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Everyone has a “friend” in their group text or fantasy football league who thinks they’re a hot sauce expert and caddies a bottle of hot sauce with them to restaurants that don’t carry it. Maybe this friend has made their own hot sauce at this point, and if they’ve gone that far, it probably wasn’t even that bad.

In 2024, hot sauce is beyond trendy. For the people who like their food hot, it’s an obsession, but above all else, hot sauce is a great equalizer. It ignores societal boundaries like religion, ethnicity, or cultural differences, offering a simple and addictive pleasure.

But enough talk, here is what we’re getting at — summer is over, that means we’re coming to the kickoff of America’s favorite pastime, NFL football, so you better be eating buffalo wings at some point over the next few months, if not every Sunday. And if you’re going to be watching football, you’re going to be eating wings, and if you’re eating wings, you better have some damn good hot sauce.

So to help guide you to the best of the best, we’re ranking all of our favorite hot sauces. Let’s dive in.

25. Heatonist – First We Feast Presents The Last Dab Experience

Price: $22.00

When a main ingredient in anything is titled “Pepper X,” you have to pause to consider what exactly that means. Is Pepper X a taste to try or a taste to survive?

The answer quickly reveals itself when no drink, cooling fruit or food can quell the slowly creeping and consuming heat therein. Why would anyone want to consume Pepper X in a larger-than-dab amount seems easy to answer: they obviously do not have self-worth and are willing to sacrifice themselves in the name of hot sauce sampling glory. Writing a review of this hot sauce directly after sampling is no easy feat itself; requirements include a garment to wipe sweat on, a beverage to cool off with and food to hopefully supplant the rising temperatures in your mouth.

Bottom Line:

The only enjoyable part about the Last Dab Hot Ones experience is realizing that eventually, the heat will wear off and hopefully you will live to eat and taste another day. Otherwise, this is purely bragging rights material at 2,693,000 Scoville.

24. High Rivers Sauces – Peppers Up

Price: $16.00

Peppers Up by High Rivers Sauces may not hit you right away on the tongue, but for this sampler the sting on the lips was real and followed by a back of the mouth and gum-buckling warmth. Maybe it’s the apollo peppers, but it’s definitely not the blackberries or blueberries advertised on the bottle that make it feel like I cut my lip open even though there is no actual cut there. Actually, you can taste the berry notes very lightly on the tongue on the initial sampling, but they quickly subside and are overtaken by the aggressive apollo peppers, waiting their turn to kick you in the teeth.

Just make sure you avoid the lips, the burning sensation lasts for a bit if you do not. You’ve been warned!

Bottom Line:

Peppers Up packs serious heat and is only for those looking to up their endorphins and take a schvitz without a sauna anywhere in sight.

23. La Pimentarie – Forbidden Fruit

Price: $14.00

Rated a seven of ten on the Heatonist’s scale, you may expect a wallop from La Pimentarie’s Forbidden Fruit, and it does smack right out the gate. The first note is a pure peppery one, which instantly turns to pronounced heat.

Despite the heat, this sauce could be in the dictionary next to the word “piquant”, which coincidentally or not, is also scripted out on the bottle “sauces piquantes”, no kidding! Not only that, but there are more varietals of peppers listed on this bottle’s ingredients than any other we tried; red long peppers, red habanero peppers, red Japaneño peppers, chocolate habanero peppers, bhut jolokia peppers, Trinidad scorpion peppers – all in one. Let’s just say the heat does not go away quickly and may require a sweatband or kitchen towel to wipe off before the next dose.

Bottom Line:

Do you want to enjoy your hot sauce or are you the sort that just enjoys pain, even when food is something you should get joy from? La Pimenterie isn’t really at THAT level, but it’s probably just a notch below, so enjoy but also take heed.

22. Da Bomb Evolution – Hot Sauce

Price: $14.00

Call it tolerance, or call it acclimation, but the initial bite of Da Bomb Evolution and the lasting aftertaste are the most painful and enduring parts of this hot sauce. Though mint, lemon juice, cane sugar and the other foundational ingredients of most hot sauces are listed on the bottle, it’s those peppers you will taste through and through. This is another one of those seriously spicy hot sauces that is measured at 135,000 Scovilles and eight of ten by Heatonist – tread lightly friends.

Bottom Line:

Though rumored to be less devastating than the original Da Bomb, the Evolution version still packs serious heat and can be counted on if you’re looking for a hot sauce cleanse, assuming that is actually a thing.

