Five Fiery Father's Day Gifts for Hot & Spicy Dads

Scrambling for a last-minute Father's Day for a chilehead or fiery-foods fanatic? Here are five fiery gift ideas from the Carolina Sauce Company for the Dad who collects hot sauce or enjoys hot and spicy foods:

1. Dave's Private Reserve Insanity Sauce, 2012 Edition: Each year, Dave concocts a unique, small-batch ultra-hot hot sauce from a combination of the world's hottest peppers, adds specially-selected complementary seasonings, personally signs and numbers each bottle, and packs the deadly concoction into a wooden "coffin" that's sealed with yellow "caution" tape. And each year, this highly-sought-out collectors item sells out, leaving thousands of chileheads disappointed unless they're willing to shell out the big bucks on eBay for past editions (yes, past editions appreciate in value). Don't let Dad get left out. Give him the 2012 Edition of Dave's Private Reserve while it's still available and on sale at the Carolina Sauces online store. And if Dad actually eats sauces this hot, this year's edition won't let him down: Naga Jolokia (ghost peppers), habanero and tabasco peppers are blended with passionfruit and lime juice, sugar and savory seasonings plus a shot (or three) of pepper extract for deliciously deadly potion with tropical flair. As with all ultra-hot sauces and pepper extracts, Dave's Private Reserve should be used one toothpick-drop at a time and handled with extreme care.

2. The Source 7.1 Million SU Collector's Hot Sauce:  This baby is the real deal--pure pepper extract with NO other ingredients to dilute the heat or dull the pain. And the pain is guaranteed to burn, because The Source has been rated at 7.1 million Scoville Units of heat, making it several times hotter than pepper spray (yes, the stuff sprayed by cops on protesters and carried by civilians for personal protection). So why would anyone eat The Source?  We have no idea. It's possible that someone cooking up a huge batch of chili or chicken wings for a crowd would want to use The Source as an economical way to add plenty of heat with only a few drops of sauce. But in reality, it's hot sauce collectors and serious fiery foods aficionados who covet The Source. It arrives in a striking, display-quality box that will stand out on any shelf or table, regardless of how many other hot sauces might be around. Made in the USA in limited quantities, this extreme pepper extract sometimes sells out before the manufacturer can brew up another batch, so make sure to buy The Source now while it's available.

3. Mad Dog .357 Hot Sauce Gift Box:  This gift box is specifically targeted at hot sauce enthusiasts AND gun enthusiasts, too, as two of the bottles come decorated with a bullet keychain and the theme of all of the sauces is the .357.  Mad Dog Hot Sauces are famous for their flavor as well as their firepower, and the four bottles in the Mad Dog .357 gift set are true to form. First is the original .357 Hot Sauce which is the mildest of the bunch and yet packs 357,000 SU's of heat with its blend of red habaneros, specially-selected super-hot cayennes (not your ordinary everyday cayenne peppers) and pepper extract. Next comes Mad Dog 357 Ghost Pepper Hot Sauce with--you guessed it--the Ghost Pepper in the starring role, and co-starring habaneros, peri-peri peppers and chile extract. Then there's the Collector's Edition of Mad Dog 357 with a bullet keychain and packing 600,000 SUs of heat. Finally, there's Mad Dog .357 Silver Collector's Edition Hot Sauce, also with a bullet key chain but with a lethal 750,000 SU heat level. All four bottles come in a giftwrap-ready white gift box bearing the Mad Dog label. As with any deadly weapon, these hot sauces should be handled with extreme caution and kept away from children, pets, and anyone with an evil streak.

4. Lawyers Hot Sauce Gift Set: Need a unique Father's Day gift for a lawyer, judge, paralegal, law student or professor, legal assistant or other law professional? Give them our Lawyers Hot Sauce Gift Set!  The company that makes these fun and flavorful hot sauces is called "Judicial Flavors" and was founded by a lawyer. All of the sauces have amusing legally-inspired names and the labels feature 19th-century style cartoon caricatures of lawyers, judges and other players in the judicial system. Our Lawyers Gift Set comes with Lawyer's Breath (a fiery jalapeno & habanero garlic-infused hot sauce), Contempt of Court (a spicy pepper sauce with a savory tomato base), So Sue Me (a fiery-hot, extract-spiced jalapeno hot sauce), and Under the Influence (a unique blend of tomatillos, yellow chiles, pears and other natural ingredients for deliciously spicy flavor). If you'd like to give the Lawyers Hot Sauce Gift Set as a gift BOX, simply order the gift set and then also order our ready-to-assemble "Create Your Own" Hot Sauce Gift Box. Then fold the box together, insert the bottles and dividers, and slap on your own label or decorate the box as you wish.

5. Custom Hot Sauce Gift Box ("create your own"):  If you've browsed our Gift Sets & Gift Boxes page and haven't found the perfect gift box yet, don't despair--simply order our "Create Your Own" Hot Sauce Gift Box and pick out four hot sauces of your choice (make sure they're 5oz or 4oz standard hot sauce bottles) to design your own custom hot sauce gift box! You'll receive your sauces and the white cardboard gift box ready to assemble by folding along the crease marks and inserting the enclosed dividers between the bottles. Finish by personalizing and decorating the box any way you want: Slap on a label, cover with stickers, draw or paint with your own artwork, etc.  And there you have it, a unique, custom-made hot sauce gift especially designed by you for the lucky Dad or other recipient!  Here are some theme ideas: If Dad is a Marine, fill up the box with Semper Fi Marine Corps Hot Sauce. For the Tarheel fan or grad we have UNC Tarheels Hot Sauce. For the NC State grad or fan there's NC State Wolfpack Hot Sauce. And for the East Carolina grad or fan we have ECU Pirates Hot Sauce. You can also fill the box with any of Dave's Hot Sauces, or any other combination of 5oz (or 4oz) standard hot sauces.

Father's Day is this coming Sunday, so stop procrastinating and order today!

Zestfully yours,
Gloria