if we're getting technical I will only have 5 flavors available for now. the dry seasoning blend is just something I'm toying with for the time being.

my website is up, but I'm still working out some of the kinks of getting shipping set up, I'm trying to do it for as cheap as possible.

I just got my BPCS certificate via email a few minutes ago, and that was one of the last barriers to my official launch. I might be able to start taking orders by the end of the week.

Not sure why the picture didn't post.

> "I just got my BPCS certificate via email a few minutes ago"

HALLELUJAH!

Looks good and probably tastes better.

Jason,
I didn't realize your website was up and running. I checked it out for the first time last night. Looks awesome, man. You've gotta be pumped! I can assure you, I'll be one of your first orders. Everything looks and sounds phenomenal! Congratulations, man. You can really tell how much time, effort, and (most of all) pride you've been putting into your products. I'm really happy for you, and can't wait to place an order. Best of luck.

Mike

Oh, I've got to check it out. Label looks good. When do we see the T shirts?

Congratulations!

my inspection is at 10am today! (2 hours from now) I am so excited I can hardly contain myself.

I'm also looking forward to ordering.

Good luck!

well, I passed the inspection, but there's a few small issues that need to be fixed (namely a clarification of if the "refrigerate after opening" label is required from the process authority (they say it's not required because my pH is low enough, the inspector wants a letter from them saying that). I think it's better when it's not refrigerated (ask anyone from trinidad their opinion on refrigerating hot sauce). refrigerate it if you want, but it's not necessary.

this setback is no big deal. I'm allowed to start making sauces in the kitchen, but I'm not allowed to start selling them yet. I spoke to the process authority folks. I expect to get the letter tomorrow.

the inspector was impressed by my setup, especially how thorough I am about safety, saying I am going well above and beyond what is required. I'm cleared to sell to restaurants and wholesalers as well, which was part of my goal.

what really impresses me is that I've accomplished this at around 10k invested so far. but that doesn't include compensation for the thousand plus hours of R&D I've done to get it right. hopefully that comes later.

As of today, my site is officially launched. still gotta change some of the images (for example the big one on the homepage), but the ordering system appears to be functioning.

Jason, I'm having a hard time going through the "checkout" part of your site. I tried placing my order a few times, but every time I clicked on the "Pay with PayPal" part, an error message came up that says:

"We cannot process this transaction because there is a problem with the PayPal email address supplied by the seller. Please contact the seller to resolve the problem."

Sooooo.........here I am. Contacting you. Hope you get the kinks out soon! I'm dying to try your sauces!

Thanks,
Mike

oh great, more problems. I guess I should have expected nothing less. I'll get on it right away.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I figured you'd want to know ASAP. After all, time is money! Hang in there. It'll all work out eventually, and hopefully it'll be smooth sailing from there.

Mike

Good news, Jason . Looks like all of the bugs are worked out! Got my order through, no problem. Hope everyone here follows suit...(hint, hint...)

Mike

Jason,

Just ordered your sampler pack. As someone who has been in the food and catering business for 20+ years I admire your ability to go through the "rigamarole" of operating a commercial business. I run away from the thought of it. I'm sure I will love the sauces and will continue to support you.

Alison
From the DC Balcony

I've been off the forums for a while, so I did not see this until now, but I just wanted to say Yay Jason!

The website looks good! Does it say bad things about me that the first sauce I was drawn to click on was "The Mild One?" :)

Congrats .
I just visited the site. Already have nice set up.
I think you need to add some description for the products like, Contents (in oz, ml) and what to expect in terms of heat and flavor, type of pepper used, special flavoring ( what makes it different from the others, (other than the name )

Just suggestions.

guys I am overwhelmed by the support. thank you very much for the orders. I still have one more batch to make before I have everything I need to send out, so they will probably be going out friday morning.

Alison, it's been one hell of a ride getting to where I can start selling. I'm hoping all this is worth it. I'm pretty much betting the farm on this project, so I hope it goes well. thank you for the support.

the mild sauce is one of my most popular ones! funny how that works out. and it still has a little bit of a kick to it. there's no shame in being drawn to that one. it's great on Spanish food.

seysonn, each one has a write-up if you click on the individual products, but I know that they need to be updated, as the descriptions on the bottles are better and I need to copy that to the website. they all do need more information/specifications listed, and nutrition facts, etc. it's still a work in progress. I'm kinda flying by the seat of my pants here.

