Lost in the (Hot) Sauce

Add a bit of heat to your winter ahead of National Hot Sauce Day Jan. 22 via our saucy quiz that’ll test those spicy smarts on all things #fire—from trivia on local sauce brands to takes on the global Sriracha shortage. Get ready to test your zest. … No weak sauce allowed. 

 “The OG dry hot sauce,”—aka the only one that exists!—is local brand Benny T’s Vesta. And the master makers have created a sauce so hot it requires those making it to wear how many pairs of latex gloves? 

a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. 4

The spice of life is… spice. Locally owned Oak City Hot Sauce has been heating things up in the city since its launch in 2017. Where did owners Zack Goodman and Devin Bayles work before starting their heated condiment biz? 

a.  Marriott
b.  Disney
c.  Hilton
d.  Starbucks

Back in 1929, Sam Garner and his three sons spun up a hot sauce that is now a household legend: Texas Pete. What name did a marketing adviser recommend they use for the sauce instead?

a. Carolina Pete
b. Texas Joe
c. Mexican Joe
d. Carolina Heat

For sauce that’s finger lickin’—er, bone suckin’—good, try topping your next meal with Raleigh-based Bone Suckin’ Sauce. First developed in 1987 by a real estate appraiser and father of four, the brand flaunting both heat and sweet added which ingredient to amp up its hot BBQ sauce? 

a. Habanero peppers
b. Poblano peppers
c. Cayenne peppers
d. Jalapeno peppers

Hey, hot stuff! Texas Pete’s name may be a nod to the Lone Star State, but it’s actually a staple born in what NC city?

a. Winston-Salem
b. Greensboro
c. Wilmington
d. Charlotte

“Those who don’t fear the Reaper are fools.” Gaining traction after an NPR journalist tried a small sample and rolled on the floor hallucinating, Smokin’ Ed’s Carolina Reaper took the word “fire” to a whole new level with a Guinness World Record for hottest chile. … That is until which pepper recently nabbed the title?

a. Ghost pepper
b. Infinity chile
c. Trinidad Moruga scorpion
d. Pepper X

That’s so fire. While many hot sauces boast massive cult followings, which one brings the heat as the No. 1 most popular in the country per recent grocery shopping data?

a.  Tabasco
b.  Cholula
c.  Frank’s RedHot
d.  Huy Fong Sriracha

And which spicy concoction is most beloved in NC per Instacart delivery stats? 

a.  Texas Pete
b.  Tapatío
c.  Sriracha
d.  Tabasco

So saucy! NJ’s Sauce Bae—which sources its peppers from NC—once made an appearance on which popular show?

a. Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives
b. Hot Ones
c. Man v. Food
d. Top Chef

Answers: 1. C; 2. A; 3. C; 4. C; 5. A; 6. D; 7. C; 8. A; 9. B