Sam Lord, the most notorious pirate from the isle of Barbados, hung lanterns from the trees near his castle to lure unsuspecting ships to his shores. There he plundered their many treasures, including the finest rum from the oldest distilleries in the Caribbean. Today, that same rum infuses authentic Barbadian flavors into each bottle of Pirate’s Lantern Pepper sauce. The result? Pure Pirate’s Gold.

Why Rum, or as we prefer to call it, Why Pirate’s Gold? On the surface, it might not seem a logical choice as an ingredient.  Yes it is costly to use and there might be questions regarding its effect on taste when used in pepper sauce so why use it? First and foremost it is tradition, 4 generations to be exact.  At a time when high consumption was a problem among men in Barbados, a religious old lady, a lovely great grandmother, would sneak a little of that pirate’s gold into her pepper sauce just so there was less going into her husband’s glass.  Surprised by the discovery that it further enhanced the taste in her pepper sauce, she continued using it. Secondly, it served as a natural preservative and still is today in Pirate’s Lantern Pepper Sauce.  Last and not least for the Pirate in us all, the same Pirate’s Gold in our pepper sauce is the same gold produced at the oldest distilleries today, that operated during the golden age of piracy.  While the addition of “pirate’s gold” certainly adds a unique element, there’s a lot more that goes into making this pepper sauce truly remarkable.  There’s no pepper sauce without peppers and while countless varieties of peppers exist, Pirate’s Lantern uses scotch bonnet peppers.  Scarlet red in color and noticeably sweeter than its relative the habanero pepper, scotch bonnet peppers are traditionally what heats up Barbados style pepper sauce.  The most noticeable ingredient in all Barbados style pepper sauce is mustard.  It’s impossible not to notice that golden yellowish color which, visually appealing to the eye is even more appetizing than it looks. Further, when taken into account that mustard, which traditionally works well on meats and fish products can be further developed into a pepper sauce by blending other spices and ingredients, the only limit to its food options is imagination.

Ingredients: Each bottle contains a savory blend of Caribbean hot peppers (Scotch Bonnet peppers), mustard, water, vinegar, onions, salt, horseradish, spices and rum, a pirate’s gold.