21. Black Eyed Susan Spice Co. – Red Flag Hot Sauce

Price: $14.00

Red Flag sauce by Black Eyed Susan hits you with a fiery zip right off the bat, and though raspberries, muscadine grape juice and cranberries are listed on the bottle as ingredients, it’s the Trinidad scorpion peppers and mash that equate to almost instantaneous perspiration. On wings or other proteins, you mostly just taste the peppery heat and if that’s your thing, then Red Flag Hot Sauce may be your new go to. For the rest of us that enjoy eating and tasting their food you will equally identify with the Red Flag part of the branding and put this back into the pantry for your houseguests that are spice adventurers or new enemies that just happened to knock on your door looking for some zing in their lives.

Bottom Line:

Red Flag may have you waving the white flag, especially if you tend to douse your wings in sauce.

20. Sweet Baby Ray’s – Kickin Barbecue

Price: $2.26

They may call it “Kickin’ Barbecue” but if you’re someone who orders wings all the time, you know this better as Buffalo BBQ and probably have gotten it accidentally a few times at wing joints where it’s standard. Buffalo BBQ is not what you want when you’re expecting the original but it sometimes serves as a disappointingly passable backup option. It’s easy to feel that way about Sweet Baby Ray’s version, as SBR is known for great BBQ sauce and their Kickin’ Barbecue has that classic base with the same peppery and vinegary elements of all of their other hot sauces. It tastes great, it’s only a smidge hot, but it’s more for BBQ or a buffalo/hot sauce reprieve than the real deal.

Bottom Line:

Kickin’ Barbecue only boasts one out of five SBR peppers so instead of being labeled hot sauce, let’s call it spiced bbq sauce. It’s still good, just won’t be replacing your favorite hot sauce any time soon.

19. Sweet Baby Ray’s – Smoked Chipotle

Price: $2.26

Aptly titled, the Smoked Chipotle version of Sweet Baby Ray’s hot sauce has all the same components as the Original (pepper, vinegar, salt, garlic) but adds a smoked chipotle flavor, which bears resemblance in taste to some salsas. The two out of five on the heat scale means the spice is slightly tamer than its Original cousin and the aftertaste is more smoke than heat.

Though sugar is listed as an ingredient, this is not a sweet heat situation – the sugar is not even on the radar. This is a smokey chipotle deal, and if that’s your flavor you’ll be satisfied but for those of us seeking spice and traditional hot sauce flavor, this is more of an alternative than main squeeze.

Bottom Line:

Though this could work on wings, Smokey Chipotle may be even better served on food that typically asks for smokey flavoring like BBQ or Mexican foods.

18. Poirier’s – Creole Maple Hot Sauce

Price: $12.00

At Uproxx, we love when celebrities step outside of their zone and indulge in their passions, especially in the food space – the results can be authentic, zany, and fun – not always just shills for buku buckos. Poirier’s (made by UFC extraordinaire Dustin Poirier) Creole Maple Hot Sauce has big flavor – the initial sweetness of the maple syrup gives a taste reminiscent of Memphis BBQ that follows with a cayenne heat supplying an aftertaste of smokey heat vaguely reminiscent of personal childhood favorite Slim Jims. That may seem like a backhanded compliment, but it’s not and the herbaceousness of the sage, thyme, and rosemary really rounds out the aftertaste as well, so it’s not purely heat and pepper you are left with.

Bottom Line:

Dustin Poirier is no slouch when it comes to his career outside the octagon, his Creole Maple Hot Sauce has real heat and flavor, something that would go as well on bbq brisket as it does on wings. For someone who may have taken some punches to reach his success, Poirier is certainly punching back with his hot sauce line.

17. Disha Hot Sauce

Price: $15.00

Packed with more ingredients than many of the more commercial brands, Disha Hot is a contribution to our rankings from musician Omar Apollo and a recipe passed down through his lineage of culinarians (including family in Guadalajara that owned a popular taco destination). Jalapeno, Habanero and roasted Chile de Arbol along with lime and chia seeds create a nuanced flavor profile that is more Mexican condiment than buffalo wing sauce, but equally tasty. Disha Hot is perfect for burritos, tacos, the current birria craze and anything else that falls under that flavor profile umbrella.

