Y’all know that southern states get hot and no, it ain’t a dry heat. We have not spent any time in that special kind of hell, but I understand it can only be described as “hotter than blue blazes”, “hotter than a blister bug in a pepper patch” or “hotter than a Jalapeno’s armpit”, which all sound too dang hot.
One thing that southern heat seems to be good for though is growing peppers, so it is no surprise that Avery Island (the second Louisiana salt island we visited – prior post linked here) is home to Tabasco®. This five-generation labor of love has been privately run and held by the McIlhenny family since 1868 and Tabasco® isn’t the only thing they’ve produced – they’ve also produced several larger-than-life personalities that were interesting to read about on the self-guided tour.
In 1859, E.A. McIlhenny married into one of Louisiana’s most notable families and the owners of Avery Island. He worked his way up from bookkeeper to independent banker prior to 1861 when the Civil War erupted, leaving the state of Louisiana, and much of the south, in economic ruins. Unable to resurrect his banking career, Edmund got creative. He wanted to spice up the south’s monotonous post-war diet so he perfected his pepper crop and straightforward recipe for Tabasco® by 1868.
Tabasco® is made simply from a pepper and salt mash aged in white oak barrels for up to 3 years before being blended with vinegar. It was an immediate success, and the self-guided factory tour walks you through the entire process. Tabasco® is still solely produced in the factory on this island.
Given the notability of the family and the success of Tabasco®, maybe it’s no surprise that there have been some real characters in the McIlhenny family. Here are just a couple…
John Avery McIlhenny was the first of Edmund’s children to survive to adulthood. He ran the Tabasco® business after his father died in 1890 and proved to be a marketing maverick! He resigned from Tabasco® in 1898 to join future president Teddy Roosevelt’s Rough Riders, serving in Cuba, the Philippines, and later was with Teddy on his famous bear hunt (which prompted the Teddy bear).
Edmund’s second son, Edward “Ned” McIlhenny created a bird refuge on Avery Island that still exits today. It helped to save the Snowy Egret from becoming extinct. Edward was also fascinated by the Artic and organized a scientific expedition there. Upon his return, he took over from his older brother John and ran Tabasco® for 51 years. He introduced automation and he created a one-of-a-kind botanical garden that features a huge collection of rare plants from around the world and more than 450 types of Camellias, his particular passion. There’s a great audio driving tour through the gardens and the bird rookery/sanctuary that was really engaging.
Camellias
Egrets 
And turtles
Today, Tabasco® is sold in over 195 countries and territories in 25 languages, which is more than McDonald’s®. It has been used by Queen Elizabeth, extensively by the US military and by astronauts. Tabasco® also produced one of my favorite Superbowl commercials- remember the one where the man sitting on his front porch has just doused his pizza with Tabasco®? A mosquito lands on his leg, draws blood and as it flies away, it explodes mid-air from the heat! I secretly wish this worked, I hate mosquitos.
We learned a lot at Avery Island and can safely say that Tabasco’s® slogan to “Turn up the Heat” accurately describes the product and the family that drove its success.
