Meet the Makers: Crazy Bastard Sauce
Crazy Bastard Sauce
In our first episode we spoke with a brand from the other side of the world (Heartbeat Hot Sauce Co.), but this time we speak with a brand closer to home. Crazy Bastard Sauce is a brand from Germany’s capital Berlin and we can easily say it’s Germany’s biggest and best hot sauce brand. The answers to our questions come from owner Jonathan, who is actually not German, but Irish.
When & what was your first hot sauce experience?
Growing up in the west of Ireland in the 80’s there wasn’t much choice for hot sauce, so I ate strong mustard by the spoonful. When I found Tabasco sauce that was on everything I ate for years.
What drove you to start your own brand?
I wanted a hot sauce with fresh ingredients, no added sugar and not too much vinegar. I couldn’t find any like that so I had to make my own.
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How did you come up with the name of your brand?
The first sauce I made was a bit too hot. A Scottish friend of mine tried it, swore for like only a Scotsman can, and said “Ya, nice sauce if you’re a crazy bastard”.
What’s your favorite ingredient to work with?
CHILIS! It’s all about the chilis. There are thousands of different kinds, each with its own unique flavour and burn. I chose my seven favourite chilis to make the seven crazy bastard sauces.
What does your working space look like?
Our space is a production kitchen during the week and a restaurant at the weekends, so it’s always busy.
What is the ultimate highlight up until now?
We’ve won some awards and sold a lot of hot sauce, but the highlights are always attending the chili festivals and meeting all the chili lovers who get really geeky about hot sauces, like us.
What is your favorite hot sauce from another brand?
Lucky Dog hot sauce is just amazing. It’s super complex and really well balanced. I could say that Brown label or Year of The Dog are particularly good, but actually the whole range is amazing. You can see that Scott puts a lot of thought into the complexity and balance of his products.
Do you have a favorite cultural hot sauce reference?
The hot sauce scene from Dumb and Dumber.
Name your favorite music that you like to play when making/eating hot sauce.
The production team are all musicians, and some of their favourites to listen to are Prodigy, Powerplant and Beasty Boys. One of the guys on the production team is also in a punk band called Anti Bastard, which is not named after the sauce.
Name one food + hot sauce combination that our followers just have to try.
Try the Pink Label (Crazy Bastard Chipotle & Pineapple) on grilled watermelon, or the Black Label (Crazy Bastard Carolina Reaper & Blueberry) on waffles with ice-cream.
We want to thank Jonathan for co-operating with ‘Meet the Makers’! If you’re not familiar with all their sauces, you can check out all the Crazy Bastard sauces we offer right here.
