Five years ago, I asked a huge group of chileheads – everyone from chile growers to bloggers to product makers to industry folks – to compile a list of their top 10 Favorite Hot Sauces. My original blog post highlighted many of the top tens I received. The post was a huge traffic monster, and spurred lots and lots of discussion in the comments.

Since 2011, I’ve changed blogging software that was running on my site from my own custom PHP scripting to WordPress, and sadly I wasn’t able to transfer the comments over. Because of this, I’ve always wanted to do a follow-up post and get more comments and discussion going. I’ve also wanted to hear from a few other new voices and get their choices for their favorite sauces of all time.

What qualified to be on these lists?

First, the products in these lists must be among our top ten liquid “flavor enhancers” of most any classification, purpose or usage; they can be a hot sauce, BBQ sauce, salsa, condiment, marinade, cooking sauce, wing sauce and more. It is simply what the person considers to be the creme de la creme of spicy-type sauces. A qualifying sauce needs to have been commercially available at one point, but it does not matter if it’s still in production or currently discontinued or defunct.

I’m looking for a nice, round number by having everyone pick out 10, but if were impossible to whittle their list down and someone wanted to give their top 12 or top 15 or top 22, I would allow that.

I’m not looking for anything that is not a liquid or sauce, so therefore there are no dry rubs, seasoning blends, chili mixes, dip mixes, snacks, chocolates, candies, or any other oddity or specialty food.

To further clarify, I’ve requested that everyone’s favorite products be “as is”, straight out of the bottle or jar. What I was NOT looking for were combinations of different products or different ingredients, or things that were semi-homemade, wholly homemade or modified. We foodies sometimes dabble with items in the kitchen such as, just for example, taking three parts cayenne pepper sauce, mixing it two parts BBQ sauce, and then adding a pinch or two of ghost pepper powder to make a terrific rib glaze. By eradicating these recipes it helps readers of this post better obtain the saucy suggestions instead of trying to play mad scientist in an attempt to duplicate what someone had liked.

Lastly, to make it a bit easier on everyone, I’ve given the stipulation that the sauces on any of these lists need NOT be in any particular order.

So, consider them all “tied” for first place!

Alright! Now, let’s get to the lists!

What Are Your Top 10 Favorite Hot Sauces of All Time – 2016 Edition!

Troy Primeaux

Creator of one of the one’s hottest peppers, the 7 Pot Primo, horticulturist Troy “Primo” Primeaux owns Primo’s Peppers.

CaJohns Hydra 7 Pot Primo Hot Sauce

El Yucateco XXXtra Hot Kutbil-ik Mayan Stye Habanero Hot Sauce

The Farmer’s Daughter Hot Pepper Jelly Fig & Habanero Sauce

Heartbreaking Dawns Classic Gold Habanero

Heartbreaking Dawns The Green

Heartbreaking Dawns Reapercussion

Jersey Barnfire Black Garlic Hot Sauce

Jersey Barnfire Ghost Taco Sauce

Lingham’s Hot Sauce Extra Hot

Marie Sharp’s Fiery Habanero Pepper Sauce

Mikey V’s Texas Ex’s

Pickapeppa Sauce

Primo’s Peppers Swampadelic Sauce

Salsa Maya Habanero Aioli

Tabasco Family Reserve

Try Me Tiger Sauce

Uncle Nathan’s FML (Flaming Maple Leaf)

Scott Zalkind

Scott is the mad genius behind Lucky Dog Hot Sauce, an award-winning California company that creates insanely fresh pepper sauces.

CaJohns Caracara Hot Sauce

Race City Sauce Works Carolina Cayenne

Race City Sauce Works Deadwood Taco Sauce

High River Sauces Tears of the Sun

Bigfat’s Sea of Green

Bigfat’s 5o8 Chipotle Hot Sauce

Bigfat’s 6o8 Pineapple Habanero Hot Sauce

Bigfat’s 7o8 7 Pot Citrus Hot Sauce

Bigfat’s Vega Mojo

Lucky Dog Hot Sauce – Black Label

Lucky Dog Hot Sauce – Year of the Dog

Volcanic Peppers – Reaper Ranch

Volcanic Peppers – Curry Sauce

Redhawk Premium Peppers – Grounds for Divorce XXX

Texas Creek Products – Chipotle BBQ Sauce

Crazy Good Hot Sauce – Chaos Theory

Crazy Good Hot Sauce – Fruits of Fire

Ed Currie Smokin’ Ed is the founder, president, mad scientist & chef of PuckerButt Pepper Company, and developed the Carolina Reaper pepper, the current Guinness World Record hottest chile pepper. High River Sauces Tears of the Sun

