Some people love the sensation of capsicum—even if it makes them cry, sweat or hallucinate. The waves of chile pepper-induced euphoric pain only leave them wanting more. What starts as a dare to eat four habanero chiles whole—without water or milk—leads to a cabinet full of hot sauces, chile-laden booze and a fridge stocked with fresh hot peppers. With every chile experience, the pepper connoisseur exclaims, “Not hot enough!” and the search for the ultimate spice continues. These people are known as pepperheads.
For those of you who love that burning sensation that only a chile pepper can create, we came up with four cocktails of varying degrees of heat, each made with a different cult hot sauce that’s beloved amongst devout pepperheads. From a cocktail made with sweet, pungent habanero sauce to one made with the hottest pepper in existence, here are four ultra-hot hot sauce cocktails. Get ready for some lip-tingling insanity and be sure to have a milk on hand, just in case you can’t handle the heat.