Rating: ★★★★

It might very well be the world's most recognized (and popular) hot sauce. Along with Coca Cola, Pepsi, Apple, McDonalds, Tabasco is a brand that is so integrated into the world, you'll find tiny bottles of it in MRE’s (meals ready to eat) for the U.S. Military. It is a classic and will give you a baseline expectation for the rest of my hot sauce reviews.

It is my earliest memory of using hot sauce. Tabasco, like ketchup and mustard, has been in my family's refrigerator as long as I can remember. For those who have never tasted it, it isn't terribly hot but will give anything a little zip. 

Tabasco doesn't have a lot of specific flavors but it is fairly unique. I would be able to pick this out of a hot sauce lineup blindfolded. It is mostly vinegary and has a quick hit of heat but it dissipates quickly. Interestingly, it tends to have a touch of sweetness; not sugary sweet but similar to the "sweetness" one tastes from cinnamon.

Tabasco’s claim to fame is only three ingredients: peppers, vinegar, and salt. And it is aged in oak barrels for up to three years. It makes it sound like it is a fine whiskey more than a hot sauce. Perhaps that is why it is such a common favorite among the people of the world. 

If you're a veteran of hot sauces, you probably will have some in your household and know that it is an easy and unobtrusive hot sauce to add a little spice to just about anything. If you're new to hot sauce, Tabasco is one of the first and probably one of the best "training" sauces. Put it on anything and it's solid.

It is one I put in the middle of the pack. It isn't my favorite nor least but a staple. Here is a list of things I use it on.

Flavor: 3, It isn’t terribly complex and quite vinegary but you can taste the cayenne pepper quite prominently. Only a few drops, in most cases, will be noticeably and add flavor to your meal. There is a certainly sweetness to Tabasco that I have not encountered in most other hot sauces.

Versatility: 4, It is a staple in the hot sauce world. It is probably the most well known name in hot sauces and nearly as ubiquitous as Kleenex is to facial tissue. I have found other hot sauces that I prefer to use more frequently but Tabasco can go on just about anything.

Uniqueness: 4, It stands out against the many hot sauces on the planet but I don’t consider it terribly unique. However, this could be from the wide spread availability of Tabasco sauce. That touch of sweet does bump it up from an otherwise lower uniqueness value.

Recommended on:

• Chili
• Cheese Coney, Coney Island Dog
• Raw oysters 
• Soups
• Eggs
• Tuna salad
• Macaroni and cheese
• Baked potatoes
• Bloody Mary’s
• V8 (or other salty vegetable juices)

Ingredients:

Peppers
Vinegar
Salt