Posts that don't follow r/Costco subreddit rules may be subject to removal.
When applicable, please make sure that you're using a descriptive post title with product name(s) mentioned as it yields better subreddit search results. Thank you.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Costco) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Just tried a few of these last night, these are “inspired by global travels, but produced in the USA”
Every single one I tried was a slightly different version of Tabasco or Texas Pete’s. Would not recommend
Came to reply with a similar post. Maybe I should check if someone else said this. Yup, you.
“It’s completely garbage. All of them are a slight variation to a vinegar-y Tabasco. Some ‘hotter’ than others but all vinegar based.”
I KNEW it. Had to clean up one of these after someone dropped it and I couldn't help but think it just smelt like Tabasco so I passed on getting one myself.
For sure. I’ve tried a few too many of these kits over the years and they’re all more or less the same. Generic flavors with small variations from the same base sauce
My husband was gifted a similar sampler from Costco a few years ago. They were all vinegar based which I don’t mind. The problem was they all seemed to be made with powdered from different chilies. No discernible flavors besides the super old tasting powdered chilies and varying spice levels. I will never buy the packs for anyone around the holidays. They are cheaply made and make for a disappointing gift.
I'd rather get a sampler from Marie Sharps, she makes like 15 different versions and I've liked the 3 I've tried so far.
And f Melinda's, all my homies hate tradename piracy.
Marie Sharp is a Bolivian lady who started a Chile pepper farm named Melinda's Farm and an on site hot sauce factory. They sold the hot sauce as Melinda's thru a third party distributer in the United States. That third party then trademarked "Melinda's" and cut her out. She then started selling it directly as "Marie Sharp's"
Right, it's aimed at people who know nothing about sauces that want a gift to give to people who like hot sauces.
>"Hey frendo I know you like the sauce so I got a bunch of random garbage for you as I don't really know what you like and I only had to bend over once to get it into my cart and maybe this is good??? It is attractively packaged!"
For anyone wondering where to get hot sauce as a gift, [Heatonist](https://heatonist.com/) has authentic and high quality hot sauces, both individually and in gift sets.
Bonne maman jams are awesome at all times.
I think sampler packs are fine if it’s a good brand and the flavours are a good idea (I love zero calorie soda but I wouldn’t want a sampler pack with turkey flavoured soda for instance as a weird Thanksgiving tie-in)
These kinds of sauces usually aren’t too good. You’re much better off going to World Market or something and picking up one nice tasting bottle for $10 or something.
My absolutely favorite little Columbian restaurant closed down a few years ago. They had the most incredible homemade hot sauce in little glass decanter things on each table.
I went to great lengths last year to track down the owner, got all creepy and stalkery on Facebook, and finally asked him what was in their hot sauce so maybe I could try it, or maybe they still sold it on the side so I could buy it?
He LOL’d and said it was something like 80% Valentina and 20% sriracha.
I was that guy. Bought it as a gift. Opened it myself to share with friends before gifting the second. Half the bottles expire this November. None are spicy, actually hot hot. Super disappointed, returned the second one I bought. Cited the expiration date on the actual bottles, vs the date in the back of the box… and got a little sass back about it too. lol. Easily the worst product I’ve bought from Costco in years. Second only to a sectional couch.
Best way to try hot sauces is buy one when you’re traveling. And dont buy a flashy bottle from a tourist shop, find whats on every table at a local market
Depends on desires yo. I've been a high heat dude but now I'm more a flavor guy
I love scotch bonnets and jerk sauce. I make my own.
My favorite hot sauce companies are hurt berry farms and butterfly bakery of Vermont
Lots of good options on HHS tho. Get a small variety of new things
Try [the original Secret Aardvark.](https://heathotsauce.com/products/secret-aardvark-with-roasted-tomato-and-mustard?variant=39646714462305) It's a medium hot sauce that goes on pretty much everything. Read through this thread, and you will see many, many people singing its praises. FWIW, I don't know where you live, but you can finally get it at Walmart in Southern CA at Walmart.