Bigfat’s Double Dark – Black Cherry & Sage Hot Sauce

Culley’s/Puckerbutt Reaper Chipotle

Born to Hula Reaper of Sorrow

Humbolt Smokin Hot Nooner

Born to Hula Imperial Apple BBQ Sauce

Culley’s Sriracha Sauce

Humbolt Habanero Mango Blackberry Smoked Ghost Pepper

Mickey V’s Pineapple Ghost

High River Sauces Cheeba Gold Scotch Bonnet Pepper Sauce

PuckerButt Pepper Co. Voodoo Prince Death Mamba

PuckerButt Pepper Co. Reaper Squeezins Brian Meagher Brian, along with his wife Marilyn, maintain one of the most prolific and longest-lasting hot sauce blogs on the web, HotSauceDaily.com. Pickapeppa Red Hot Sauce

Georgia Peach & Vidalia Onion Hot Sauce

Captain Thom’s Thai Monkey Hot Sauce

Chili Dan’s All Purpose Start to Finish Sauce

Mermaid BBQ Company Original Formula

Captain Sorensen’s Datil Pepper Sauce

Huy Fong Foods Sriracha Sauce

Moe Mountain Hot Sauce

Bootlicker Hot Sauce

Cholula Hot Sauce

TABASCO Original Pepper Sauce Chip Hearn Chip is an inaugural inductee in the Hot Sauce Hall of Fame. He co-founded the legendary Peppers, which is one of the largest distributors of hot sauces, and its brick and mortar location has the hottest selection of hot sauces in the world. Gator Hammock Hot Gator Sauce

Georgia Peach & Vidalia Onion Hot Sauce

Starboard Bloody Mary Mix

Crabby Mary Bloody Mary Mix

Marie Sharp’s Belizean Heat Habanero Pepper Sauce

Melinda’s Mango Mild & Sweet Hot Pepper Sauce

Kiss Your Ass Goodbye Hot Sauce

Dave’s Gourmet Ginger Peach Hot Sauce

CaJohns Reaper Sling Blade Hot Sauce

Lynchburg Swineapple Rib Glaze & BBQ Sauce

Ole Ray’s Apple/Cinnamon Barbeque Sauce Chuck Evans One of the longest-lasting specialty sauce makers still on the scene, Chuck runs Montezuma Brand, a purveyor of sauces, salsa and spice mixes. He has helped popularize chipotle sauces, and is a respected fiery foods industry historian. La Victoria Salsa Brava (California)

San Luis Hot Sauce (San Luis Potosi, Mexico)

Salsa Huichol Hot Sauce (Nayarit, Mexico)

MONTEZUMA Brand Smokey Chipotle(R) Pepper Sauce (Ohio)

Mama Sita’s Pure Labuyo Red Hot Pepper Sauce (Manila, Philippines)

Tapatio Hot Sauce (California)

Susie’s Hot Sauce (Antigua)

Cholula Hot Sauce (Mexico)

Grace Very Hot Pepper Sauce (Jamaica)

MONTEZUMA Brand Penitente -Tortured Soul- (Trinidad Scorpion) Hot Sauce (Ohio)

Crystal Extra Hot Sauce (Louisiana)

Green Bandit Cilantro Habanero Hot Sauce (New Jersey)

Nando’s Extra Hot Peri-Peri Sauce (South Africa)

Texas Pete’s Hotter Hot Sauce (North Carolina)

MONTEZUMA Brand Mucho Gusto Taco Sauce (Ohio)

CaJohns The Legend (discontinued) CaJohn Hard The “Godfather” himself, John “CaJohn” Hard, is a member of the Hot Sauce Hall of Fame and is the head honcho of CaJohns Fiery Foods, which is the all-time, most-awarded hot sauce manufacturer on earth. Mike & Diane’s Ring of Fire Original Habanero Hot Sauce

