Vendor Profile: Horsetooth Hotsauce

By: Garth Bontrager, Master Gardener

Is 95 degrees in the shade bringing a little sweat to your brow? Michael Anne and John Comeau have captured that heat, mixed it with delicious garden products and are turning out a first-rate hot sauce that will raise your temperature, peak your taste buds and light even the most tender-hearted on fire with desire for spice in a bottle. This brother-and-sister act sells their spicy pleasure under the catchy name of Horsetooth Hot Sauce. This is their first year at the Larimer County Farmers' Market, and they're excited to be expanding their new business, which Michael Anne believes is the only exclusive hot sauce company in Fort Collins.

"People in Fort Collins are super supportive of local products, " says Michael Anne on why they chose to have a booth at the LCFM. It's the perfect venue to reach out and shake hands with the public that supports their product at local grocery stores and restaurants. On the other hand, it's also the perfect venue to give out samples! Get on over to the Horsetooth Hot Sauce booth and try some. They're all delicious, but the Comeaus give particular attention to their products which bring seasonal flavors into the bottle. For instance, red habanero and mixed berry hot sauce, or prickly pear and tequila may be just the right zest you're looking for on your next BBQ, garden salad or burrito.

There's always stimulating tasting going on at the Horsetooth Hot Sauce booth. They will have a Bloody Mary mix soon, and new seasonal flavors. This summer they're growing their own hot peppers for a special fall flavor of hot sauce that is sure to get your tongue wagging. Michael Anne says they have a lot of fun naming their products and talking about them.

Products are all natural and the Comeaus don't use any extracts, so you're sure to get pure garden goodness in every bottle. The most popular comment they get upon tasting is, "That's hot, but good." So, don't expect Horsetooth Hot Sauce to cool you down; rather it can elevate heat to a whole new plateau of sensory appreciation. Check 'em out on Facebook and at www.horsetoothhotsauce.com.