Cholula – Original Hot Sauce

Cholula is a grocery store shelf staple, as well as a sauce that’s not uncommon to see on the tables of tex-mex or more gringo-oriented Mexican restaurants. Despite its ubiquity in suburban America today, the sauce actually has its roots in Jalisco, Mexico going back three generations. Originally developed by a chef for the Cuervo family (of Jose Cuervo tequila fame, and the two companies have had ties since the beginning, with a former executive tied to both recently launching their own hot sauce company – La Viuda) as a spicy addition to Sangrita, a drink popularly paired with tequila in Mexico, it was well received enough to eventually become its own product. Later in 1989 it was introduced to the American market where it became popular due to its low heat and strong flavors.

I’ve tried Cholula several times in the past, but the sauce never grabbed my attention to make me want more. On a recent trip to Publix while walking down the sauces aisle I noticed that they were on a BOGO sale, and since I’ve greatly expanded my hot sauce horizons over the past year, I decided it would be a good chance to give Cholula another try (along with the other flavors they make, as I’ve only had the original before I believe).

The main peppers featured in Cholula, Chile de Arbol and Pequin, are both peppers that I typically enjoy. On the other hand the first ingredient listed by volume on the label is water, which is typically a bad sign in my experience for sauces. The consistency is medium and very smooth, and the nose does have some pepper scent however not as fresh as more artisan sauces.

When it comes to taste, the Pequin peppers seem more prominent than the Chiles de Arbol. The citrusy earthiness of the Pequin takes center stage, with little of the characteristic smoky bitterness of the Chiles de Arbol, as well as notably lacking the quick heat punch that Arbols can bring. Unfortunately the sauce also has a somewhat stale and dusty flavor. Even though the bottle was new and well within the best-by dates, the sauce lacks the freshness of flavor that higher quality sauces bring to the table. The sauce seems to lack acid overall, which makes the flavor more dull and muted, though some of the spice blend used does come through making it unmistakably a Mexican style sauce.

This sauce also has a very low heat level. I can easily enjoy milder sauces when the flavor is good, but in this case the dull, dusty, and stale flavor could likely benefit from much more heat to bring the sauce into more balance. Perhaps if the peppers were the primary ingredients instead of water the flavor would be greatly improved.

For use cases I tried this with a variety of Mexican foods including tacos, a breakfast burrito, and some fajitas. In each case while it worked better with food than on its own, I found myself consistently reaching for other sauces instead.

I can not personally recommend Cholula Original Hot Sauce, though it is quite popular and the price is low enough that you may like it and want to give it a go.

Ingredients: Water, Peppers (Arbol & Pequin), Salt, Acetic Acid, Xanthan Gum (thickener), Spices, Apple Cider Vinegar, Garlic Powder & Natural Flavor

Heat Level: 1/10. About the same as Frank’s or Crystal