Saratoga Spice and Salsa Company

I have been a huge fan of Saratoga Spice and Salsa Company for years (or as we call it, the hot sauce store in Saratoga). Recently I mentioned it to Deanna of Silly Goose Farm, and it was a shame that she didn't know what I was talking about. It is an awesome little store in the middle of town with more kinds of hot sauce than you might even know existed. They have a tasting booth set up, and in the past when we weren't able to decide which one to get, we were able to try all of the hot sauces and get a sense of it before making a commitment (as a sly marketing move they also sell bottles of water now).

Here are some things we've tried and really enjoyed from there:

•  Marie Sharp's Hot Habanero sauce because it has carrots in it, which sweetly complement the heat just a bit. 
• Their own salsas are very good including the Tequila Lime, and regular medium level heat salsa. I am pretty sure we once tried a red wine salsa they made, but I don't see it listed on their website. They are all really well balanced in terms of taste and texture (not too chunky or too watery).
• We tried their own Bloody Mary mix once, and it was spicy and flavorful. If you are not sure about it, they sell mini bottles so you can try it. We don't really drink Bloody Marys, but I like to put Bloody Mary mix instead of tomato juice in my French Laundry cookbook's gazpacho recipe.
• They sell these jalapeno chips that are like fried jalapeno pieces that my sister's boyfriend loved (again - it is useful they sell bottles of water).
• The front of the store has recently become more of a spice area. They have all these really interesting salts. We bought espresso salt which is fabulous on a burnt caramel pudding recipe I make. It would also be great on brownies. All it consists of is espresso ground up and mixed with kosher salt, so if you were hard up I could imagine it as a great food swap item. We also got Merlot Salt, which we think will be amazing on most beef dishes.
• We also got a bottle of peppers from the Amazon soaking in vinegar. You can use the vinegar in salad dressings, and then replace it with more vinegar for a spicy kick. I made the mistake of putting three habaneros on my salad because I didn't even try how hot they were first, which pretty much burned my face off. The only thing that made it feel better was eating cream cheese, so don't do that.

You can really spend quite a bit of time poking around this little shop since there are so many great products to choose from (just try not to burn your face off)!