CaJohns Bourbon Infused Chipotle Habanero Hot Sauce

Danny Cash Bottled Up Anger

CaJohns Firehouse Hot Sauce

Cajun Power Garlic Sauce

CaJohns Oaxacan Original

Fletcher Grant’s Kiss of Fire

Primo’s Peppers Swampadelic Sauce

Susie’s Original Antigua Hot Sauce

Pico Pica Hot Sauce Anthony Cochran Anthony is a North Carolina-based hot sauce fanatic. Cottage Lane Kitchens Get Me A Switch

Harbour City Hot Sauce – Original

Race City Sauce Works Mic Drop

Sweet Heat Gourmet – Habanero Peach

Culley’s No.1 Hot Sauce

DEFCON Sauces Defense Condition #1 Wing Sauce

CaJohns Holy Jolokia

Heartbreaking Dawns 1841 Ghost Pepper Sauce

Intensity Academy Hot Squared Hot Sauce

Heartbreaking Dawns North Star Grilling Sauce (discontinued)

Hot Line Pepper Products – Evil Ooze Firehead Thomas Gately A past blogger and hot sauce reviewer, Tom is a diehard chilehead and an avid griller and BBQer. Lucky Dog Hot Sauce – Year of the Dog

High River Sauces Tears Of The Sun

DEFCON Sauces Defense Condition #1 Wing Sauce

Bonfatto’s Fire In The Hole

Volcanic Peppers LAVA Death By Douglah Hot Sauce

Tom’s Roid Rippin Sauce Hot Cherry Pepper With Roasted Garlic

Dragon’s Blood Elixir Unique Destiny Jolokia

Heartbreaking Dawns Classic Gold Habanero

Heartbreaking Dawns The Green

CaJohns Oaxacon Ghost

Race City Sauce Works Deadwood High Noon Taco Sauce

Franklin BBQ Espresso Sauce

Jack’s Old South Vinegar BBQ Sauce Matt Le Gal French chilehead Matt Le Gal is the owner of the blog Fire Chillies France and the online store Capsicums.fr. Hellfire Elixir

High River Sauces Grapes of Wrath

High River Sauces Hellacious Hot Sauce

Bigfat’s 7o8 7 Pot Citrus Hot Sauce

CaJohns Bourbon Infused Chipotle Habanero Hot Sauce

Volcanic Peppers LAVA Hot Scorpion BBQ Sauce

Red Hawk Premium Peppers GFD Holy Alimony

Heartbreaking Dawns 1542 Southwest Habanero Sauce

Born to Hula Smokehaus Blues

Born to Hula Surge of Sandy (discontinued)

DragonFire Naga’s Revenge (discontinued) Kendall Stadler As the owner of TastingtheHeat.com, Kendall does hot sauce reviews and hosts a video show on his Facebook page. Papa Lynn’s Hell in a Bottle

Hell’s Kitchen Hot Sauce Retro Jalapeño

Hellfire Detroit Cherry Bomb

Dirty Dick’s Hot Sauce Hot Pepper Sauce

Haico’s Hot Sauce Reapers Revenge

Arthur Wayne Hot Sauce Montana Rooster

Helena Pepper Co. Clark’s Caribbean Seven Sauce

Crazy Bastard Sauce Habanero & Tamatillo

Marie Sharp’s Hot Habanero Pepper Sauce

Voodoo Chile Sauces Psycho Tropic

Scotty O’ Hotty Beer Bacon Chipotle Hot Sauce

Scotty O’ Hotty Beer Bacon Chipotle with Scorpion Peppers

Lucky Dog Hot Sauce – Black Label Bill Moore Bill is one of the top hot sauce and fiery foods reviewers on YouTube. Bigfat’s 7o8 7 Pot Citrus Hot Sauce

Born to Hula Habanero Ancho Hot Sauce

CaJohns Happy Beaver Hot Sauce

Chipotlan Hot Sauce Co. Pa’Su Madre Original Habanero Hot Sauce

Hellfire Hot Sauce Pure Hell Hot Sauce

Men Pa’w Gourmet Hot Sauce

Mild To Wild Pepper & Herb Co. Red Savina Garlic Hot Sauce

Sizzlin’ Sauces Spittin’ Fire Hot Sauce

Tom’s Roid-Rippin Hot Sauce Tapestry

Volcanic Peppers LAVA Chocolate Lightning Hot Sauce Ken Alexander Video and written-word reviewer Ken Alexander runs the FieryWorld.com site, and has a regular segment with me on The Firecast Podcast. Bigfat’s 7o8 7 Pot Citrus Hot Sauce

