Another thing to do if you ever find yourselves in southern Louisiana is to visit the Tabasco facility on Avery Island. First produced in 1868, this famous hot sauce has been made on this little island ever since. The island sits in actual fact on top of a great salt dome. As you get out of your vehicle the very first thing you smell is, you guessed it – Tabasco flavor. The facility isn’t large by any measure and the short tour is well, short. But, it is steeped in history and even though the bottling plant is a modern one, the technique used to produce the magic juice has remained unchanged for more than a century.
The secret hand-written recipe is on display in the small museum for everyone to see. Only a small percentage of the peppers are grown on the island and the remainder in South America. However, all seeds are from Avery island to ensure the strain of pepper remains unique.
Once the peppers are mashed they end up in these barrels. Apparently only Jack Daniels barrels are used – no wonder this stuff is so good. The barrels are sealed with salt and left for 3 years for the hot-sauce-angels to mature the mash into magic juice.
It all comes together in the production line where the sauce is bottled. There is only one production line in the world for Tabasco sauce and its this one. Irrespective of your personal favorite hot sauce, everyone would agree that this place is special.
The on site country store offers much more than the normal Tabasco sauces you’ll find in your local grocery store. Apart from a variety of branded clothing and kitchen items on offer, there are interesting Tabasco flavored candies, mayonnaise, olive oil, a great mustard and including everyone’s favorite – Tabasco Ice Cream.
One of the great things the McIlhenny family did was to preserve the fauna and flora on the island. Aptly called the Jungle Gardens, it is a fantastic place with trees that look like they’re hundreds of years old.
About 6 foot off the ground is a massive chunk of concrete embedded in this tree’s trunk. Look closely at the picture and you’ll notice how the tree wrapped itself around the concrete.
This pond is at the foot of the Buddha temple in the gardens
The preserve also includes a bird sanctuary – Bird city. Migratory birds nest here during season in their thousands.
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