Hot Sauce Tasting Set No. 2

What's Better than a Hot Sauce Gift Set?

A second gift set, of course! My original hot sauce tasting set has been a huge hit. It's a great gift for hot sauce fiends, and an awesome #treatyourself item. But as a designer, I get a little ... bored after making the same thing more than a couple hundred times. So, ignoring my accountant's advice, I've reimagined the kit with a new theme and some amazing new sauces I know you'll love. My second tasting set includes:

Two of My Favorite Artisan Hot Sauces

Sarah Marshall's super popular Habañero Carrot Curry hot sauce occupied a prime spot in my previous kit. But Sarah's not one to rest on her laurels, and I've chosen another 4 oz. bottle of Marshall's Haute Sauce "Serrano Ginger Lemongrass" to start off this kit. Serrano is a traditional Mexican pepper that I think is a bit like a Jalapeño turned up to eleven, with bright pepper flavor and fresh "green" taste. Ginger and lemongrass take this into a surprisingly awesome sweeter flavor area, and I just love slipping this sauce onto scrambled eggs, topping the crema on chicken tamales sprinkled with cilantro, or adding to any kind of Asian-influenced dish. It's not super hot, but it has a lot of flavor.

Unlike most commercially-made hot sauces, Hot Winter's sauces are fermented, which to me gives the sauce a great deal of complexity and richness. Shaun Winter is the proprietor of the company, and he grows a significant portion of the peppers himself, sourcing the rest from other Oregon farms. The 6 oz. "Santa Fe Grande" I chose for this kit is a fantastic example of his craft, really showcasing the variety (and quality) of his peppers. I find it works insanely well on mac and cheese, pork tacos, rice and beans, grilled chicken ... let's just say I love it and noyoucanthaveminegetyourown.

Two Tasting Journals

The kit includes 2 copies of 33 Drops of Hot Sauce, my hot sauce tasting journal. One of the journals is in the standard red cover, and the other in a special green ink cover you can't outside this kit. Each hot sauce diary has space to record 33 different hot sauces, giving you space for a total of 66 hot sauce tasting experiences.

A Delightful Pen

The journals are accessorized with a traditional click-style, American-made ballpoint pen.

Presentation-Ready Packaging that Pops

I hate wrapping gifts, and believe in making products look their best without wrapping paper. To that end, I screen-printed this exterior box with a unique firecracker inspired design that's great for gifting.

The insert inside the box was custom laser-cut to snugly hold the books and bottles in place during shipping, but with spicy two-color screen printing inside and out, you may just want to save the box!