Bigfat’s Double Dark – Black Cherry & Sage Hot Sauce

Born to Hula Habanero Guajillo

CaJohns Bourbon Infused Chipotle Habanero Hot Sauce

CaJohns Caracara Hot Sauce

Voodoo Chile Sauces Psycho Tropic

Voodoo Chile Sauces Honeydew

High River Sauces Grapes of Wrath

Volcanic Peppers Ghost Pepper Ponzu

Captain Thom’s Thai Monkey Hot Sauce

JAC’s Tailgaters Raspberry Chipotle Finishing Sauce (discontinued)

JAC’s Tailgaters Bayou Gold Mustard Sauce (discontinued)

Frogbone Cajun Sauces Bayou BBQ Sauce

Intensity Academy – Chai Sweet Chili Sauce

Cajun Heat C’est Bon Cajun Q BBQ sauce

Madison Chocolatiers Not Your Grandma’s Caramel Sauce

Dave DeWitt

Hot Sauce Hall of Famer Dave DeWitt founded and continues to produce the National Fiery Foods and BBQ Show, has authored dozens of books, and is one of the foremost authorities in the world on chile peppers, spices, and spicy foods, thus earning him the nickname, “The Pope of Peppers”.

Panama Red Hot Sauce

Montezuma Smoky Chipotle Sauce

Trinidad Habanero Pepper Sauce

Trader’s Joe’s Sriracha Sauce

Palo Alto Firefighters Pepper Sauce

Garden Fresh Jack’s Special Salsa

Cervantes Hot Red Chile Sauce

Melinda’s Habanero Sauce

Freshies Fresh Q Colorado Style Gourmet BBQ Sauce

El Pinto Green Chile Sauce

Mike Hultquist

Mike has written numerous cookbooks about chile peppers and runs the excellent Chili Pepper Madness site.

Born to Hula Reaper of Sorrow

High River Sauces Tears of the Sun

Lucky Dog Hot Sauce – Dia del Perro

Hellfire Hot Sauce Fear This

Bigfat’s 6o8 Pineapple Habanero

TABASCO Original Pepper Sauce

Valentina Hot Salsa Picante

Huy Fong Foods Sriracha Sauce

3 Dragons Chili Oil

Steve “The Machine” Smallwood

“The Machine” is a multiple food-eating contest champion, has one of the biggest tolerances for capsaicin out of anyone in the chilehead community.

CaJohns Oaxacan Ghost

CaJohns Holy Jolokia

Heartbreaking Dawns 1498 Trinidad Scorpion Sauce

Hellfire Hot Sauce Evil Bastard

Race City Sauce Works 98 Octane

Spicy Rooster Ghost of Nalini

Melinda’s Red Savina Sauce

High River Sauces Tears of the Sun

Born to Hula Guajillo Habanero

Bigfat’s Vega Mojo

Steve Seabury

Steve, founder of High River Sauces, is also the producer of many fiery food festivals, including the NYC Hot Sauce Expo, the California Hot Sauce Expo, the Portland Hot Sauce Expo, and the Arizona Hot Sauce Expo.

Heartbreaking Dawns 1498 Trinidad Scorpion Sauce

NW Elixers Verde Hott

Dragons Blood Elixir Smoky Maple Garlic Bacon

CaJohns Firehouse Hot Sauce

Tapatio Hot Sauce

Hellfire Blueberry Hell Hot Sauce

Frank’s RedHot Sauce

Blair’s Pure Death Hot Sauce

Dave’s Ultimate Insanity

Marie Sharp’s Mild Pepper Sauce

Jeremy Walsh

Chicago-based Jeremy, along with his wife Kat, own Bigfat’s Hot Sauce.

