Hot sauces in general see at least weekly action in my kitchen. Tabasco is in the rotation, but probably our favorite is Cholula, a Mexican hot sauce. We also like Louisiana and Crystal hot sauces. While we want our hot sauces to have a little kick to them, the major thing they need to bring to the party is flavor--usually a nice vinegary tang.

i put cayenne pepper or tabasco in nearly everything. yum. opens your sinuses.

The boyfriend instinctively reaches for the Tabasco. I instinctively reach for hot chili oil. But I will cop to loving the chipotle chili Tabasco.

My dad puts it on everything. I've seen him put it on ice cream.

I'm more of a sriracha gal myself.

I use Frank's.

I was never a big Tabascite . . . sambal olek or sriracha over here, although I *did* have a short spell of Tabasco Green addiction on scrambled eggs.

I use Tapatio brand and sriracha sauces in what some might think of as excessive amounts.

For me it is so much about the bottle. A kitchen spice shelf somehow doesn't seem set up with out it?

Kristenasaurus, what's Franks?

gosh, no offense, but this post REALLY feels like an ad.

that said, i do enjoy tabasco, although my standby heat-generator is cayenne.

I use Frank's, Trappy's, sriracha, ones that friends give me. My favorite is the chipotle flavored Tabasco.

Hi ThinkingW . . . definitely didn't mean for this to come of as an ad. It isn't one. We came up with this poll idea after reading the article about McIlhenny in the NYTimes. The company's story is inspiring and the products ubiquity is intriguing.

Seems like almost everyone has a bottle of Tabasco or some kind of hot sauce in their kitchen somewhere and we hadn't talked about it much here.

Equal time for other hot sauces sounds right though. We can cull through these commets to see what the other top hot sauce picks are do a follow up post.

Tabasco isn't too hot for me, but I really don't like the taste.

MMM... Frank's Red Hot. My fave!

I love, love, love spicy food, but I've never liked the taste of Tobasco. It's Chulula and Sirracha all the way for me. I swear that my dad drinks Tobasco by the gallon. The other week I had him try Chulula sauce on this eggs and brunch, and he said it was gross.

i can't eat eggs w/o some yummy tobasco in 'em!

In my house it's Trappey's Red Devil. Lots more flavor, a wee less heat. I'll succumb to whatever red hot sauce I'm offered in a restaurant, but the only Tabasco in my fridge is the chipotle variety, which has nice depth.

Another adherent to Cholula here. Love the flavor and the steady burn.

Count me as another Frank's lover. While I'll try pretty much any hot sauce, Frank's is my basic go-to.

Favorite unusual use: Add a little to the caesar dressing before you toss the salad. Yum!

As someone who was born and raised in south Louisiana (and currently resides in New Orleans), I've grown up using McIlhenny's Tabasco sauce. I'll expose my ignorance by admitting that for the longest time, I didn't even know there was any other kind! I use it in eggs, red beans and rice, black eyed peas with rice, crab dip, chile, salsa, any kind of seafood whether boiled or fried, jambalaya, gumbo, etc. I'm sure I'm forgetting many other things. The trick is to use the right amount. Too much and the flavor is overwhelmed. But without it, the above dishes prove lacking.

I'm also loyal to Cholula. It has just enough heat and less of a vinegary bite than Tabasco.

Another vote for Frank's...a little more vinegar-y than Tabasco. I add heat in different ways, for different foods though...hot chile oil, sriracha, fresh chiles, dried chiles. I'm really into the tiny bit of zest that Piment d'Espelet (sp?) gives in more subtle dishes - I just picked up a little jar from Zingerman's a couple months ago...it's been added to everything.

BTW, there is no better hot sauce to use when making buffalo wings than Frank's.

Have to agree with thinkingwoman -- this seems so thinly veiled. That said, Tabasco, to me, is all vinegar and heat. I prefer Franks.

heh, so much is just a problem of tone. chris, do you write ad copy for a living? or read a lot of it? here's the culprit:

"How often do you use <bold>McIlhenny brand</bold> Tabasco sauce?"

highlighting the brand name was what pushed it over. otherwise, i never would have thought twice about it. :)

writing workshop over. pass the hot sauce!

okay, talking about the packaging also seemed a little, um, promotional.

Tabasco is good for one thing only--bloody marys. Don't like it's flavor otherwise.

I've probably a dozen brands/varieties of hot sauces I use, depending on the level of heat and/or taste I'm going for.

I am very sensitive to spicy-hot flavors and would NEVER put additional hot sauce on anything as a condiment. One mild chicken wing is enough to keep me up all night. Ouch! I just don't enjoy foods with too much heat. I feel like I can't taste the flavors of the food.

Yeah, the Tabasco Diet is working out well, but I am sick of the brand. Maybe I'll switch to Frank's. But it's got to be hot. Hot enough to not make me want to eat for several hours.

Otherwise, I'm stuck with Tabasco.

A little late, but another vote for Cholula!

It seems more tomato-y (thicker), less vinegary, and not quite as hot. Try it!