Everything all started back in 2004 while Ben Maniscalco was working as a waiter at Mexicali Rose restaurant in Montclair, NJ. Putting the house hot sauce on my burritos, soft tacos, and chimichangas, became a daily lunchtime ritual. After trying a variety of hot sauces and realizing all of them were lacking the “heat” quality that Ben was looking for he began experimenting in his kitchen at home. At the time he had a large supply of fresh cayenne and jalapeno peppers from my organic vegetable garden behind the house he was living in in Montclair, NJ. After drying a whole bunch of hot peppers, Ben thought that making hot sauce would also be a great way to preserve the chilies. A few trial runs later Ben thought he had perfected the ultimate balance of flavor and fire and thus, a delectable addiction was born. In the beginning Ben just slapped a hand written label on it and called it “Benito’s Orange Pepper Sauce”. This newly created hot sauce soon found a strong local following consisting of friends, family members, and people of the like.
In July of 2008, Ben chose to move to Vermont because of a statewide emphasis on the importance of locally made products and supporting the local economy along with the State’s commitment to sustainable organic agriculture. Ultimately, the purpose of what everyone at Benito’s Hot Sauce does is not about big name recognition. Ben has no desire to become the next Tabasco sauce. He is simply about producing a unique product that is always made with fresh organic and all-natural ingredients.