My assumption before tasting Tabasco Scorpion Pepper Sauce was the heat wouldn’t really burn me, because, well….it’s made by Tabasco. How hot would they make it, really? Oh was I wrong about that. This scorpion pepper hot sauce brings real spiciness to the table, much more than you’d ever expect from a Tabasco branded hot sauce. That alone makes this a fun sauce to it. But is it reasonably balanced and usable at this level of spiciness? Let’s take a closer look at Tabasco Scorpion.
Tabasco Scorpion Pepper Sauce
Take Tabasco Original and multiply the heat by 20, then add a little sweetness and a little less vinegary tang. A fun addition to the Tabasco line, providing needed sting.
Last update on 08/19/2026. We earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
Video review
Flavor
Tabasco Scorpion is sort of a sauce within a sauce. The ingredients are: Scorpion peppers, distilled vinegar, sugar, guava puree, pineapple, salt, guava powder, pineapple powder, TABASCO® Brand Pepper Sauce (distilled vinegar, red pepper, salt).
So Tabasco’s original sauce (review here) is part of the base by which Tabasco Scorpion is crafted. It has a thinner consistency like regular Tabasco and it packs enough of that classic vinegar tang. But that’s where the similarities end. There’s so much more to this sauce.
Upon first bite you’ll taste the sweet heat from guava and pineapple mixed with the natural sweetness (and obvious big heat) of scorpion peppers. The sweetness doesn’t linger, though, because they did not hold back when bringing that scorpion heat. It hits quickly and fiercely alongside the vinegar tang. The back-end is all heat. Tabasco Scorpion is front-loaded with the fruity flavors up top.
The sweetness here isn’t distracting or overwhelming; it makes Tabasco Scorpion just inviting enough for your tastebuds to crave that burn it leaves behind. I can taste the guava up top and when you taste that swicy sweet-tang, it makes me think about a tropical day in the sun.
Heat balance
Scorpion peppers are intensely hot. They are some of the hottest peppers in the world — ranging from 1.2 million to 2 million Scoville heat units (SHU). They bite and bite hard.
Obviously you don’t get this level kick here, it’s not the hottest hot sauce around. But Tabasco gives their scorpion sauce a decent amount of heat, roughly 50,000 Scoville heat units. That’s the equivalent of eating a hotter than normal fresh cayenne pepper. Compared to Tabasco Original (2,500 SHU), it’s night and day. This is a hot sauce made for heat seekers.
The depth of flavor gives just enough of a launch platform for Tabasco Scorpion’s heat. There’s a little sting hidden in that sweetness right at the get-go and a quick build of heat from there. It grows (and continues for 10 to 15 minutes), moving from your tongue to the back of your throat in the process. That said, that flavor trails off and you’re left with some pretty aggressive heat. The balance works reasonably well, and is kind of fun, but it gets aggressive on the back-end. For me that’s more of a flavor finish issue than a balance issue. These are scorpion peppers, after all. You expect a bold, aggressive heat.
For those who like to use about 10 dashes of regular Tabasco on one bite, an equivalency here is like a drop. This builds to a point where you’ll have to stop if you don’t want to be rushing for milk, versus regular Tabasco where you can go all day.
Usability
The heat will be too much for some, so it’s not as usable as the original, but it’s still plenty usable.
Since Tabasco Original Red Sauce is in the mix, anywhere you’d use the original you could give Tabasco Scorpion a go. Though it’s a little sweeter than a typical Louisiana-style hot sauce, so keep that sweetness in mind. It’s an excellent choice for sweeter dishes where Tabasco Original may have been too vinegar-forward to play. I added it to pineapple sorbet, and it changed the eating experience completely (in a good way.)
If you’re concerned about salt-intake, careful here. Tabasco Scorpion has 190 mg of sodium, which is about 8% of your daily intake. Regular Tabasco is only 2%, so it’s a big difference. That said, you don’t really notice it tasting too salty over the intense heat here.
Collectibility
If you’re a Tabasco fan, this is no doubt a fun collectible. Tabasco Scorpion was supposed to be a limited edition, but people went crazy for it so now it’s here to stay.
People don’t expect this level of heat from Tabasco, so it makes an excellent conversation starter. It carries a legendary name, but with a real surprise inside. Frankly, it’s a needed addition to the Tabasco line to give it street-cred with the real hot sauce heat-seekers out there.
The label is just right, too. It has that traditional Tabasco brand style, but with the label colored black and two wicked-looking white scorpions drawn on each side of the logo. It looks pretty cool sitting next to your other Tabasco bottles, like something unique, special, and ornery. It’s like the dark wrath of the scorpion peppers peeking through.
Tabasco was very smart with this coloration as it does provide a warning, too. This is not your everyday Tabasco and don’t mistake it for it. You’ll be more than surprised by the heat here. It’s been called the new “King of Sting”, because it’ll sting ya nice and good if you’re not careful.
The bottom line
Tabasco made this one for heat seekers and they didn’t hedge. The guava and pineapple give you something sweet to hold for a second, then the scorpion peppers take over and stay for ten or fifteen minutes. The back end gets aggressive, so this isn’t a bottle you dash on everything the way you can with the original. Where it fits, it fits well: anywhere Tabasco Original goes, plus sweeter dishes the original was too sharp for. And if you keep a Tabasco shelf, the black label with the scorpions earns its place on it.
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Related reading
- Tabasco Vs. Sriracha: Let’s compare two of the most popular hot sauces on the planet.
- Our Hot Sauce Rankings: We review and rank over 100 hot sauces to help you find your next new favorite.
- Tabasco Family Reserve Pepper Sauce Review: Another unique addition to the Avery Island line. We dive into a bottle.
I love this hot sauce it is delicious I put it on literally everything. It is hot but not super hot which means you can use it generously if you have a decent tolerance to hot sauces in general. Tabasco scorpion sauce is my go-to hot sauce and my personal favorite. Any how great review just thought I would share my experience as a long time user of this hot sauce.
I use Franks as my go-to hot sauce. Neve cared for Tabasco. Too much vinegar or something. Meh. But we had a family dinner pizza party and my cousin brought a bottle of it over and it looked interesting so I was like what the heck, I’ll try a little. OMG was it good! Fantastic flavor; unlike the original, and perfect heat. I’ll definitely be buying this!
nice and stingy. but like most of their lineup – way to much vinegar
Just picked up a bottle from my local grocery store. It has great taste and has a real kick to it. The burn on my lips lasted a good 30 mins. It’s nice being able to buy a great tasting sauce with some real heat for less than $4.00 compared to so many sauces going for $20.00 a bottle.
You’re not wrong, it’s surprisingly hot and the taste is pretty good – a great addition to the range
Nice! Sting of the Scorpion!