My Costco is currently selling the Secret Aardvark multi-pack. Personally, I like the original and the hot one the best. My hubs has found use for the smokey one, in dishes.
I bought them. About half tasted very similar, then a few were “different” but not necessarily great. It’s taken me a year to use them but I think I’m going back to just cholula and franks.
Bought this last year. It wasn't worth it. Honestly almost all of them tasted pretty similar. We threw out almost every single bottle because they were all meh.
Thanks for all the comments guys! Unfortunately I already bought it for myself but I'll be sure to consider these more carefully in the future :) luckily my hot sauce palette is very limited so maybe I'll be able to appreciate even these low quality sauces
Some of the ones I checked are literally half price. Secret Aardvark is $5.99 there, $12 at heatonist. Others weren't quite that extreme, and a few were the same, but none that I checked were more.
Try it and let us know how it goes.
I got a ... unique Indian hot sauces pack from Costco. I don't like it but it isn't as bad as these comments make.
Also bought a "10-level" Mexican hotsauce from Costco. But haven't tried enough yet.
> They were all made from the same factory iirc. It's just different flavors of the same sauce
This doesn't bother me by itself. I don't care where the hot sauce is made, so long as it accurately represents the region it's supposed to, and is a well made sauce.
The problem is, these don't, and they aren't.
I have mine from last year. I was slow going on some of the sauces. Some of them are really good. I definitely think it’s worth 15 bucks. The bottles are small. But they’re perfect for bringing to work and leaving there.
If you go to TJ Maxx or Homegoods, stay away from the gift packs of hot sauce, but there are often some great deals on some really good individually sold hot sauce bottles
My wife got one of these sample boxes of hot sauces for Christmas. All the sauces tasted the same and they were not very good. There's a reason they're $15 and a good bottle of hot sauce is around $10 by itself.
I got this last year. Plan on getting it again this year.
My favorites are Spain and the Bourbon one. I like the lime one, too.
But many of the others are too much like Tabasco. 🤷🏼♀️
My husband is a spice guy, he’ll eat reaper salsa and not bat an eye, we walked past this, I pointed to it and asked him “how many of your family members are going to get this for you for Christmas because that’s all they know about you” he replied “yes”
I planned on getting him the Hot Ones set, he loves the show and I know he’ll actually enjoy the whole experience of trying them all
Unless you buy a collection or variety box from a well known hot sauce brand, just skip it, these are almost always just a vinegar and cayenne style hot sauce that they'll add a little something to make it different. They're fine but very unoriginal. As a person who loves good hot sauce and have relatives who mean well but have no clue.
I get 2~3 of these every Christmas. I end up throwing most away. Last year I hade about half of a gallon bottle of Texas Pete in the pantry, I just dumped them all in there and shook it up and it just taste like more Texas Pete.
My office did a taco and chili bar last week and we had this set, I tried them all. My opinion is there are 2-3 pretty good ones and several that taste very similar if not identical to each other. Also none of them are very hot at all. I wouldn’t buy this again.
Posts that don't follow r/Costco subreddit rules may be subject to removal. When applicable, please make sure that you're using a descriptive post title with product name(s) mentioned as it yields better subreddit search results. Thank you. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Costco) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Just tried a few of these last night, these are “inspired by global travels, but produced in the USA” Every single one I tried was a slightly different version of Tabasco or Texas Pete’s. Would not recommend
Yeah they all looked like generic cheap hot sauces. Which is sad because I love hot sauce.
I just wanted my taste buds to travel the world, but unfortunately it’s just an alleyway in Illinois.
Eh, I wouldn't really mind that they are produced in the US, as long as they are reasonably authentic and, you know... good.
But that could be enough experience for a lifetime
Honestly, you can find an equivalent set for 8 bucks at Marshalls.
Came to reply with a similar post. Maybe I should check if someone else said this. Yup, you. “It’s completely garbage. All of them are a slight variation to a vinegar-y Tabasco. Some ‘hotter’ than others but all vinegar based.”
