Daves Gourmet Insanity Sauce

About 20 years ago, I was introduced to the world of real hot sauces with Dave's Gourmet Insanity Sauce. This is probably the most popular of the specialty hot sauces in the world.

My first encounter with Dave's was at a bar in Ottawa. A friend and I ordered "Hot Wings". A different waiter delivered them with the question "Who ordered the suicide wings?" About two bites in my friend and I realized we had made a mistake, but neither of us was going to admit that we didn't have the manhood to finish the plate. After a lot of sweating and a lot of beer we were able to finish it. I then ordered a milkshake! Another tip: if you're going to use this sauce, make sure you wash your hands thoroughly before you go to the bathroom. And you might not want to schedule a flight for 6:00AM the next morning, because if you eat a lot of it you're not going to be feeling that good.

But for a little bit of soul scorching heat, a dab of Dave's Gourmet Insanity Sauce is a very good choice. The hot sauce world has grown up quite a bit in the last 20 years and there are a lot more options. But Dave's will always be the gold standard.