Products built from a passion that borderlines on obsession!

Not unethical “skimpflation” tactics, marketing hype, or gimmicks!

My craving for spicy heat started as it does for most. You feel that burn on your tongue, and then you are hooked! The more my tolerance for spicy food climbed, the greater my disappointment whenever I tried the next “best hot sauce” that couldn’t deliver. All those bottles promised extreme heat from superhot peppers mixed with bold flavors, but often fell flat due to dilution. So, I started making my own.

The primary culprit is vinegar. Companies use it all the time because it helps hot sauce remain shelf-stable. Vinegar lowers the pH level of the sauce which helps prevent microbial growth. It’s an easy fix that is cheap to produce, and when it’s overused, that’s all you can really taste! And considering I am not British, I am not accustomed to, nor am I a fan of dousing all my food with something that overwhelmingly just tastes like vinegar! lol

Too many mass-market hot sauce brands rely heavily on vinegar because they can make more money, at the expense of authentic and unique flavors, from using higher quality ingredients. I am not claiming there is no vinegar used in our products, but it is used in greatly reduced amounts, with fruit juices(which are exponentially more expensive than vinegar) taking over most of the “heavy lifting” of lowering the PH of the sauce while introducing delicious flavors.

My hobby for creating gourmet sauces that taste fantastic, and bring out the unique and delicious flavors of the ingredients, quickly became an obsession!

I spent years testing pepper blends, fruit infusions, spice layering, and heat balance. Being located in New Mexico certainly helped with access to premium ingredients like roasted “Hatch” chile peppers. I didn’t want to just create a mediocre hot sauce. I wanted delicious flavors made with integrity that refuses to sacrifice culinary depth in the name of increased profits.

It was the fruit juices that were the breakthrough. That’s where the natural acidity comes in to preserve the hot sauce and add more flavor variety, tang, and sweetness you cannot get from a one-note profile of vinegar sharpness. From there, I got to work!

Every oversized bottle of our gourmet hot sauce is produced right here in a professional, commercial kitchen in “The land of enchantment” Albuquerque, New Mexico. From roasting Hatch chili peppers to blending fruit-forward heat profiles, our artisan small-batch production ensures the best and consistent sauce quality with enough flexibility to refine recipes without shortcuts.

We don’t deliver cheap hot sauce that relies heavily on the hype surrounding “superhot” peppers like Scorpion, Ghost, and Reaper. Instead of using smaller bottle sizes of sauces flooded with vinegar, we stick to honest volumes of peppers, spices, and other ingredients. When our product says it has “superhot” peppers, you feel it, and will not be asking "Where is the heat?"

We also chose to use an oversized 8oz bottle. Why? Because a good hot sauce shouldn’t feel like it needs to be rationed out. It should be enough to spread on wings, drown your tacos, flavor eggs, or drizzle on pizza. We’re not a novelty hot sauce company. We are aficionados obsessed with real flavors and operational integrity the hot sauce community can rely on. That’s why Smash Mouth Gourmet Foods products fit so well into any sauce collection!

Years were spent experimenting and developing the recipes that now comprise Smash Mouth Gourmet Foods' product offerings. I sincerely hope you enjoy each one of them as much as I’ve enjoyed the process of creating them!

- Chad Hamilton, Owner - Smash Mouth Gourmet Foods