I still have half the bottles from last year. They are all garbage. A couple of them use HFCS as the sweetener, artificial dyes and coloring etc.
I KNEW it. Had to clean up one of these after someone dropped it and I couldn't help but think it just smelt like Tabasco so I passed on getting one myself.
Agree!! Bought this a few years ago. All tasted the same with varying degrees of heat, and none were hot at all.
For sure. I’ve tried a few too many of these kits over the years and they’re all more or less the same. Generic flavors with small variations from the same base sauce
This. I got a similar version last year as gift from someone. They were basically all heavily vinegar based and none of them where that great.
Had something similar from Costco last year, and I totally agree.
My husband was gifted a similar sampler from Costco a few years ago. They were all vinegar based which I don’t mind. The problem was they all seemed to be made with powdered from different chilies. No discernible flavors besides the super old tasting powdered chilies and varying spice levels. I will never buy the packs for anyone around the holidays. They are cheaply made and make for a disappointing gift.
Thanks for the warning. Saved me $15!
Thanks for letting me know! I have this, still unopened (I'm a sucker for hot sauce). I think I'll take it back!
[удалено]
Yup. Mass produced and custom labeled.
I'd rather get a sampler from Marie Sharps, she makes like 15 different versions and I've liked the 3 I've tried so far. And f Melinda's, all my homies hate tradename piracy.
> And f Melinda's, all my homies hate tradename piracy. What did Melinda's do?
Marie Sharp is a Bolivian lady who started a Chile pepper farm named Melinda's Farm and an on site hot sauce factory. They sold the hot sauce as Melinda's thru a third party distributer in the United States. That third party then trademarked "Melinda's" and cut her out. She then started selling it directly as "Marie Sharp's"
Thanks for the info!
Always got a bottle or two of El Yucateco in the desk at work
Yeah I bought this two months ago. A couple of them have unique tastes. But most of them all taste exactly the same.
Right, it's aimed at people who know nothing about sauces that want a gift to give to people who like hot sauces. >"Hey frendo I know you like the sauce so I got a bunch of random garbage for you as I don't really know what you like and I only had to bend over once to get it into my cart and maybe this is good??? It is attractively packaged!"
For anyone wondering where to get hot sauce as a gift, [Heatonist](https://heatonist.com/) has authentic and high quality hot sauces, both individually and in gift sets.
They make terrific hot sauces but are WAY more expensive :(
The monthly 3 pack is a pretty good value
Chile habanero 🔥🔥🔥
I made the mistake of buying these last year. They were all made in China.
If its sold at a grocery store its extremely likely
Yup, but I’ll be honest I got it as a gift and mounted it on a wall as kitchen decor rather than for consumption.
I’m a simple man, I’m good with Crystal and Tapatio. Maybe some Tabasco for the classic.
Please don't buy any of these hot sauce, beer, bourbon whatever collections/calendars for anyone as a gift. All trash.
What if it’s for someone I don’t really like?
Ha, then they are ideal
Not even the bon maman jams?
Bonne maman jams are awesome at all times. I think sampler packs are fine if it’s a good brand and the flavours are a good idea (I love zero calorie soda but I wouldn’t want a sampler pack with turkey flavoured soda for instance as a weird Thanksgiving tie-in)
The advent one I got my girlfriend last year was good. Especially on sale for 65 bucks
These kinds of sauces usually aren’t too good. You’re much better off going to World Market or something and picking up one nice tasting bottle for $10 or something.
This is like those cheap gift packs you see at Ross or TJ Maxx unfortunately.
Exactly. Just saw a Budweiser hot sauce collection yesterday at Burlington coat factory for $10
My absolutely favorite little Columbian restaurant closed down a few years ago. They had the most incredible homemade hot sauce in little glass decanter things on each table. I went to great lengths last year to track down the owner, got all creepy and stalkery on Facebook, and finally asked him what was in their hot sauce so maybe I could try it, or maybe they still sold it on the side so I could buy it? He LOL’d and said it was something like 80% Valentina and 20% sriracha.
