Feel the Burn with Taos Hum

ON A SOUTHWESTERN slope of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains near Velarde, an organic vegetable farm is generating some serious heat. “The dry climate of New Mexico lends itself to making a hotter pepper,” says Joe Marcoline, who co-owns Walking Trout Farm and Taos Hum Hot Sauce with his wife, Loe. Taos Hum launched in early 2019 after a bumper crop of hot peppers coincided with concerns about how to generate income during the farm’s fallow winter months. “We started with seven cases. The next year we made 30, then 300, then 5,000. Now we’re producing 50,000 bottles,” says Marcoline. “It’s been really cool seeing how they make people happy.” According to Marcoline, most commercial hot sauces start with a purchased pepper mash diluted with water, then they are bulked up by other vegetables and xanthan gum. At Taos Hum, peppers are the primary ingredient, followed by house-made vinegar and a touch of salt. “Our sauces are unique because of their purity,” he says. Most of the flavors rely on a single pepper, such as cayenne, Fatalii, green ghost, or the superhot Trinidad Moruga Chocolate Scorpion, all flame-roasted over applewood. “We don’t strive for consistency,” says Marcoline. “The sauces are like wine, always changing and getting better.”

Read more: This Albuquerque-based company keeps chips and salsa simple.