Coming in hot! Locally made sauces a scorching feast of fiery flavour By: Eva Wasney and Ben Sigurdson Posted: 4:35 PM CDT Monday, Sep. 29, 2025 Last Modified: 9:04 AM CDT Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025 Updates

You don’t have to go far to find flavourful, face-melting hot sauces.

Winnipeg’s local hot sauce market has erupted in recent years with inventive, small-batch offerings cropping up on grocery store shelves, farmers market stands and restaurant tables.

Free Press food reporter Eva Wasney and drinks editor Ben Sigurdson sacrificed their palates to taste-test some of these spicy sauces.

We focused on standalone sauce brands instead of those created by chefs, restaurants or breweries. As such, this list is just a sample of the spicy condiments available locally.

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1882 Fruit Based Hot Sauce — Winnipeggiest Honey Dill

$13 at local farmers markets or facebook.com/1882HotSauce

Heat level: 🌶️🌶️

With its yellow-green hue and dill suspended throughout, Winnipeggiest Honey Dill hot sauce looks a lot like the local delicacy it’s inspired by.

However, while the ingredients include raw honey and fresh dill, it tastes less like honey dill sauce and more like a spicy dill pickle: vinegary, vegetal and fresh, with a hit of heat from caribe and habanero peppers.

This is a limited edition flavour from 1882 Fruit Based Hot Sauce, which is owned by Patrick Michalishyn and specializes in, you guessed it, sauces made with a fruity base — such as pineapples, mangoes or raspberries.

Verdict: A bright, chunky and relatively mild hot sauce that would make for a fun Winnipeg souvenir.

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Westside Premium Craft Sauce — Screamin’ Hot Sauce

$7.49 at select grocery stores or westsidesauce.com

Heat level: 🌶️🌶️

Don’t let the label’s “Extreme Heat” warning scare you away. Westside’s Screamin’ Hot Sauce is indeed spicy, but not painfully so.

This hot sauce is made with red chili peppers, red onion and tomatoes — the latter of which was very prominent. For Ben, it tasted similar to a hot, tomato-forward salsa. For Eva, it was closer to a buffalo sauce, with a punch of vinegar and a buttery mouthfeel. The texture is smooth with chili flakes floating throughout.

Westside is co-owned by hotelier Connor Ward, and makes a range of different marinades and barbecue sauces that also pack a punch.

Verdict: A good all-purpose hot sauce with a balance of flavour and heat.

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Tasty Heat’s — Valent

$8.99 at most major grocery stores or tastyheat.com

Heat level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

Is it getting hot in here or what? Tasty Heat’s Valent (short for Valentine) hot sauce offers warmth on multiple wavelengths.

Red wine, chocolate and cinnamon infuse the palate with warm spices, while habanero and kashmiri chili peppers set the mouth ablaze in a slow, satisfying burn. The flavour is akin to a thin mole sauce.

Tasty Heat’s is run by husband-and-wife Amila Rajakaruna and Arshala Dona, who hail from Sri Lanka, and have found a dedicated fan base for their spice-forward products in Winnipeg and across Canada.

Verdict: A surprising and complex hot sauce that builds gradually.

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Intergalactic Sauces — Friendship

$15 at local farmers markets or intergalacticsauces.com

Heat level:️ 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

Pour a glass of milk, take a deep breath and prepare for the delightful pain of Friendship.

Coming in at an estimated 1.5 million Scoville heat units (a universal measure of spiciness), this is the hottest offering from small-batch hot sauce-maker Intergalactic Sauces.

Made, allegedly, with garlic, onions and lime, the flavour is quickly shoved aside by the intense, lingering spice of Carolina reaper peppers. Your taste buds will sizzle, your mouth will salivate, you will begin sweating in new places. This hot sauce is a full-body experience.

Intergalactic co-owners Dan Trupp and Josh Ayers make a handful of hard-rocking core hot sauces and frequently collaborate with local businesses on speciality flavours.

Verdict: Ouch. But in an exciting way.

eva.wasney@winnipegfreepress.com

ben.sigurdson@winnipegfreepress.com