Photo courtesy of TABASCO

Since 1868, the McIlhenny family has been making Tabasco, that signature Louisiana culinary hot sauce, on Avery Island atop an ancient salt dome, surrounded by beautiful gardens.

“Avery Island is a beautiful natural setting that depicts the physical beauty of Louisiana,” said Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne. “It’s a wonderful place with salt domes underneath and beautiful gardens where this family created this very special product because of an agricultural initiative.”

Though Dardenne said he wasn’t able to visit the landmark the Avery and McIlhenny families continue to develop as often as he’d like, he believes the diamond-shaped red and green logo is a cultural icon.

“Right there in the middle of the logo, it says, ‘Avery Island, LA.’ You don’t find a place name very often in terms of logos, but there it is in the dead-center of the Tabasco bottle.”

Dardenne noted that the word TABASCO, like Kleenex and Thermos, has become synonymous with a product.

“Some competitors may not like it, but TABASCO has become part of the vernacular of hot sauce,” he said.

Wafts of capsaicin greet many a visitor about the time they open the car door at the TABASCO plant. Once inside the doors for the short tour, visitors often comment that the place smells—as it should—like a place that produces hot sauce. Tour guides show visitors petite baton rouges—small red sticks—painted the perfect red of a ripe pepper. The guides explain that all peppers picked are supposed to match the exact shade of the baton rouge.

The TABASCO Sauce tour doesn’t take long, but exploring the hidden nooks and crannies of the rest of Avery Island, including Jungle Gardens and the Bird City wildfowl refuge is to be savored. Beautiful plants and botanical treasures, including an array of camellias, azaleas and bamboo, abound—not to mention the wildlife, including birds galore, alligators, nutria, raccoons and more.

Plus, Avery Island has its share of surprises, too. Along a path of ancient oaks adorned with just the right amount of Spanish moss to conjure up a Louisiana picture-perfect postcard image, sits a shrine housing a centuries-old Buddha, a gift to the McIlhenny family back in 1936.

You just never know what you’ll find on Avery Island.

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