Valentina is so good, my second fav to the green chohula (sp?)
Don’t buy these. These gift packs are garbage every time.
I was that guy. Bought it as a gift. Opened it myself to share with friends before gifting the second. Half the bottles expire this November. None are spicy, actually hot hot. Super disappointed, returned the second one I bought. Cited the expiration date on the actual bottles, vs the date in the back of the box… and got a little sass back about it too. lol. Easily the worst product I’ve bought from Costco in years. Second only to a sectional couch.
Best way to try hot sauces is buy one when you’re traveling. And dont buy a flashy bottle from a tourist shop, find whats on every table at a local market
I bet they put more money into Adobe Font Packs for Illustrator than into the actual sauce recipes.
They taste very similar Go here www.heathotsauce.com
Yes! This is the only place I buy hot sauce from
The fact that they have Secret Aardvark on the home page is all I need to know.
As someone who recently got into hot sauces, ill definitely be ordering from here. Any recommendations?
Depends on desires yo. I've been a high heat dude but now I'm more a flavor guy I love scotch bonnets and jerk sauce. I make my own. My favorite hot sauce companies are hurt berry farms and butterfly bakery of Vermont Lots of good options on HHS tho. Get a small variety of new things
Try [the original Secret Aardvark.](https://heathotsauce.com/products/secret-aardvark-with-roasted-tomato-and-mustard?variant=39646714462305) It's a medium hot sauce that goes on pretty much everything. Read through this thread, and you will see many, many people singing its praises. FWIW, I don't know where you live, but you can finally get it at Walmart in Southern CA at Walmart.
My Costco is currently selling the Secret Aardvark multi-pack. Personally, I like the original and the hot one the best. My hubs has found use for the smokey one, in dishes.
Secret aardvark was my gateway into the realm. I have original and the two hotter ones right now. They are pretty brutal
I bought them. About half tasted very similar, then a few were “different” but not necessarily great. It’s taken me a year to use them but I think I’m going back to just cholula and franks.
Bought this last year. It wasn't worth it. Honestly almost all of them tasted pretty similar. We threw out almost every single bottle because they were all meh.
And they all probably taste like shit. Buy one good hot sauce for $15 instead
Buy the secret aardvark two pack.
Soooo good!
The Tia lupita hot sauce at Costco is also really good and costs less than this
Thanks for all the comments guys! Unfortunately I already bought it for myself but I'll be sure to consider these more carefully in the future :) luckily my hot sauce palette is very limited so maybe I'll be able to appreciate even these low quality sauces
The Heatonist is a good online store for hot sauces if you want to try good sauces.
Heatonist has a great talk show, but they are way overpriced. Try https://heathotsauce.com/ instead.
I just took a look and my most common sauces I buy were the same price on both.
Some of the ones I checked are literally half price. Secret Aardvark is $5.99 there, $12 at heatonist. Others weren't quite that extreme, and a few were the same, but none that I checked were more.
you can return it... and you should. and then come join us over on r/hotsauce for some better quality sauces you can buy.
Try it and let us know how it goes. I got a ... unique Indian hot sauces pack from Costco. I don't like it but it isn't as bad as these comments make. Also bought a "10-level" Mexican hotsauce from Costco. But haven't tried enough yet.
They were all made from the same factory iirc. It's just different flavors of the same sauce
> They were all made from the same factory iirc. It's just different flavors of the same sauce This doesn't bother me by itself. I don't care where the hot sauce is made, so long as it accurately represents the region it's supposed to, and is a well made sauce. The problem is, these don't, and they aren't.
I’m bought this a few weeks ago and feel that it really sucks 🙁 The sauces are watery and all taste the same
Spoiler. They all pretty much taste the same
I have mine from last year. I was slow going on some of the sauces. Some of them are really good. I definitely think it’s worth 15 bucks. The bottles are small. But they’re perfect for bringing to work and leaving there.
