Insider Business (July 9, 2023) – The McIlhenny Company has made Tabasco sauce using the same recipe since 1868: red peppers, vinegar, and salt. Since the hot sauce is aged in bourbon barrels, it takes five years to fill just one bottle.

And most of this process still happens where it all began: Avery Island, Louisiana. Six generations of McIlhennys have lived on the island. But with disappearing marshes and more intense storms along the coast, the family is fighting to protect their, and the hot sauce’s, home.