Zab’s – Original Datil Pepper Hot Sauce

My first trip to St. Augustine, FL was before I developed an avid interest in hot sauces, though I did still have an interest in spicy food. I was impressed that the entire town, or at least the areas I saw, had an avid interest in the local Datil Pepper. There seem to be a lot of theories on how the pepper arrived in St. Augustine. Some say it was brought from Minorca (a Spanish island in the Mediterranean), some say it arrived from Cuba, and others say it originated in West Africa and arrived via the slave trade. Regardless of the origin the pepper has been continuously cultivated in the St. Augustine region since the 19th century and has developed into its own unique pepper over that time.

Zab’s hot sauce, though based in Los Angeles, CA was formed after the founders visited St. Augustine and fell in love with the datil pepper and its unique blend of heat and flavor. Formed in 2019 they source their peppers from a farm in St. Augustine and have worked with them to increase their size and production as the company has grown. They currently make two varieties – this, their Original Datil Pepper Hot Sauce, and a St. Augustine style which is a sweeter sauce using tomato paste, molasses, and other additional ingredients, as well as a hot honey.

Zab’s Original Datil Pepper Hot Sauce appears to take inspiration from Caribbean style sauces based on the ingredients. In addition to the datil peppers the sauce contains carrots, onions, garlic, pepper, and turmeric, as well as some unnamed spices. With an orangey-yellowish-brown color and sweet aroma this sauce is on the thinner side, and comes in a bottle with a smaller than normal mouth to help restrict the amount of sauce that comes out at once. It’s also slightly larger than a typical hot sauce bottle, clocking in at 6 fluid ounces instead of the typical 5.

With the first taste of this sauce I was surprised at the level of sweetness. There’s no sugar added and yet this struck me as sweeter than other Caribbean style sauces I’ve tried with the same carrot and onion combo in the base. I believe it’s the datil peppers which are known for being sweeter and fruitier than their cousins habaneros and scotch bonnets that bring that extra sweet oomph. There’s also quite a bit of fruitiness from the datils and a nice quick sting of heat that doesn’t linger very long. This is a tangy sauce with a clearly present vinegar element, something I usually enjoy and it works well here helping to balance out the sweetness along with the onions and garlic. For those familiar with Tabasco Habanero there are some strong similarities, though in this case the sweet and fruity notes are coming primarily from the pepper itself instead of from the added fruits and sugars in the case of the Tabasco sauce, and Zab’s lacks Tabasco Habanero’s funky fermented undertones that it gets from the inclusion of their original sauce.

Zab’s Original is a pretty versatile sauce. It’s great with bacon, eggs, and toast for breakfast – not too hot for first thing in the morning and the sweetness plays well with those foods. It’s a solid addition to soups, I enjoyed it with some beef stew that I made as well as some takeout clam chowder from Publix, the vinegar element plays especially well there. It’s also a good choice for sandwiches, especially if you typically use a sweeter condiment such as honey mustard or miracle whip. With the sauce being on the thinner side I found it wasn’t a great dipping sauce for meats or fried foods as it tended to run around the plate, but it did make for some tasty wings when tossed with some butter to help give it some more body.

I’m happy to recommend Zab’s Original Datil Pepper Hot Sauce. While I’m still on the lookout for a pure datil pepper sauce that’s just the pepper, salt, and vinegar, going a Caribbean style works to the strengths of the pepper and is a style of sauce that’s quite popular. Datils are a pepper that deserve more popularity, so worth it to check it out and see if you fall in love with them as well.

Ingredients: White Vinegar, Organic Carrots, Water, Rice Wine Vinegar, Datil Peppers, Organic Garlic, Organic Onion, Sea Salt, Black Pepper, Turmeric, Spices, Xanthan Gum

Heat Level: 3/10. Some quick sting and a little warmth but not much lingering burn