Frank's RedHot
The sauce that invented Buffalo wings.
Frank's RedHot was used in the original buffalo wing recipe at the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, NY in 1964. The aged cayenne pepper base and butter-ready viscosity made it the defining wing sauce before anyone was using the phrase 'wing sauce.'
The full story
Frank's occupies a strange position in hot sauce history: it became globally famous for a recipe that was invented without its knowledge. The Anchor Bar's Teressa Bellissimo mixed Frank's with butter to create buffalo wings in 1964, and the rest is American food history. The sauce itself is less aggressive than Tabasco — sweeter, lower acid, designed to blend rather than punch. That's why it works in cooking: as a marinade, a wing coating base, or a buffalo dip ingredient, it behaves. The 'I put that s**t on everything' campaign in 2011 made it the best-selling hot sauce in the US.
Why it matters
Frank's invented the flavor profile that defined American bar food. Buffalo wings don't exist without it.
Best for
Wing nights, cooking applications where you want cayenne heat without aggressive vinegar, and anyone building a foundational hot sauce collection.
Signature pepper
cayenne
Product line
Shop Frank's RedHot.
Original
The classic cayenne base — cook with it.
View on Amazon ↗Buffalo Wing Sauce
Pre-buttered for wings — no mixing needed.
View on Amazon ↗Read the reviews
What we think of Frank's RedHot.
Yellowbird Habanero Hot Sauce Review
A bright, carrot-forward bottle with enough heat to stay lively and enough sweetness to stay versatile.
Best for tacos
Best for: Tacos and rice bowls
Skip if: Skip if you want a classic vinegar-forward table sauce with almost no sweetness.
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Torchbearer Garlic Reaper Review
An extremely hot garlic-forward sauce that somehow keeps real flavor structure under all that reaper pressure.
Best for wings
Best for: Pizza and fried chicken
Skip if: Skip if the table is heat-shy or you mainly want an easy everyday pour.
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Queen Majesty Scotch Bonnet and Ginger Review
A bright, elegant sauce that leans on fruit, ginger, and Scotch bonnet lift instead of brute force.
Best for seafood
Best for: Seafood and fish tacos
Skip if: Skip if you want a thick, smoky wing sauce more than a bright finishing bottle.
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Fly By Jing Sichuan Gold Review
A citrusy, tingly sauce with real peppercorn presence and enough versatility to move beyond dumplings.
Best for dumplings
Best for: Eggs and breakfast tacos
Skip if: Skip if you want a thick, smoky wing sauce more than a bright finishing bottle.
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