AVERY ISLAND - HOMEOF TABASCO

There are five salt dome islands rising above the flat Louisiana Gulf Coast. Avery Island is one of them. These islands formed when a vast plain of salt was left by an ancient saltwater ocean. Surrounded by low-lying swamps and marshes, Avery Island stands at only 163 feet above sea level.

The McIlhenny family settled on Avery Island and began to produce a brand of hot sauce, made exclusively from tabasco peppers, vinegar and salt.

Tabasco Museum

The museum contains exhibits, videos and artifacts important in the Tabasco family history. A small greenhouse contained seedlings to mature plants with peppers. 

2014 Batch of Mash

Only two batches of Tabasco is made each year. The barrel warehouse is full of white oak barrels containing pepper mash that is aged for up to three years.

Vats of Tabasco

A balcony was provided to see the vats where the pepper mash becomes Tabasco sauce. The intense pepper aromas almost took our breath away.

Tabasco Bottling Line

The bottling line had processed over 392,000 bottles of Tabasco the day we visited the factory. Over 700,000 bottles can be bottled in a day.

On the self-guided tour, we walked through a re-creation of an underground Avery Island salt mine cavern. Salt has evaporated from brine springs on Avery Island since 1791. In 1862 workmen enlarging these springs to produce more salt for the Confederacy hit solid salt at 16 feet. This was the first type of mining operation in North America. It continued until the Union forces destroyed the salt works in 1863.