Brooklyn-based Salamander Sauce Company makes vegetable-forward hot sauces designed to bring flavor forward instead of letting heat take over. Founded by Timothy Kavarnos, who began developing the sauces in his kitchen in 2009 and incorporated the company in 2013, Salamander has kept the same process for more than 15 years while producing in New York’s Hudson Valley. Its signature approach uses real ingredients for body, including an unusually low-sodium Whiskey-Infused sauce made with actual bourbon.
Horseshoe BrandSince 2008, Horseshoe Brand has handcrafted hot sauce and barbecue sauce in New York’s Hudson Valley, building its recipes around fresh premium ingredients and naturally hot peppers rather than pepper extracts. Its sauces range from mild to high heat, including the scorpion-and-Carolina-reaper XXXXtra, and are sold through more than 1,000 stores in the United States and around the world.RHINEBECK, NY
Karma Sauce CompanyBorn from a 2008 locavore challenge, Karma Sauce Company makes small-batch hot sauces in its Rochester micro factory, using peppers and other produce grown on its Finger Lakes farm. Founder Gene developed the business around preserving the original recipes and sourcing locally, with most ingredients coming from within 50 miles; production reached the market in 2010. The award-winning sauces range from mild pineapple-forward blends to extreme-heat bottles featured on Hot Ones, and are made without preservatives.ROCHESTER, NY
The Saucey Sauce CoBrooklyn siblings Ken and Toan Huynh turn their mother’s Vietnamese family recipe into ready-to-serve Nước Chấm sauces and condiments. The Saucey Sauce Co. began with bottles shared at dinner parties and uses first-press fish sauce from Vietnam’s Phú Quốc islands alongside fresh ingredients for bold, all-natural flavor. Made in the United States, the sauces bring Vietnamese-inspired taste to marinades, dips and everyday cooking.BROOKLYN, NY
Bushwick KitchenBorn in Brooklyn in 2014 with its flagship habanero-spiked honey, Bushwick Kitchen makes playful twists on everyday pantry staples. The company builds its range around ingredients sourced from growers and makers, pairing sweetness and heat in products such as spicy honey, maple syrup and sriracha. Its lineup has appeared at Walmart and in Vanity Fair, and has earned recognition from Food & Wine.WASHINGTON, DC