It’s been close to 2 years since I’ve tasted regular Tabasco hot sauce. I’ve spent that time consuming hot sauces with less of a vinegar punch. But, as fate would have it, last month I was forced to use it. There wasn’t a gun to my head or anything, but the bland food was close enough. The wife and I had decided to get brunch at Cosmic Too, the second installment of our default brunch place and I simply forgot to bring my stash of sauce. Total brain fart moment when I left the house.
I ordered an omelet with the house potatoes, nothing exciting, just a normal brunch. Not like when we have brunch at Pigalle (french place). Normally, when I forget my hot sauces, I can make due without any (shocking I know), but this brunch was so bland that I was forced to ask the waitress for some hot sauce and crossed my fingers that she would bring me some Cholula or anything besides Tabasco.
But low and behold, she brought over a small bottle of Original Tabasco. The wife looked at the bottle and then at me and laughed. “You’re actually going to use that?”
I had to; there was no eating my food without something close to a seasoning. So on went the Tabasco, at first just a few drops, but after taking my first bite, I dumped about half the bottle on the plate. Not that Tabasco is that good, but I needed that much to get the food down. Yes, high flavor maintance here.
As I was eating, the waitress looked at my plate and frantically asked if the bottle had been broken. I had a mouthful of food, so before I could answer, the wife suppressed her laughs and told the waitress, “No, he likes it like that” - The waitress shot me a look and then hurried off. Yes my plate was completely red, so I guess it did look like an accidental mess of sorts.
But back to my original point - Tabasco isn’t that bad. I personally don’t prefer strong vinegar flavored hot sauces, but eating Tabasco again reminded me of its basic flavor qualities that you can always count on, no matter where you are in the world. And, when I can eat seafood again, I think I’m going to get some steamed mussels and settle down with a bottle of Original Tabasco.
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15 Comments »
I, too, disdain vinegary hot sauces, but have sorta ‘rediscovered’ Tabasco as being acceptable when nothing else is available. My personal favorite hot sauce is Pico Pica. Not blasting-hot, but very, very tasy, with NO vinegar.
Dave Hughes
Austin, Texas
If you like sauces with no vinegar they you have to have a bottle of El Yucateco handy. Its is my favorite no vinegar sauce around. I have to admit though, I love Tabasco. I went about a year or so without using it and when I tried it again it brought back old memories. My table sauce is usually Cholula or Blairs original death sauce. Neither of them are too hot, but great flavor.
I have a different hot sauce for different food occasions, but sometimes I want that vinegar flavor of Tabasco. Of the Louisiana sauces I like Crystal as an all purpose cooking sauce, and Louisiana Gold for a table sauce.
I am just catching up on most of this, I don’t like Tabasco, no particular reason I’ve just never liked it, I laughed really hard while reading this, I can imagine what the waitress was telling the cook staff, be careful next time you eat there 
you never know what may be in your food.
I don’t mind it much, but I do think it changes the flavor of the dish you put it on very much. To get the heat I feel I need it almost becomes soup with a Tabasco base- To me the older it is the more heat it packs. Wendy bought a box of 500 mini bottles and I would take zip lock bags full of them to work for my dinners and/or lunches. As they set for awhile they would ( seemed to me ) got hotter. 
It’s no secret that my favorite type sauce is one that’s vinegar based. Southerner style some say. That said…Tabasco just doesn’t do it for me. To me it has a taste that belongs only in Bloody Mary mix, not food. Crystal use to be one of my favorites but lately I believe the taste and consistency has gotten on the thin watery side.
I enjoy Crystal- I think that type of sauce goes with just about everything, your Frank’s, Red Hot, Crystal’s are good basic Louisiana styled that do not over do it and give a good flavor and a little punch. They compliment the Southern cooking we get here MSK.
I don’t mind a good vinegar based sauce myself either. I prefer Louisana but I have not used a drop of that in a long long while since I have gone gourmet!
Aaron on 5/16/2006 at 8:12 pm said:
I don’t mind a good vinegar based sauce myself either. I prefer Louisana but I have not used a drop of that in a long long while since I have gone gourmet!
I think your tastes get refined, we have so many bottles in the fridge in the works, I too enjoy the “gourmet” sauces as well but it’s always nice to get back to basics sometimes also. Can’t forget your roots 
Vic on 5/16/2006 at 8:18 pm said:
I think your tastes get refined, we have so many bottles in the fridge in the works, I too enjoy the “gourmet” sauces as well but it’s always nice to get back to basics sometimes also. Can’t forget your roots
True dat Often times at while eating out I have to settle for the regular stuff when the food is too bland! I don’t complain too much cause it was where I got my start!
Aaron on 5/16/2006 at 8:12 pm said:
I don’t mind a good vinegar based sauce myself either. I prefer Louisana but I have not used a drop of that in a long long while since I have gone gourmet!
I too enjoy a good vinegar based sauce- Death Sauce comes readily to mind as one of the better ones. My only problem with Tabasco, Crystals, & others of that ilk, is the public will invariably compare one of those 8% pepper solids (92% vinegar) sauces with something from CaJohn or me & think we’re ripping them off at $6 a bottle… and 85% pepper solids. They’re not in the same category but will both be lumped together as ‘hot sauce’.
Jim Campbell (StepUpForCharity.org) on 5/16/2006 at 8:49 pm said:
I too enjoy a good vinegar based sauce- Death Sauce comes readily to mind as one of the better ones. My only problem with Tabasco, Crystals, & others of that ilk, is the public will invariably compare one of those 8% pepper solids (92% vinegar) sauces with something from CaJohn or me & think we’re ripping them off at $6 a bottle… and 85% pepper solids. They’re not in the same category but will both be lumped together as ‘hot sauce’.
Yeah that is crazy. Good thing I have come to enjoy the finer sauces in life! To me it was simple cause you get what you pay for I mean $1.49 for 5 oz vs $6 easy math
Yup- that’s my ‘the internet will make you rich’ soapbox Folks don’t see that it takes 10 bottles of the $1.49 stuff to get the same amount of chiles you’ll find in a single bottle of mine, CaJohns, Gordon, Scotties, 3’s, etc. That’s $14.90 now vs $6.00 I mean, the point of the sauce is supposed to be chiles, right?
Jim Campbell (StepUpForCharity.org) on 5/16/2006 at 9:02 pm said:
Yup- that’s my ‘the internet will make you rich’ soapbox
Preachin to the choir brother! We know the ways of pepper solids and hot sauce math!
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I’m not wild about the flavor of Tabasco, but I too will use it when nothing else is available. It’s sort of the Gin and Tonic of the hot sauce world…an ancient standard.