Salamander Hot Sauce Company Launches Kickstarter Campaign

There's a new hot sauce in town, and the inventors have taken to Kickstarter to help spread the word and raise some money.

Called Salamander Sauce Company, it's the brainchild of Timothy Kavarnos, a Brooklyn-based waiter who was fed up with a lack of hot sauces that focused on flavor instead of searing heat. So he decided to develop his own, and has created three sauce varieties: Original, Strawberry, and Tropical.

"Hot sauces should be hot, but the heat should be matched by the flavor, the sauces should be made with the freshest locally sourced ingredients possible, and the sauces should be all natural," Kavarnos says on his Kickstarter page. 

As opposed to just mixing hot peppers with salt and vinegar, as many hot sauces do, Salamander incorporates additional ingredients that add flavor as well as heat to whatever they're added to. The Original variety mixes peppers with carrot, garlic, ginger, cilantro, and three types of vinegar; the Strawberry flavor includes oranges and balsamic vinegar; and the Tropical combines habanero and jalapeño peppers with eight different fruits including pineapple, papaya, mango, kiwi, and banana.

The Original is smoky and herbaceous, and goes well with Bloody Marys and barbecue. Strawberry goes well with pork and chicken, brings a nice heat to margaritas, and also works with sweet applications like frozen yogurt and cheesecake. Tropical is bright and not-too-sweet, and works with fish, chicken and rice, and marinades. All three are very spicy, but just a couple drops are enough to alter the flavor profile of your food, for the better.

The sauces are currently available at two Brooklyn restaurants, Stone Park Café and Backyard. Kavarnos is looking to raise $22,000 to fund the first round of production, purchase insurance, UPC codes, insurance, and produce labels. You can donate to the fund here.