Chile Traditions Original New Mexico Hot Sauce comes in a bright, attention grabbing yellow bottle. The bottle looks like it’s almost bursting with cayenne peppers - it’s a bright, fresh looking sauce that I couldn’t wait to try. Plus, it lists the peppers first, which is usually a good thing. The website advertises it as “our answer to Tabasco.” I won’t hold that against them. Yet.

Ingredients: Cayenne Pepper, Water, Vinegar, Salt, Modified Food Starch, Garlic

On First Taste
Chile Traditions pours out a little bit thin, and is a little messy to deal with. The cayenne flavor comes through strong and proud, and the garlic is highly prevalent. The vinegar is well used, apparent but not overpowering. The heat is a little bit on the low side, hotter than tabasco but not a serious burner. Overall, this is a very well constructed sauce that brings out the best in all it’s ingredients. There’s not much subtlety - it’s all about the cayenne peppers, and that’s fine with me.

On Food

I used Chile Traditions Original New Mexico Hot Sauce on a sausage and egg breakfast sandwich. It didn’t stick to the food quite as well as I’d have liked, but it mopped up with the croissant just fine. The flavor is perfect for eggs - a strong chile flavor with just the right amount of spice. This is a very solid cayenne sauce, and it will be taking a frequent place in my usual breakfast rotation.

Conclusion:
Chile Traditions Original New Mexico Hot Sauce may not be spectacular and awe-inspiring, but it is a very solid, true to the pepper cayenne sauce for people who like a tasty, balanced pepper first flavor in their sauce. Chile Traditions didn’t just answer Tabasco; they thoroughly dominated it.

(A Quick note, I am changing my ratings slightly to provide a more thorough, commonized approach.)

Packaging - a little too bright. 5.0 out of 10.0
Aroma - All cayenne, all the time. 9.0 out of 10.0
Appearance - Nice color, but too thin. 6.3 out of 10.0
Taste - Pure pepper flavor. 8.7 out of 10.0
Heat - Minor tingling. 5.0 out of 10.0

Overall Rating: 7.7 out of 10.0