Hi Jason,

Was excited to receive my sample pack today. Unfortunately this is what I got

Not complaining, I know there are lots of bugs to work out.

I buy a lot of liquid food products on line. You may want to double up on the bubble wrap. Also, the DC postal service is notoriously bad. I would gladly pay a little more for UPS or Fed Ex.

Will rinse off the other bottles and report back. Still excited to try!

Alison

Hang in there Jason. I'm sure you'll have plenty of support from the men and ladies here.

Tim

Jason, consider wrapping each bottle *twice* in bubble wrap, bubbles in. A blow can get between the bubbles on a single layer or double layer folded bubbles out as above.

I'm sure there are other packaging solutions, like fitted trays or cardboard tubes slipped over the bottles. But while more labor intensive, the double wrap should hold you for now.

Good luck!

Dennis

Packing peanut may help with the breaking of the bottles.They may be cheap?I have never bought any.One thing about those peanuts, is they go every where when the box is open. You also might try warping them in newspaper or just padding them with it , so they cannot move.The postal service is really hard on packages and mail.

well that's disappointing. lesson learned. Alison will of course be getting a replacement bottle sent out tomorrow. and it won't get broken this time.

did anyone else get any packages lately?

Investigate how the competition is packing : Order one. :-)

I ordered glass hot sauce bottles, they were empty though but still they were packed in a box with a cardboard grid and each square held a bottle then that box of 12 bottles was packed into a bigger box with packing peanuts all around. Just an idea a box within a box protected may serve you well.

Mark

Double box protects against penetration from the outside, and to some extent softens impacts, like dropping the box. But the damage above was the result of the bottles impacting each other inside the box. Thus the cardboard grid in your commercial pack.

But Jason has a problem that the bottle seller does not: he is not shipping a predetermined quantity. He has to be able to package 1, 3 or 7 bottles so that they survive. Thus I think the solution will be individual wrapping, with some filler (like the inflatable bladders that Amazon uses?) to fill up the box.

Dennis

I put bubble wrap between each bottle, but I chose that size box to fit 5 bottles. in this case I was only sending 4, so there was room for the bottles to roll around and the bubble wrap fell down. what I'm probably gonna end up doing is ordering more box size options to make sure this never happens again.

I actually mailed alynne 2 replacement bottles of the one that broke today. hopefully that will make up for it (and arrive intact!)

I've been meaning to post this for a few days now, but it's been hectic here. Jason, my order shipped just fine to my house, no damage at all. I finally got around to trying a few of the sauces this morning on egg sandwiches. The "Pirate's Ghost" and the "Chocolate Scoprpion." Both were absolutely delicious. Even the aroma of the sauces themselves; they smell and taste phenomenal. I wish I were a better food "critic," because I'd use better words than "awesome," but that pretty much sums it up! We're having burgers for dinner tonight, and I'm looking forward to trying the others. I've got a feeling the Chocolate Scorpion isn't going to last long! I'll definitely be ordering more in the near future!

Mike

P.S.- Thanks for the extra "goodie bags" too! I can't wait for next season. Thanks so much

glad you like it. also very glad it got there safe. I look forward to hearing your feedback on the other 3 recipes, especially the hot one.

Jason's response to my broken bottle has been wonderful! I look forward to the replacement because the 3 I have are excellent. My review:

Spontaneous Combustion - Hot and Vinigery, Tabasco on steroids. Perfect on scrambled eggs.

Pirate's ghost - Also hot but sweeter and a little smokey. I swear I almost taste bacon.

The "mild" one - Think this is my favorite and in no way mild. Lots of citrus going on.

I used the mild and Pirate's in my Sunday Bloody Mary and was very happy with the combo.

Good work Jason!!!!

Jason,

You are a prince among sauciers!

Alison

Ok, here's my official review:

The "Mild" One: (heat level 1 out of 5, as written on the bottle by Jason) a bit of a kick to it, would go great with Spanish/Mexican food, perfect amount of citrus flavor with the lime juice, not overpowering.

