What better way to add flavour and heat to a dish than adding a dash of hot sauce? Hot chilli sauce can be used as an ingredient or as a stand-alone dip. Find the best hot sauces Australia has to offer using the reviews and buyers guide below.
Here is the best hot sauce in Australia:
1. Bunsters Black Label Hot Sauce (Top Pick)
Bunsters Black Label Hot Sauce is an Australian made product that offers a blend of flavour and an extremely hot kick (70,000 on the Scoville Scale). This is perfect for anyone who loves good quality hot sauce but can never seem to find an option that is hot enough.
This mix is packed with fruit and veg including scorpion and birds eye chillies, citrus juices, goji berries, apple cider vinegar, vegetables and more. This is also the best sauce for health fanatics as there’s no processed sugar, no additives, no preservatives, no gluten and no GMOs in this mix and on top of all of that, it is vegan friendly too.
This Bunsters Hot Sauce makes a great gift for chilli loving friends. The packaging is extravagant and high-quality, it is inspired by the shape and design of a champagne bottle – a nod to this product being the ‘champagne of hot sauces’.
What We Like:
- Australian made
- Quality packaging
- Great gift for chilli pepper lovers
What We Don’t Like:
- Pricey option
2. Blair’s Death Sauce Ultra Hot Sauce
If you’re looking for a sauce that is so hot it comes with a warning and a disclaimer, Blair’s Death Sauce Ultra might be for you. This Death Sauce contains ingredients 900 times hotter than a jalapeno chilli.
This sauce contains habanero pepper, carolina reaper, cayenne peppers, serrano, jolokia, ghost and scorpion chillis to create a flavourful, fiery blend. This selection will satisfy chilli lovers and present a challenge that is difficult to rival.
It is recommended you use this sparingly and without dilution. The good thing about this sauce is that the extreme burn still provides the sweet, natural flavours making this a tasty option. This hot sauce comes in a coffin-shaped box with a skull keychain.
What We Like:
- Extremely fiery blend
- Each use requires just a small amount
- Contains a range of chillis
What We Don’t Like:
- Not a good choice if you aren’t used to hot sauce
3. El Yucateco Hot Sauce Triple X Hot
El Yucateco is a Mexican company that specialises in Habernaro hot sauces and condiments. This Triple X sauce is full of flavour and heat.
The XXX option rates 11,600 on the Scoville Scale and is from the culinary traditions of the ancient Mayan civilization.
The sauce is well priced, offering great value for money. This is a perfect option for someone looking for an authentic experience that is flavourful rather than just hot.
What We Like:
- Flavourful
- Value for money
- A traditional Mayan inspired recipe
What We Don’t Like:
- The packaging is a little on the basic side
4. Bunsters Shit The Bed 12/10 Heat Hot Sauce
Bunsters Shit The Bed is an ultra hot sauce that offers spice and flavour without being insane. This hot sauce, Australia made and bottled, makes a perfect gift and is bound to bring some laughter to the occasion.
The sauce measures around 35,000 on the Scoville Scale so packs a punch without being too much. It is full of flavour and will definitely awaken your taste buds. Add it to your fried chicken or eggs and enjoy (just don’t add too much)! This is one of the best hot sauces for healthy eaters as it does not contain GMOs, gluten, processed sugar, additives or preservatives.
The champagne inspired packaging is extravagant and is created to reflect the quality of the sauce. To give you an idea of heat, this is around 10 times hotter than tabasco sauce.
What We Like:
- High-quality and healthy
- Flavourful
- Great gift
What We Don’t Like:
- Not the hottest (only a con if that’s what you’re looking for)
5. Culley’s No. 1 Reserve Hot Sauce
Culley’s No. 1 sauce is an award-winning, Caribbean style hot pepper sauce. This habanero hot sauce is perfect if you’re looking for spice combined with a touch of sweetness.
The mix contains ghost pepper, scotch bonnet and habanero peppers. This trilogy of chillis comes together to create a smooth, hot mixture that will leave your tongue tingling.
This product is gluten-free, soy-free, dairy-free and peanut-free. The No.1 Reserve Hot Sauce comes in a bottle with a neat black label and would make a great gift that offers a fiery taste that is loved by many.
What We Like:
- Award-winning recipe
- Caribbean style
- Fiery with a touch of sweetness
What We Don’t Like:
- Contains sugar
6. Walkerswood Hot Jamaican Scotch Bonnet Pepper Sauce
Walkerwood Hot Jamaican Scotch Bonnet Pepper Sauce offers a distinct flavour that will spice up any dish. It is ideal if you are looking to strike the balance between spice and flavour.
The hot yet flavourful sauce comes with an unmistakable, pleasant aroma. This sauce is thick and offers a persistent fieriness.
This sauce offers a deeper flavour profile than just a burn and it will certainly work as a dip or a way to add spice to your food.
What We Like:
- Flavourful
- Aromatic
- Offers a persistent level of heat
What We Don’t Like:
- Not very hot
7. Blair’s Death Hot Sauce Mini (4 Pack)
This 4 pack of Blair’s Death Hot Sauce is perfect if you want mini bottles to try different sauces, take with you on the go or give as a gift for a chilli-loving friend.
The set includes 60ml bottles of Blair’s Jalapeno Death Sauce, Blair’s Original Death Sauce, Blair’s After Death Sauce and Blair’s Sudden Death Sauce. This set offers versatility with a mixture of intensity levels and flavours.
The collection comes in a custom graphic carrying holder and includes 2 dangling skull keychains.
What We Like:
- Great gift for chilli lovers
- Includes 4 different flavours
- High-quality
What We Don’t Like:
- Slightly pricey option for small bottle size
Hot Sauce Buyer’s Guide
Hot sauce is popular, delicious and flavourful. There are so many options available that knowing the difference between them is crucial to finding the perfect sauce for you.
Understanding the Scoville Scale
The Scoville Scale has been mentioned several times in the above reviews, but what does it actually mean?
The Scoville Scale was created by Wilbur Scoville in the early 1900s and it uses Scoville Heat Units (SHU) as a measurement of how hot or spicy a chilli pepper is. The measurement is calculated by how much sugar-water would be needed to dilute the mashed chilli so it is no longer hot.
The scale ranges from 0 (not hot at all) all the way up to 15,000,000,000 (found in the resiniferatoxin which is harmfully hot). To give an idea of how ridiculously hot that is, a habanero hits 150,000 on the scale.
Choosing the Best Hot Sauce
There are a few factors to consider when choosing between hot sauces, these include:
- Flavour – Chilli sauces are not just about how much they burn, they are also about flavour. They can be sweet, spicy, smokey and can get your tastebuds tingling making you want to come back for more.
- Heat Level – The main ingredient in a hot sauce is going to be chilli. The type of chilli pepper chosen will impact how hot it is. Think about whether you want a sauce that is scorching or one that is more savoury. The SHU is the best way to determine how hot the sauce is going to be. If this is your first time buying hot sauce and you aren’t used to heat then it is recommended you start with sauces under 5,000 SHU.
