Hey there,

I’m a little tired and have been coming in and out of my winter funk these past couple weeks, but I’m feeling appreciative of many things right now, especially as I’m typing this in a warm house waiting for this blizzard to come in.

Earlier this morning, I dove into some spreadsheets planning out my first pepper plot. A couple weeks ago at my winter farmers market, I met Max, a recently retired individual who has been gardening for 30 years and started farming small plots in the town over from me. He mentioned that out of the 50+ plants he grows, New Mexico chilies are his favorite, and his passion and love for chilies come from his family in New Mexico. 

When people confess their love of New Mexico chillies to me, I almost always get the same reaction. Their eyes light up, and you can see them transport to their aromatic memories with large hatch peppers turning in a roaster. 

The big question you get in New Mexico is red or green? I’m still trying to find my answer to that big life question, but for now, I say Christmas and get red and green chili sauces together!

Max is moving from a half-acre plot to a 3.5-acre plot, so I’m helping him out with the chili pepper planning, which involves yield calculations on excel, sourcing down seeds, and praying for good weather. We’re also going to put our novice welding skills to the test by building our own chili roaster to experience those roasted New Mexico chilli smells and flavors. So while it’s dark and cold, I’m dreaming of those warm harvest days and creating fire-roasted batches of our40 Shades of Green Chilli!

While you may be daydreaming with me right now, don’t forget about Valentine's Day!

It's coming up quickly, so we put together a couple Valentine's Day hot sauce items for those wholike it HOT! And those who like itmild to medium with flavor first in mind.

A box of super hot hot sauces perfect for that spicy lover!

If you are ordering as a gift, click the "Is this a gift" box and we'll handwrite a custom message. 

Shipping is included in this price!

With Mardi Gras coming around the corner, celebrate Fat Tuesday with Bayou Gotham's Bourbon Cayenne, Ruby Rebelle Hot Sauce, alongside MAGO's Pineapple Habanero, and Moe Mountain's award-winning Verde hot sauce, Green Envy.

We just released a new episode of the Craft Hot Sauce Podcast, with the maker of one of my favorite hot sauces, Seed Ranch Flavor Co. Their founder David, joined me to talk about scaling up their hot sauces and making umami-forward, all-natural hot sauces like the Truffle Hound. 

A conversation with David Delcourt from Seed Ranch Flavor Co on scaling and umami

We have a fun month ahead with lots of cooks for my hot sauce company Craic Sauce (pictured to the right, creating a chili mash that is now fermenting), conversations for the Craft Hot Sauce Podcast, and do I dare say we'll even be sharing our new website redesign?

But before I go, I have a question for you...

Red or Green?

Be well,

Brian

Founder at CraftHotSauce.com

Cook at Craic Sauce