Tabasco – Garlic Pepper Sauce
Bitter: ⭐✰✰✰✰
Salty: ⭐⭐⭐⭐✰
Sour: ⭐⭐⭐✰✰
Sweet: ⭐✰✰✰✰
Umami: ⭐✰✰✰✰
Heat: ⭐✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰
Quick Flavor Notes: Cayenne, tangy, salty
Texture: Thin
Recommended: Yes
Ingredients: Red Pepper, Distilled Vinegar, Water, Salt, Garlic
After reviewing Tabasco’s Buffalo Style Sauce yesterday I thought it was appropriate to write-up a very similar sauce from the company. The ingredients list on the bottle is actually identical to the Tabasco Buffalo Style Sauce but this sauce comes in a glass bottle as opposed to the plastic squeeze bottle for the Buffalo Style and has a thinner texture. This sauce has also gone by different names, previously known as Tabasco Cayenne Garlic Sauce before being rebranded as Garlic Pepper Sauce.
Tracking down the ingredients on this one is difficult. As I mentioned above the ingredients are listed as the same as the Buffalo Style Sauce, but on the bottle of the Buffalo Style Sauce it does list the “red pepper” as being cayenne, Tabasco pepper mash, and red jalapeno. From what I can tell when this sauce was previously Cayenne Garlic Sauce it was entirely cayenne, but according to the Tabasco website, which has multiple pages where this sauce is listed under both names, as Garlic Pepper Sauce this has the same three pepper blend as the Buffalo Style Sauce. Texturally they are different however with the Buffalo Style Sauce being noticeably thicker. There’s also a 10mg/tsp difference in sodium content so there’s some different in the formulation. This sauce comes with the traditional Tabasco orifice reducer attached to the cap and has a texture perhaps half a step thicker than Tabasco Original.
In terms of flavor Tabasco Garlic Pepper Sauce is very similar to Tabasco Buffalo Style Sauce. Both are tangy, salty, and have a cayenne forward flavor. There are differences between the two however. Garlic Pepper Sauce seems to use a bit more of the Tabasco Pepper Mash than Buffalo Style as it does have a little bit more of that characteristic Tabasco funk. On the other hand I believe Buffalo Style has more of the red jalapeno in the mix as it does taste richer and just a hair’s worth sweeter, though neither are sauces I’d call sweet. Garlic Pepper Sauce has a sharper flavor than the more rounded Buffalo Style and the heat level is just a tad higher on the Garlic Pepper Sauce, though both sauces are still quite mild.
In terms of pairing the very similar flavor profile, which is also very similar to a Louisiana style hot sauce just with garlic, means that this works most of the places the Tabasco Buffalo Style works. The big different is the texture. When it comes to use with wings this one really does need to be bulked up with some butter, but on the other hand it does easily mix with soups, pastas, and stews a bit easier.
It confuses me a bit that Tabasco has released two different sauces that are so similar. I do like the glass bottle of Tabasco Garlic Pepper Sauce but I think I slightly prefer the more rounded flavor of Tabasco Buffalo Style Sauce though that preference can change day to day. I’ll give this one a recommendation as well. This sauce is also all natural with no artificial preservatives, colors, flavors, or thickeners.