Pirate's Ghost: (heat level 2 out of 5) "heat and sweet" pretty much sums it up. Just enough of both flavors in there, with a hint of rum, and a smoky taste, very well balanced sauce. I'd use it on just about anything. Smells amazing, too. Yankee Candle should make this a flavor. Put it this way, I opened the bottle 2 days ago, and it's almost gone.

Chocolate Scorpion: (heat level 3 out of 5) another excellent sauce. Just a touch of cocoa gives this sauce a very distinct flavor. Smells great, reminds me of "A1 Bold" steak sauce. The taste is hard to put into words, so I'll say it has a "dark" hot sauce flavor. Would pair well with red meat

Spontaneous Combustion: (heat level 4 out of 5) I think a combination of Tim and Alison's reviews pretty much nails it. Sort of like Tabasco, not as thin and less of a vinegar taste. Definitely hot, but not overwhelming. This will definitely be my "go to" breakfast sandwich or eggs sauce.

Instant Death: (heat level 5 out of 5) I've gotta admit, I was a little nervous to try this one. First bite, "Wow, that's good, but where's the heat?..." 15 seconds later: "Oh, here it comes..." 30 seconds: "Wow! Yup! Here it is!!!" 60 seconds: a little sweat under my eyes and on my brow. Even with all that heat, there's still quite a bit of flavor in there! Very hot sauce, but not "ruin the rest of your day" hot.

I'm torn between a favorite. They're all very, very good, well balanced sauces. I'd have to say that Pirate's Ghost and Chocolate Scorpion are neck and neck for the crown.

Overall, Jason, I'd say you hit a home run with all of these. Excellent flavor combinations, and I still cannot get over how good they smell. I wouldn't change a thing to any of them, even if I could. I can't wait for your next round of flavors (I know you've got more where these came from!). Great job, and again, congrats.

Mike

Excellent review Mike. Jason should put it on his website. If I didn't already have so much of my own sauces to use up and/or give away I would have already placed an order after reading that.

excellent review Mike! I need to find a way to get that on my website.

in case you're wondering, the instant death sauce is made from a combination of reapers, morugas, douglahs, and nagas. but I don't put that on the label, I wasn't sure I wanted to give away all my secrets. but that's where the flavor (and the IMO beautiful color) comes from.

I missed the instant death. Damn.

Hi Mike,
I don't remember ever getting an email from you, I would have replied. I haven't had much time to poke around on the forum, the hot sauce life is a crazy one, but I still get email notifications about comments on threads I've previously posted in, like this one.

business has been pretty slow lately. during the cooler months I was making a killing at the outdoor market/festival scene, but now that it's getting hotter, a lot less people wanna come out. my online sales have been dismal, which is funny because when I started, I figured most of my business would be online sales.

it seems like every month I come within inches of oblivion, and somehow pull my ass out of the fire with a good festival take at the last second. this month I fell short of making enough to pay all the bills without having to withdraw from savings. but it was a very rough month, so even my awesome end to it didn't save me. But I have a meeting with Winn Dixie this wed about getting my product on their shelves. nothing is final til a check hits my bank account, but if I can start there, I'd be thrilled.

it turns out under my state license I needed to make hot sauce, I am also allowed to make jams commercially. I'm allowed to sell them online, I just haven't figured out the details of shipping them (namely getting a box I like for them).

Also, I just released a new flavor, it's called "Pirate's Revenge." it's a limited edition run. it's a hotter version of "Pirates Ghost." where the PG has a mix of a little bit of roasted bhuts with a lot of mild peppers, Pirates Revenge is ALL roasted superhots (Morugas, Reapers, Naglahs, etc.) and it's really freaking good. I only made 30 bottles in this initial run, all individually numbered.

I haven't forgotten all you guys, I do tend to resume posting here at some point when life becomes more stable.

Jason

Maybe I had the wrong email address. If you click on my "name," there's an option to "FOLLOW" me. If you do that, I can private message you

Jason, wow, nice to hear from you. Turn on your Houzz messaging/email: Up on the upper right, click on "Your Houzz", then click on edit profile, next go to advanced settings and scroll way, way down to where it says "who can email me" and change it to "allow anyone to email me".

NBC bought the parent company of GW in Feb and GW almost vaporized. Houzz bought GW from NBC. It's been a big adjustment, getting use to Houzz. Mary