Tabasco!

Avery Island, LA had been on my bucket list for a year or two. It's where they make Tabasco and I'm a big fan of Tabasco. And by the way, you wouldn't know it's an island unless you look at an aerial photo - they have several of those in the museum. The one shown here is from Google Maps.

I remember a Pogo cartoon from years ago (they actually feature this one in their museum - that's how I know it was Pogo!) and the caption was that the couple had been married so long they were on their second bottle of Tabasco. I don't think my mom and dad ever got past the first bottle. But in my house, we go through several bottles a year.

Much to my surprise, I found the museum interesting. Especially the origins of Tabasco. Seems that Mr. McIlhenny lost his fortune and his banking career in the Civil War. He'd also ordered some food in a restaurant that he thought was a bit bland and asked to have some peppers on the side and was told that they were out of season. And that disappointment with the bland food sparked the idea for a sauce that would enhance the flavor of food.

I was also surprised at how quickly they started exporting to a world-wide market. They've branched out into several flavors now - Chipotle, Habanero, and Jalapeno to name a few - but the original sauce is still made with just three ingredients - Tabasco peppers, vinegar, and salt (some of which is mined on the McIlhenny estate on Avery Island.)

The tour is self-guided. It included the greenhouse - small and primarily for show. They aren't growing enough peppers in there to make a tablespoon of Tabasco. We also toured where the barrels are aged with salt on the top. We went into the room where the peppers are blended with the vinegar but there was nothing to see aside from pictures. I really don't know if production is seasonal or not. And while we went to the building where it's bottled, there was no bottling going on there, either.

Pepper plants in the green house. Who knew they got this big?

Aging in barrels

We ate lunch at their cafe - I recommend the chili but the portion is massive. They also offer regular and extra spicy Bloody Marys. The store has all sorts of Tabasco branded goods from golf shirts to Tabasco infused chocolate. (Who could resist that?)

And apparently the Queen is also a fan. They have a royal warrant.

There is another attraction on the property - Jungle Gardens. We opted not to go to that because we felt that a garden in December is probably not at its peak. Had I known more of the history of the garden before purchasing the ticket, we'd probably have gone. The garden is a drive through and was added as a conservation effort by one of the McIlhenny family some time ago.

The other thing that was interesting in both the cafe and the museum was the looping videos featuring Tabasco product placement in movies and Tabasco television ads. My favorite is of the exploding mosquito. If you've never seen it - take a look