Red Hawk Premium Peppers Tame the Reaper

Born to Hula Cayenne

Fat Cat Chairman Meow’s Revenge

Bigfat’s 7o8 7 Pot Citrus Hot Sauce

Race City Sauce Works Le Visage De La Mort Seven Pepper Sambal

Blaze Gourmet Hot Jamaican Curry

Heartbreaking Dawns/Bad Brains Fire Burn Babylon

Volcanic Peppers LAVA Death by Douglah Hot Sauce

CaJohns Rougaroux Hot Sauce

Jak Jeckel Green Sauce

Annika A. (Zin the Phoenix)

Annika, who goes by the nickname of Zin the Phoenix, is a YouTube reviewer of hot sauces.

Born to Hula Reaper of Sorrow Hot Sauce

Crazy Bastard Sauce Habanero & Tomatillo

High River Sauces Grapes of Wrath

Voodoo Chile Sauces V’Racha Sriracha-style Hot Sauce

No.7 Hot Sauce Original Habanero Hot Sauce

Made d’Orleans Eggplant Thai Hot Sauce

Hella Hot Hot Sauce Boobzilla Hot Sauce

Layna Sa Pika Este Donne Dinanche Pepper Paste

Paulman Acre Ziggy’s Charred Dust Hot Sauce

Paulman Acre Piñalava Sunshine Smoked Pepper Sauce

Lucky Dog Hot Sauce – Black Label

Fat Cat Foods Siamese Sriracha

Fat Cat Foods Bacon Flavored Sriracha

PuckerButt Pepper Company Smokin’ Ed’s Pineapple Ginger Hot Sauce

Sweet Heat Gourmet Roasted Jalapeno Hot Sauce

Jim Campbell

Jim, an Indianapolis-area firefighter, is the former owner of the Mild to Wild Pepper & Herb Company, as well as being a past chile pepper grower & expert, plus the organizer & host of the famous Open Fields chilehead event. He currently oversees Step Up For Charity, a charitable organization that aids a variety of worthy causes.

Huy Fong Foods Sriracha Sauce

TABASCO Chipotle Pepper Sauce

CaJohn’s Lil Kick

Mild to Wild False Alarm

Blair’s American Hot Sauce (discontinued)

Mild to Wild Smokin’ Chipotle

Mild to Wild Original Finishing Sauce

Religious Experience’s ‘beta sauce’ (never released)

Smokin’ J’s Applewood Smoked Chipotle Sauce

Thomas Toth

Thom is the founder of Voodoo Chile Sauces & Salsa and Ætérnus Sauceworks.

Voodoo Chile Sauces Porcus Infernum

Voodoo Chile Sauces Fever Dream

Voodoo Chile Sauces Black As Your Soul

Voodoo Chile Sauces Winter Angel

CaJohns Quetzelcoatl

High River Sauces Rogue Moruga Blood Orange Scorpion Pepper Sauce

Heartbreaking Dawns Mango Habanero

Volcanic Peppers Ghost Pepper Ponzu

Jersey Barnfire Black Garlic

Born to Hula Ghost Of Ancho

Art “Xero” Weingaertner

Xero runs the fiery foods company Xerarchs.com, makers of fine sauces and salsas.

Xerarchs Red Scourge

Xerarchs Very Verde Green Sauce

CaJohns Caracara Hot Sauce

Xtinction Sauce with Ghost Pepper

Frog-Bone Bone Reaper

Lucky Dog Hot Sauce – Black Label

Blair’s Sweet Death Sauce

Honey Blaze Hot Wing Sauce

Voodoo Chile Sauces Winter Angel

Addiction Sauces Habanero

Scotty & Suzi Owens

The Owens hail from the great state of Michigan and create spicy products under the Scotty O’ Hotty Hot Sauce name. Below is a combined list from both of them.

Bliss Pepper Sauce

Scotty O’Hotty Premium Habanero Sauce

Famous Dave’s Georgia Mustard Sauce

Original Zip Sauce

Scotty O’Hotty Beer Bacon Chipotle

Culley’s No.1 Hot Sauce

Try Me Dragon Sauce

CaJohns Calavera Sauce

Garden Fresh Salsa Jack’s Special

Scotty O’Hotty Reaper de Muerte Sauce

El Yucateco Green Habanero Sauce

ARBY’s Sauce (original)

