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The VICE Guide to Gifting Hot Sauce

From pleasantly tingly to sadistically painful, these are the spicy condiments to buy for your favorite hot sauce freak.
The 17 Best Hot Sauce Gifts 2022
Composite by VICE Staff

I chase the spice like I’m in Dune. And I’m not alone—spicy food is basically a love language for people these days. Not only does it make food taste objectively better, but one could argue it’s a form of self exploration: Eating super spicy food lets us know who we really are and what our bodies are truly capable of. Whether you’re sharing a plate of scrambled eggs jazzed up with a couple drops of Tabasco or a bowl of tongue-burning, sweat-inducing ramen, spicy food brings us together.

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The 25 Best Food Gifts For Your Hangry Squad

From replenishing a loved one’s sacred stash of their fave flavor to introducing the spice head in your life to something new and unexpected, hot sauce can be a beautiful gift. If you know someone who fits one of the following Hot Sauce Enjoyer™ archetypes—and you surely do—go forth and secure the bottle.

Your sibling who needs to prove they can handle spicier food than you

If everything’s a competition to your bro or sis, then they’re always looking for an opportunity to out-spice you. You have two choices here: Either you can get them something that’s actually tasty (and still pretty spicy), or you can take your revenge and deliver something that will bring pain. For the first option, give them a combo pack of Secret Aardvark sauces, featuring habanero, green, Jamaican, and black bean flavors; for the second, however, you need to be strategic and get something flashy, so they won’t be able to avoid showboating in front of the fam. In that case, you want to get them the Mad Dog 357 Plutonium No. 9, which has 9 million Scoville units and is so packed with capsicum that it comes in solid form and has to be heated to remove it from the bottle. Make sure to film it when they try this stuff.


$26.95 at Amazon

$26.95 at Amazon

$127.99 at Amazon

$127.99 at Amazon

The person who regularly eats scrambles, hashes, burritos, and bean bowls

We love an artisan variety, but some dishes just call for the good, pure flavors of commercial hot sauce. Valentina is the pinnacle. It’s eternally popular because it’s legitimately delicious, versatile, and you can get it in an extremely inexpensive 32-oz. bottle. I’ve kept this bad boy stocked in my home for years, and I fear the day I run out without a backup. It makes a perfect affordable stocking stuffer or addition to a snacky gift basket.


$11.09 at Amazon

$11.09 at Amazon
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The flavor journeyman in your life

Culturally, some of us never really break away from what’s familiar. Others roll out searching for America’s greatest diners, drive-ins, and dives. To find a gift for the person who’s constantly on the prowl for outlandish fusion dishes, comically humongous sandwiches, and the most punishing chicken wings, we must bow to the master, Guy Fieri, for guidance. Alas! He hath bequeathed us a heavenly offering.


$31.99 at Amazon

$31.99 at Amazon

Your uncle, grandpa, or mature friend who is obsessed with Clint Eastwood

He’s a classic guy who loves watching Sergio Leone movies on TV and drinks Johnnie Walker Red nightly. He loves spicy food, but doesn’t like any of “that weird stuff at the store.” For him, it is and has always been regular, dependable ol’ Tabasco. Or, if he’s from the South, it could be Texas Pete (which, if you can believe it, isn’t made in Texas). Either way, get him a reservoir of that tried and true standby he loves. 


$19.95 at Amazon

$19.95 at Amazon

$9.49 at Amazon

$9.49 at Amazon

Your quietly tough hot sauce fiend

We all know one of these people. They don’t brag about eating spicy food, or even necessarily go out of their way to find it, but can definitely take down a full-spice bowl of ramen, an order of super hot vindaloo, or some Blazin’ Carolina Reaper wings at Buffalo Wild Wings (respect) without breaking a sweat. For them, gift Da Bomb Beyond Insanity, known for making celebrities suffer on Hot Ones and with a cult following for true hot sauce masochists.