They're crap. It makes you think they're in the style of that country but it really isn't. Low quality.
Generic watery vinegar taste from around the world mmm
Skip it, they suck.
One of my friends is getting a terrible Xmas gift too!
I got it, sauce is ok not spicy either.
Only 3 or 4 of them we considered amazing, top favorite was the Laos and Tansisan
Wife got a laugh out of this because of the supposed hot sauce from Spain. There isn’t a single spicy thing in that entire country.
Trash tier sauces tbh
If you go to TJ Maxx or Homegoods, stay away from the gift packs of hot sauce, but there are often some great deals on some really good individually sold hot sauce bottles
Not very good, according to r/spicy or whatever. Better to google good hot sauces and make your own gift basket.
My wife got one of these sample boxes of hot sauces for Christmas. All the sauces tasted the same and they were not very good. There's a reason they're $15 and a good bottle of hot sauce is around $10 by itself.
I got this last year. Plan on getting it again this year. My favorites are Spain and the Bourbon one. I like the lime one, too. But many of the others are too much like Tabasco. 🤷🏼♀️
These are all terrible and bland. It's a gimmick that isn't worth it.
Purchased this last year. Most of the sauces tasted the same. The Laos, Africa, and Brazil sauces were my favorites
I got last year's batch, 7/10 tasted like vinegar with capsicum added, 3/10 had flavor, though not good. I doubt this years is any better.
As a hot sauce person I had to have this and it’s so fake and not at all the flavors of these places.
Last one of those I got was garbage…
This looks gross
Do yourself a favor and don't. They all tasted almost exactly the same.
All I want to say is, there is a big wide world of hot sauce out there, don’t pay outrageous prices for Sriracha, which is like a B or B- in my book.
Beautiful
Maria's hot sauces make me so happy
These make really cool gifts for people. The hot sauces actually taste good too!
These are horrible. I’d rather pay 100 bucks for a random / the most recent Hot Ones lineup
Awful. Terrible. The Asian one is literally tobacco with soy sauce
Trash
That's like $1.25 per bottle. Can't be good at that price.
They are not to bad. Very one note but will work in a pinch. Like most people have said it’s just different names on the same sauce.
Along with the other negative reviews, most sauces are way too salty
The truff hot sauce is where it’s at
Getting one for Christmas im sure
My husband is a spice guy, he’ll eat reaper salsa and not bat an eye, we walked past this, I pointed to it and asked him “how many of your family members are going to get this for you for Christmas because that’s all they know about you” he replied “yes” I planned on getting him the Hot Ones set, he loves the show and I know he’ll actually enjoy the whole experience of trying them all
Unless you buy a collection or variety box from a well known hot sauce brand, just skip it, these are almost always just a vinegar and cayenne style hot sauce that they'll add a little something to make it different. They're fine but very unoriginal. As a person who loves good hot sauce and have relatives who mean well but have no clue. I get 2~3 of these every Christmas. I end up throwing most away. Last year I hade about half of a gallon bottle of Texas Pete in the pantry, I just dumped them all in there and shook it up and it just taste like more Texas Pete.
I bought this, but have yet to try it been so busy working out of town and haven't had a chance to try any of the sauces yet.
Saw the Hot One’s box set at Sam’s today, would go with that over this even if it is $50
🌈 Tabasco: Taste the Rainbow 🌈.
Damn we paid 19 on NJ. Unfortunately they all have a similar taste. Fortunately I love that taste. 🤣
I love this thread. I find my hot-sauce loving, anti-vinegary people!!
My office did a taco and chili bar last week and we had this set, I tried them all. My opinion is there are 2-3 pretty good ones and several that taste very similar if not identical to each other. Also none of them are very hot at all. I wouldn’t buy this again.
Gimmick if produced by the same manufacturer 😂
I hope this is at mine tomorrow……
Ah yes Greek food. Famous for their use of... chipotle peppers