Top 10 Best-Selling Products for 2014

Spicy sauces ruled the day in 2013, so it should come as no surprise to see that most of the top ten best-selling sauces for last year are hot sauces. The #1 best-selling sauce, however, is a North Carolina barbecue sauce from the eastern part of the state, which means lots of vinegar and spice but no tomatoes or thickeners. Here's the list of our best-sellers across all product categories (we'll be posting the individual category lists over the course of the next few weeks -- in the meantime, you can find them here):

1. Wells Hog Heaven BBQ Sauce is once again the most popular product sold at the Carolina Sauce Company. This traditional thin and tangy eastern NC barbecue sauce is a favorite among fans of pulled pork BBQ, and it can also be used for marinating chicken or seasoning collards and other greens.

2. Matouk's West Indian Hot Sauce hails from Trinidad & Tobago, and is bursting with fiery tropical flavor. Made from aged scotch bonnet chilies in a thick Caribbean mustard base that's mellowed by just the right amount of sweet papaya, this medium hot sauce adds island zest to chicken, seafood and vegetable dishes while also pairing nicely with meats like roast pork, lamb, goat, beef patties and more.

3. Jamaica Hell Fire 2 in 1 Hot Sauce: As the name suggests, this all-purpose hot pepper sauce brings the firepower of Jamaican peppers and spices to your table anytime you crave it. Try it at the table on all types of savory fare, or use it in your homemade hot wing sauce or BBQ sauce, in chili and stews, and with other favorite hearty recipes that could use a peppery kick.

4. Matouk's Calypso Hot Sauce is a bit hotter and more savory than Matouk's West Indian Sauce, but every bit as delicious. Enjoy it on all sorts of red meat as well as in stews, casseroles and rice & bean dishes. It's great on hamburgers and other hearty sandwiches, too.

5. Design-Your-Own Hot Sauce Gift Box: This sturdy white cardboard box easily assembles by folding along the creased lines and will hold four standard (4 to 5 oz) bottles of hot sauce in 4 divided compartments. You get to choose which hot sauces to place in the gift box (sauces sold separately, of course), and you can add a personal touch by applying a label or stickers on the box or decorating it with colored markers or paint, etc. You can even write a message on the box, or have people sign it -- your imagination sets the limit on how to personalize this unique gift idea for the hot sauce lover.

6. Walkerswood Traditional Jamaican Jerk Seasoning, Hot & Spicy (10oz): This is probably the best-known jerk seasoning from Jamaica, and with good reason: It delivers mighty heat and intense authentic flavor that's sure to satisfy even the most discerning palates. Slather this jerk paste (wet rub) on any type of meat, poultry or seafood to experience the true flavors of Jamaican cuisine.

7. Busha Browne's Pukka Sauce is also from Jamaica, but it is not a jerk sauce. Made in the colonial style, it presents a solid peppery heat with a simpler spice structure for a more versatile flavor profile that will complement, not overpower, the other flavors in your food. Use it at the table or in recipes as you would any other straightforward all-purpose hot sauce, from breakfast through lunch and with dinner.

8. Walkerswood Scotch Bonnet Hot Sauce is for purists who seek to experience honest scotch bonnet pepper fire and flavor without any distractions. This classic vinegar pepper sauce from Jamaica is the real deal, savory and very hot with a clean vinegar tang. Whether you add it to your cooking or splash it on pizza, scrambled eggs, spaghetti, burgers, stews, bean dishes, vegetables or other such fare, you can't go wrong with this scotch bonnet pepper sauce.

9. Matouk's Flambeau Hot Sauce is the hottest of the Matouk's hot sauce family, and also one of the hottest "natural" sauces on the market (the heat level is not fortified by adding capsaicin oil or pepper extract). The primary ingredient in this flaming-hot sauce is a thick mash made from aged select scotch bonnet peppers, giving this sauce its intense heat, thick body, distinctive red color and richly complex flavor. Use it with care on hearty, savory dishes.

10. Scorned Woman Hot Sauce is one of the longest-lived brands in the hot sauce market, and with good reason: It's much more interesting (and hotter) than your average vinegar pepper sauces. Made with a special blend of chili peppers as well as black pepper in a traditional vinegar base, it's an excellent choice when you've outgrown ordinary one-dimensional supermarket hot sauces.

Zestfully yours,
Gloria

PS: If you want to try any of the best-selling sauces listed above, or need to re-stock an old favorite, be sure to use your VIP Coupon to save 5% off their already-reduced sale price! Don't have a VIP Coupon? Sign up here to get one -- but don't wait, because our January VIP coupon expires on January 31st.