TABASCO Original Pepper Sauce

Marie Sharp’s Hot Habanero Pepper Sauce

TABASCO Habanero Pepper Sauce

Srodek’s Horseradish Sauce

Scott Roberts

Yep, here are my humble contributions…

Captain Thom’s Thai Monkey Hot Sauce

DEFCON’s Defense Condition #2 Wing Sauce

Mike & Diane’s Ring of Fire Xtra Hot Habanero Hot Sauce

Race City Sauce Works Deadwood Taco Sauce

Georgia Peach & Vidalia Onion Hot Sauce

Heartbreaking Dawns 1498 Trinidad Scorpion Sauce

Benito’s Naranja Organic Hot Sauce

Marie Sharp’s Hot Habanero Pepper Sauce

CaJohns Bourbon Infused Chipotle Habanero Hot Sauce

Dragon’s Blood Elixir Original Hot Sauce

Mild to Wild Fiery Hot Habanero BBQ Sauce

Owem G. Williker’s Salted Caramel & White Chocolate Chile Elixir (discontinued?)

JACs Tailgaters Pineapple Orange Habanero Finishing Sauce (discontinued)

By the way, if you want to see my “top 50” favorites, go to my Spicy Foods Reviews and ratings page, and click on the “Rating” header to sort them by ratings. All of the orange 5-star ratings are my all-time favorite products.

Top Sauces By the Numbers

It was fascinating to see the sauces repeated in these lists. I’m sure that if I asked an alternate group of twenty chileheads, the results would be very different. But still, once you see a product repeated two or more times, chances are you’ve got a people-pleasing sauce on your hands. Here are the top individual sauce mentions:

Bigfat’s 7o8 7 Pot Citrus Hot Sauce – 5

High River Sauces Tears of the Sun – 5

CaJohns Bourbon Infused Chipotle Habanero Hot Sauce – 4

Lucky Dog Hot Sauce – Black Label – 4

Born to Hula Reaper of Sorrow – 3

CaJohns Caracara Hot Sauce – 3

Captain Thom’s Thai Monkey Hot Sauce – 3

Georgia Peach & Vidalia Onion Hot Sauce – 3

High River Sauces Grapes of Wrath – 3

Huy Fong Foods Sriracha Sauce – 3

Heartbreaking Dawns 1498 Trinidad Scorpion Sauce – 3

Marie Sharp’s Hot Habanero Pepper Sauce – 3

TABASCO Pepper Sauce – 3

Bigfat’s 6o8 Pineapple Habanero Hot Sauce – 2

Bigfat’s Double Dark – Black Cherry & Sage Hot Sauce – 2

CaJohns Firehouse Hot Sauce – 2

CaJohns Holy Jolokia Hot Sauce – 2

CaJohns Oaxacan Ghost – 2

Crazy Bastard Sauce Habanero & Tomatillo – 2

Culley’s No.1 Hot Sauce – 2

DEFCON Sauces Defense Condition #1 Wing Sauce – 2

Lucky Dog Hot Sauce – Year of the Dog – 2

Heartbreaking Dawns Classic Gold Habanero – 2

Heartbreaking Dawns The Green – 2

Primo’s Peppers Swampadelic Sauce – 2

Race City Sauce Works Deadwood Taco Sauce – 2

Scotty O’Hotty Beer Bacon Chipotle – 2

Tapatio Hot Sauce – 2

Volcanic Peppers Ghost Pepper Ponzu – 2

Volcanic Peppers LAVA Death by Douglah Hot Sauce – 2

Voodoo Chile Sauces Winter Angel – 2

Below are the overall mentions of companies, ranging from 22 to 4. There were several sauce makers that had gotten three mentions.

CaJohns Fiery Foods – 22

Bigfat’s Hot Sauce – 13

Born to Hula Hot Sauce – 11

High River Sauces – 11

Heartbreaking Dawns – 13

Voodoo Chile Sauces – 9

Volcanic Peppers – 8

Race City Sauce Works – 7

Lucky Dog Hot Sauce – 7

Hellfire Hot Sauce – 5

Marie Sharp’s – 5

McIlhenny Company (TABASCO) – 5

Mild to Wild Pepper & Herb Co. – 5

Scotty O’Hotty Hot Sauce – 5

Culley’s Hot Sauce – 4

What is on YOUR list?

What do you think of the choices? Surprised to see anything listed? Shocked to see your favorite hot sauce not represented? Feel free to comment or post your own top 10 list below!