Butterfly Bakery of Vermont – Vermont Habs Hot Sauce

The Montreal Canadiens are nicknamed the Habs due to a century-plus old miscommunication with a sports reporter about the meaning of the ‘H’ on their logo. Habs in the case of this sauce is short for Habaneros. Due to the proximity of Montreal to Vermont however, I feel there is a little bit of an homage to the Canadiens in the naming of this sauce. The name of this sauce also states simply and entirely its raison d’être – this sauce is all about the Habaneros, and other than a bit of vinegar and salt, that’s all that goes into it.

I’ve mentioned before how much I love the Butterfly Bakery of Vermont sauce line up not just because of their wide variety of unique flavors, but also because of their sauces like this which rely on just a few simple ingredients sourced at the peak of the season from the highest quality local producers to create a pure expression of the flavor of various peppers.

In the case of this sauce that pepper is the habanero, a ripe red variety from Red Fire Farms. The fruity flavor of the ripe habanero is in full effect in this sauce, which is blended by a tangy white vinegar, and just enough salt to season it. The habanero brings its spicy and grassy notes to play as well, but that first wave of taste is all fruit and tang.

Being so simple this one also pairs beautifully with almost anything. Drinks, any type of cuisine, wings, you name it. I blew through my bottle in record time both because it’s so delicious and because I could put it on literally anything.

While I recommend picking up the entire lineup of sauces from Butterfly Bakery of Vermont, this one gets a special recommendation because it’s just such a beautiful expression of what the habanero pepper can taste like. This is a must for any collection.

Heat Level: 4/10. The riper habaneros have a fuller richer flavor without as much heat as the younger ones used in some sauces