Suzanne Humphries
Suzanne Humphries / LifeSavvy
A good hot sauce is just as important as any other condiment on your kitchen table. With options ranging from mild to fire, and flavor palettes ranging from Mexico to Asia, it can be tough to weed out the good from the bad. Luckily, these hot sauce subscriptions will bring the heat right to your doorstep.
The following five hot sauce subscription services carefully curate the most unique, flavorful, artisanal, and downright spicy sauces for you. They offer a wide selection of sauces from around the world, and some even make their own. Most allow you to choose your spice level, and then you can get one to three bottles every month or quarter.
No matter which option you choose, you’ll never eat a bland meal again if you subscribe to one of these five exciting hot sauce boxes.
Table of Contents
Which Peppers Are the Spiciest?
If you’re dabbling in hot sauce, you’ve probably heard about Scoville ratings. This is how a pepper’s heat is measured. It’s determined by the amount of capsaicin it contains, which is the compound that makes peppers so spicy.
The scale ranges from bell peppers, at 0 Scoville Heat Units (SHU), up to pure capsaicin, at 15 million SHU. Check out the SHU measurements below for a quick reference:
- Mild and sweet peppers: Up to 2,500 SHU
- Jalapeños: Up to 8,000 SHU
- Thai chilies/Scotch Bonnets/Habaneros: From 50,000-100,000 SHU
- Ghost peppers: 855,000-1,000,000 SHU
- Caroline Reaper: 2,000,000-5,300,000 SHU
Every bottle included in one of these subscription boxes should note its Scoville rating, either on the bottle itself or somewhere in the packaging. Between spiciness and all the different flavor possibilities, we think these bottles really know how to turn up the heat!
Because peppers range from mild to blindingly spicy, all types are used to make these fantastic and delicious sauces. Typically, jalapeno and serrano peppers rank among the mildest, while Thai chilies, habaneros, Ghost peppers, and Scotch Bonnets are the hottest.
For those who are new to hot sauces, we recommend trying something on the milder side. Don’t worry—these still pack plenty of punch and will give you a good jumping-off point for peppers with a higher Scoville Rating.
Best Curated Craft Variety: Fuego Box
Fuego Box (starting at $17.95 per box) focuses on flavor over just being hot. It’s known for its wondrous variety of craft small-batch sauces and rare picks you might not find elsewhere. Every month’s box is full of handpicked bottles out of a selection of hundreds of options, ensuring you only get the best of the best.
You’ll have three options to choose from, covering all spice levels. The “Dip Your Toe In” box costs $17.95 and ships every 30 days; it includes a single bottle of mild to hot sauce. The “Sauce Lover” box goes for $29.95 and can ship every 30 or 90 days; it comes with three sauces ranging from mild to hot, usually with a variety spanning that range. And those that like it really hot can opt for the “Pain Seeker” box for $27.95 and ships every 30 or 90 days; it includes two bottles of extra hot sauce meant for only the bravest.
Fuego Box
Enjoy curated picks of craft small-batch hot sauces every month.
Tested By Celebrities: Hot Ones Box
Hot Ones on YouTube features a variety of celebrities—including Paul Rudd, Aubrey Plaza, Guy Fieri, and Gordon Ramsay—falling victim to diabolical host, Sean Evans’, oh-so-hot sauces. Naturally, it makes sense the show has its own hot sauce subscription box, called the Hot Ones Box ($30 per box).
While an interview with Sean Evans isn’t included with your subscription, you’ll get three sauces and the chance to become a part of the show. You’ll get to try the sauces from each new season and be the first to get new Hot Ones exclusives, like the Brain Burner, The Classic Hot Sauce, Los Calientes, and The Last Dab XXX.
Most Unique Local Flavors: SYRACHA’CUSE
Sometimes, you don’t have to travel the world to find the best hot sauces. Often, all you have to do is look locally, which is exactly what the folks over at SYRACHA’CUSE ($14 per month) have done. Based in Syracuse, New York (hence, the name), this subscription box comes with bottles of hot sauce made with ingredients from other companies in the city, like coffee roasters and brewers.
SYRACHA’CUSE ships quarterly and sends you a new bottle each month, along with a recipe card designed for that particular sauce. Some of the company’s most well-loved sauces include:
- Ginger Reaper
- Honeycrisp Habanero
- Maple Garlic
It also offers holidays and seasonal sauces, like the Maple Bourbon and Ommegang Beer. The company also prides itself on never sending you the same sauce twice, so it’s perfect for anyone looking for totally new picks.
Best Artisan Sauces and Discounts: Heat Hot Sauce Shop
Heat Hot Sauce Shop (starting at $14.99 per month) started in Berkeley in 2013 by two self-proclaimed “chileheads.” This box offers tons of variety in its three simple options. You can choose the Mild & Medium, which includes mellow sauces that focus on flavor. There’s also the Classic box, which features options from mild to wild. Both of the latter are $14.99 per box for one bottle, and go up to $29.99 if you want three bottles.
If you’re brave enough, you can opt for the Extra Hot box, which is only recommended “for diehard chileheads.” It comes with one bottle for $16.99, or three for $35.99. All boxes give you the option of monthly or quarterly shipping, as well as the choice to pay as you go or prepay for 3, 6, or 12 months.
Members also get free shipping on everything in the shop and exclusive access to new sauces. Those are nice perks for anyone interested in staying on top of the latest hot sauce trends.
Heat Hot Sauce Shop
Enjoy hand-made artisan sauces ranging from mellow to extra hot.
Best Global Hotness: Doc Hotties
For the most curious and open-minded of hot sauce lovers, there’s Doc Hotties (starting at $6.99 per month). This subscription service hand selects its artisan hot sauce from vendors around the world, and focuses on sauces with remarkable depth and flavor, rather than those full of heat extract.
Doc Hotties offers two options for hot sauce enthusiasts: Hot Sauce Lover and Masochist. You can opt for one or three bottles at a time. The Hot Sauce Lover box even offers a variety of flavors and spice levels, so you’ll have a nice spicy mix for your wings and something more mellow for your morning eggs. The site has tons of stand-alone sauces you can order, too.
