldn't not pick the one made with wild Maine blueberries and a little seaweed), won't set your mouth aflame, but it's pleasantly sweet and fruity.
HEAT:
$8.50/8 oz.; captainmowatts.com
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No, there's no Old Bay. This self-proclaimed "infused vinegar" has a light but powerful spice that'd be great to jazz up leftovers or a vinaigrette.
HEAT:
$6.99/5 oz.; shop.infusionhotsauce.com
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A pleasant front-of-mouth burn that's not overwhelming, with a little bit of sweet vinegary tang.
HEAT:
$5/5 oz.; chelseafirehotsauce.com
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In Clancy's, a good hybrid mustard- and vinegar-based sauce, the mild burn strikes right away and, thankfully for some, doesn't linger. Try it as a spicy salad dressing.
HEAT:
$6.50/3.75 oz.; clancysfancy.com/shop/
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Lucky calls this Thai-style garlic and chile sauce "popcorn dressing," and we agree that'd be a killer snack combo. We call it "Minnesota nice": gentle and sweet, but with a hidden burn.
__Runner-up: Cry Baby Craig's__A slow burn that's still bright and pleasant.
HEAT:
$6.99/5 oz.; luckyspopcorndressing.com
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Thin, sour, and funky, use this if you run out of Tabasco (and happen to have a beautifully designed, small-batch Mississippian sauce instead).
HEAT:
$4.50/6 oz.; Call 1-800-417-9591 to order
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A sweet and smoky sauce substantial enough to be fruit salsa.
HEAT:
$6/5 oz.; wickedcactussauce.com
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Straight-up ghost pepper heat—no messing around.
HEAT:
$6.25/5 oz. ; rookshotsauce.com
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There may be no actual lava in Omaha, NE, but the blend of smoked habanero, bhut jolokia, and Trinidad Moruga Scorpion chile powders is what this company calls "Volcano Dust." Mixed with vinegar and chocolate habaneros, you get a smoky, Louisiana-style sauce.
HEAT:
$7.99/5 oz.; volcanicpeppers.com
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Mole-inspired heat that burns sweet and slow.
HEAT:
$7.50/5 oz.; sweetheatnv.com
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The pumpkin flavor in this tart, tangy sauce is pretty mild, but makes it a definite sprucer-upper for squash or beans. We'd also use it to liven up leftovers.
HEAT:
$8.99/5 oz.; peppers.com
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This sauce reminds us of an Indian-style cilantro chutney—not too hot, clean, and super refreshing.
HEAT:
$5.99/5 oz.; peppers.com
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It takes a second, but then the heat comes. The back-of-the-throat burn on this sauce from the New Mexico Chile Institute comes from the dreaded Trinidad Moruga Scorpion chile, but it tastes less scary than it sounds.
HEAT:
$8.95/5 oz.; hotsauce.com
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We want to use this dangerously pretty sauce, which blends both Moruga Scorpion and Jolokia chiles with blood orange, to spike a spicy negroni.
HEAT:
$5.99/5.4 oz; highriversauces.com
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It made it into our essential Southern pantry a few years back, and the classic sweet potato sauce has still got it: olivey, mustardy, and ripe for mixing with yogurt for a dixie-in-the-city type dip.
HEAT:
$14.99 for three bottles; cackalacky.com
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Where are all the North Dakota hot sauces? We scoured and scoured, and couldn't find a one. Come on, North Dakotans: Show us what you got! Back to the Top ↑
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Made with the weird and wonderful pawpaw fruit, this chipotle sauce is sweet and mild with a vaguely tropical banana-y taste.
HEAT:
$8/12 oz.; patterfamsauces.com
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Closer to the salsa side of the spectrum, this sweet n' chunky sauce is made from serrano, jalapeño, and cayenne peppers on a family farm in Lawton, OK.
HEAT:
$4/5.4 oz.; peppercreekfarms.com
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Super fresh and aromatic. A new go-to for grilled chicken wings or sneaking onto a sandwich.
HEAT:
$9/8.8 oz.; nwelixirs.com
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Orange Crush gets its lovely pale orange color from Scotch bonnet habaneros and, perhaps surprisingly, carrots—both, unsurprisingly, homegrown. The veg flavor comes out in this light, fruity sauce, which, like all of Robyn's sauces, is vegan and thickened with chia. Use it to dress fresh vegetables like tomatoes or cucumbers.
HEAT:
$6/5 oz.; homesweethomegrown.com
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A garlicky Caribbean-style sauce with great tang, this Lil Rhody product got the highest praise one chile head editor could give: "This is exactly the kind of sauce I want to make."
HEAT:
$5.95/5 oz.; lilrhodyfoods.com
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The cumin and curry really come through in this mango- and mustard-based Caribbean-style sauce.
HEAT:
$7.99/5.7 oz.; pepperpotions.com
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For when all you want is a straight-up, long-lasting, flavor-indifferent ghost pepper burn.
HEAT:
$8.95/5 oz.; furchssauces.com
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A tart and tangy sauce with full flavor, this has a base of both vinegar and some good ol' Jack Daniel's Black Label Whiskey.
HEAT:
$12.99/6 oz.; amazon.com
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One editor suggests putting this pleasant, fruity sauce on a sandwich; the other says pulled pork. Perfection on a pulled pork sandwich?
HEAT:
$7/5 oz.; bravadospice.com
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Softer than the typical tang of a Louisiana-style sauce, with a great dry burn and taste of bitter pepper.
HEAT:
$8/5 oz.; redsnappersauce.com
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Of course the pick from Vermont includes hemp—and mixed with jalapeños in a mild, fresh, salsa-style sauce, it works!
__Runner-up: Benito's__A special shout-out to Vermont's other hot saucery, Benito's, for habanero-infused maple syrup. Don't worry: It's grade B.
HEAT:
$4.95/8 oz.; vermontpepperworks.com
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A tart, barbecue-style sauce that burns low and slow; add it to pulled pork or any slow-cooked meat.
HEAT:
$14.99/6.67 oz; amazon.com
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I could just eat this with a spoon, one editor says—"this" being a delicious fermented blend with enough ginger and fish-sauce-fueled umami to fill your whole mouth.
HEAT:
$9.95/12 oz.; blackmarkethotsauce.com
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A two note sauce: tart and hot. We're going to pretend not to see the gender implications.
HEAT:
$3.95/5 oz.; hotsauce.com
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A sneaky, lingering, burns-a-hole-in-your-mouth kind of heat, and as it should be: It's made with the Carolina Reaper, the recently crowned hottest pepper ever. Until someone invents an even hotter one, that is.
HEAT:
$14.95/5 oz.; hellfirehotsauce.com
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This habanero sauce is positively peachy—literally.
HEAT:
$7/5 oz.; unclemilts.com