ChilliFacts

How hot is Tabasco?

TABASCO Original Red Sauce is rated 2,500–5,000 SHU by its maker, McIlhenny Company. The highest published figure (5,000 SHU) is about the same as a typical jalapeño pepper (5,000 SHU).

Checked October 20, 2026 · How we source facts

2,500–5,000SHU, maker’s figure
2published figures
About the samevs a typical jalapeño
United Statesmade in

Every published figure

FigureWho published itType
2,500–5,000 SHUMcIlhenny Company (maker)[1]Maker’s figure
4,000 SHUThe Takeout, Hot Ones sauce list[2]Press figure

The two figures agree: the 4,000 quoted for Hot Ones sits inside the maker's own 2,500–5,000 range.

What’s inside

Tabasco peppers, aged as a mash with salt, plus distilled vinegar. Made by McIlhenny Company, Avery Island, Louisiana.

A sauce is always milder than its hottest pepper, because the pepper is diluted with vinegar, salt and other ingredients. For comparison, the peppers themselves:

Maker’s page

Facts

  • Edmund McIlhenny created the recipe in 1868. It has three ingredients: aged red peppers, Avery Island salt and distilled vinegar.[1]
  • The pepper mash ages in white oak barrels for up to three years, and the sauce is sold in more than 195 countries and territories, according to the maker.[1]
  • A book by Jeffrey Rothfeder disputes parts of the official origin story.[3]
  • Tabasco was a Hot Ones sauce in Season 3.[2]

Questions

How many Scoville units is Tabasco?

2,500–5,000 SHU (McIlhenny Company (maker)); 4,000 SHU (The Takeout, Hot Ones sauce list). None of these is a published lab test of the sauce.

Is Tabasco hotter than a jalapeño?

The highest published figure (5,000 SHU) is about the same as a typical jalapeño pepper (5,000 SHU).

More hot sauces

Sources

  1. McIlhenny Company (maker): Tabasco: 2,500–5,000 SHU (secondary source)
  2. The Takeout, Hot Ones sauce list: Tabasco: 4,000 SHU (secondary source)
  3. Wikipedia: Tabasco (secondary source)