The Most Expensive Hot Sauce You Can Buy
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Calling all hot sauce fanatics: there is a hot sauce that won't only destroy your mouth, but your wallet as well. If your idea of a great investment is a spicy bottle of sauce, then this should be the newest addition to your collection. This elite hot sauce is so pricey that it was even featured on an episode of Viceland's Most Expensivest with host 2 Chainz (via The Advocate). The series highlights the most extravagant commodities around the world, and Baton Rouge-based Matt Beeson's creation of Swamp Dragon made the cut.
Beeson celebrated hot sauce any chance he got, but he could never discover the exact flavor profiles he was looking for. He found most of the spiciest sauces on the market were heavy on the vinegar, and that wasn't for him. After some trial and error, Beeson discovered the perfect vinegar replacement: booze. The lack of vinegar makes this flavorful sauce low in acidity, which means hot sauce fans can practically guzzle it. But, of course, liquor isn't as cheap as vinegar.
Swamp Dragon is worth every penny
An average bottle of hot sauce, like the popular Huy Fong Sriracha, might cost you a few bucks on Target, but a bottle of Louisiana-made Swamp Dragon Private Reserve hot sauce? Two hundred and fifty dollars. If you're wondering how Beeson sells these premium bottles fast enough, he offers various other flavors with a more reasonable price tag. Swamp Dragon comes in four main varieties, bourbon, rum, vodka, and tequila, which go for about $6 a bottle.
To create the most expensive hot sauce on the market, Beeson started off with a $540 bottle of Champagne Cognac that had been aged for more than 60 years. Using the best of the best has its advantages, like an unmatched level of flavor, but the downside is that sizable price sticker. These bottles sold rather quickly, but Beeson didn't hesitate to start working on another exclusive hot sauce, this time starting off with a $1,3000 bottle of rum that resulted in a $500 price tag for the 2nd edition of Swamp Dragon Private Reserve. Beeson swears by this stuff, and not just because he's the inventor. He even drizzles Swamp Dragon on Rice Krispies Treats and baklava, according to The Advocate.