Which Sauce First? Our Five, Heat by Heat

By Josh & Zach · Field Notes · August 2026

At the market table the first question is almost always the same: “Which one should I start with?” Fair. Five bottles, same size, same price, five different answers. Here’s how we’d walk you down the ladder if you were standing at the booth in Murphys.

Medium to hot, in order

2 · Garlic Chili — medium, the gentlest of the three. Garlic-forward, tangy, a slow build. This is the everyday bottle; it ends up on eggs, tacos, rice bowls, pizza, roasted vegetables — everything. If you’re not sure, start here.
2 · Chipotle — medium. Smoky, deep, earthy. Fermented red jalapeños plus smoked red jalapeños, so the smoke is the pepper, not a flavoring. Burgers, brisket, beans, chili, soups.
3 · Sierra Verde — medium, the warmest of the three. Bright, tangy, herbal green chile with clean heat behind it, named for the foothills it’s grown in. Tacos, carnitas, grilled chicken, fish, white rice.
4 · Habanero — hot. Just the pepper: habanero, vinegar, water, salt. Fruity and floral up front, then the heat arrives. A few drops, not a pour — tacos, mango or pineapple, ceviche, grilled meats.
4 · Sierra Sriracha — hot. Our foothill sriracha: red-jalapeño bright, a little sweet, a real kick. Noodles, fried rice, wings, dumplings, soup, pizza. Sriracha for people who read labels.

What the ladder doesn’t tell you

Heat isn’t the whole story. Every one of these is fermented, not cooked — so even the hot ones taste like peppers first and heat second, and the flavor keeps developing in the bottle. If you like the idea of a hot sauce that plays with your food instead of bulldozing it, start low and climb.

Two bottles is the honest answer for most people: Garlic Chili for every day, and one of the hot ones for when you mean it. (None of ours is mild — even the gentle one is a medium.)

All five start with peppers grown on the farm. If you’re local, taste before you buy: find us Sundays in Murphys and Tuesdays in West Point.

Shop all five