$11.08 at Amazon

$11.08 at Amazon
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The person who’s always looking for an opportunity to explain to the table what “real” Chinese food is

We all know somebody who went to a Sichuan restaurant six years ago and still won’t shut up about tingly peppercorns and chile crisp. They can be annoying for sure, but when it comes to the condiments themselves, there’s no shame in that game. Thus, that person in your life deserves the best, most classic jar out there. Big hype, Instagram-approved chile crisps are everywhere these days (see: Fly By Jing, Momofuku), so give them the OG you’ll find on the tables of your best local spots: Lao Gan Ma.


$12.99 at Amazon

$12.99 at Amazon

The food-enlightened homie who lives for the perfect bite

They dine at good restaurants and cook spectacular meals. They read regional Italian cookbooks and love talking about amaro and sourdough. They’re not pretentious, but do really know a lot about food, and on top of it, just LOVE a spicy dish. You already know that whatever you buy them is going in a fresh pasta or on some pizza, so give them a taste of the Old World with some imported Calabrian chili paste. It’s floral, aromatic, savory, and, yes, spicy as hell.


$10.39 at Amazon

$10.39 at Amazon

The person who will definitely post it on Instagram

Truff Sauce is hype. It’s cool, it’s hot, it’s in, it’s chic. Your plugged-in homie already knows this, but maybe hasn’t thought to order a bottle for themselves. Maybe they did, loved it, and need some more. In any case, these sauces use real black and white truffles, and actually taste decent, too. This Best Seller Pack includes the black and white variations, as well as truffle oil; just make sure they don’t use all three at once, or it opens up a portal into an alternate dimension where Earth is overrun with truffles.


$74.99 at Truff

$74.99 at Truff
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Someone who orders Chipotle at least once a week

After all these years, they still stan Chipotle. Who can blame them? It’s some of the most dependable, fresh, delicious fast food in the game. (This is not an #ad, I just love Chipotle.) If they stay ordering those burritos every week, give them the ultimate immersive experience by gifting ‘em a 6-pack of Chipotle Tabasco (aka the correct hot sauce choice at Chipotle).


$36.56 at Amazon

$36.56 at Amazon

The spaced family member who is actually very cool

They’re not plugged in and they don’t know what’s hip today. They shop at regular stores and eat normal food. They have a fairly straightforward 9-5 job and listen to the radio. Their biggest cultural connection is playing Dark Souls or obsessively watching Survivor (both very cool things to do IMO). But, despite it all, they are unabashedly *themselves*, and for that, they are awesome. This person really likes spicy food and probably won’t know what Fly By Jing is, but they’ll absolutely love it. Get them the gift pack of tingly-spicy condiments, which includes the flagship Sichuan Chili Crisp as well as Zhong Sauce and Mala Spice Mix.


$45$35 at Fly By Jing

$45$35 at Fly By Jing

The person who is really into heirloom produce

These hot sauces aren’t only good on beans, but they are made by premiere heirloom bean masters Rancho Gordo, which means your legume-loving friends are predisposed to enjoying them. TBH, these hot sauces are freaking delicious—especially the Rio Fuego.
Rancho Gordo’s bottles will be surprising and fun for literally anybody who loves hot sauce and good food.


$6.50 at Frog Hollow Farm

$6.50 at Frog Hollow Farm

$6.50 at Frog Hollow Farm

$6.50 at Frog Hollow Farm
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The person whose pantry is already stocked

They love hot sauce and eat it on everything. Naturally, their kitchen is already teeming with bottles. For this person, consider a tribute to their fiery passion rather than a bottle that’ll definitely go straight to the back of the line.


$59 at Etsy

$59 at Etsy

$10 at Etsy

$10 at Etsy

$14.99 at Etsy

$14.99 at Etsy

Reign in sweat. Happy holidays.

For more food gift ideas, check out our gift guides for the best edible and drinkable gifts, the best cookware gifts, and the best gifts for true food freaks


The Rec Room staff independently selected all of the stuff featured in this story. Want more reviews, recommendations, and red-hot deals?Sign up for our newsletter.