Bottom Line:

A non-traditional American hot sauce alternative, Omar Apollo’s Disha Hot satisfies spice palettes of all backgrounds with its medium heat but doesn’t replace the more traditional garlicky nuclear orange-colored hot sauce you find in most bar food restaurant pantries these days.

16. Senor Lechuga – Hot Sauce .718

Price: $14.00

Talk about depth of flavor! Senor Lechuga’s .718 hot sauce features ghost peppers, bell peppers, pasilla peppers, guayillo peppers, black lime, himalayan sea salt and royal cinnamon as ingredients. The start and finish of this one both speak fuego, Heatonist gives Senor Lechuga a six on the scale and this was also a featured sauce on Hot Ones season 16, so it bears that prestigious stamp. Flavor-wise, you’ll register the tart citrus note immediately as different from many other entries here, and then there is a hint of sweet spice from the cinnamon and a lingering mouth heat and cheek warmth from the smoldering ghost peppers. Get your blue cheese and ranch ready for this one, a cold drink wouldn’t hurt either.

Bottom Line:

.718 is the type of hot sauce you need to warn your friends about before they sample, it has legit creeper heat and body temperature raising potential – but also sophisticated dynamic flavor that could really elevate the right dish (and your endorphins).

15. Collards N Ghosts

Price: $12.00

Another green entry in the rankings and this time coming less from green hot peppers and more from collard greens. The first note that hits Chef Sam Davis-Allonce’s creation is the full-on sweetness of the brown sugar, which quickly subsides with the bitterness of the greens and after-heat from the ghost pepper. You may want more, but you also may hesitate and need a frosty beverage, as the ghost peppers pack certifiable heat. You won’t be able to deny that you’ve never had a hot sauce that tasted like this before and you won’t soon forget it.

Bottom Line:

Collards N Ghosts is a unique flavor punch that could pair well with many plainly flavored foods, creating a balanced dynamic with the complexity of the hot sauce. Bring your tums for this spooky sauce.

14. La Pimenterie – Curry Verde

Price: $12.00

Not an everyday kind of hot sauce due to the curry-forward flavor and slight aftertaste, La Pimenterie’s Curry Verde is still a welcome addition to any hot sauce collector’s pantry with its unique and sophisticated flavor profile. Ingredients in this concoction include green long peppers, green Hungarian hot peppers, green Habanero, Thaï, green ghost, zucchini, coconut milk, cider vinegar, eggplants, shallots, maple syrup, lime
juice, coconut, galangal, lemongrass – creating a Thai-inspired mixture that is only lightly spicy, and also lightly refreshing for a hot sauce. Suitable to many different types of proteins and savory dishes, the Curry Verde is a sure winner for Thai-style meals, dumplings, rice dishes, etc.

Bottom Line:

A standpoint from the La Pimenterie sauces that were sampled, the Curry Verde variety is money like the other Curry family’s three point shot.

13. Butterfly Bakery of Vermont – Maple Wood Smoked Onion Hot Sauce

Price: $10.00

The smoked onion note on this sauce has a sweet peak that crests with an earthier onion aftertaste. The backend mellows despite a lingering jalapeno heat that canvasses the mouth. The signature garlic note of traditional buffalo-style hot sauce is missing here but otherwise this collaboration with local Vermont businesses Full Moon Farms (where they source the amazing onions) and Familia Farm (where they get the red jalapenos) offers a full flavor experience that would likely complement a plethora of savory dishes and snacks.

Bottom Line:

Regardless of its traditional flavor profile, Butterfly Bakery of Vermont pulls off a victory with its pairing of smoked sweet onion and red jalapeno in a tasty and versatile hot sauce.

12. Fat Cat Gourmet – Chairman Meow’s Revenge

Price: $12.00

Though rated a five out of ten, we’re not getting extreme heat from Fat Cat Gourmet’s Chairman Meow’s Revenge, another Hot Ones entry in our sampling marathon. Some of the more heightened flavors are the tangy vinegary taste you get on the front end, with the heat of the scorpion pepper mash creeping in on the backend after you have a few tastes. A little wet and thin overall, this sauce could go well with chicken, pork chops or other grilled meats, though it is not incredibly flavorful.

Bottom Line:

Chairman Meow’s Revenge is a solid entry into our rankings and was selected by Hot Ones for a reason, though we found it to be palatable, it was not as distinguishable as many others we sampled despite surely still being a quality product.

11. Double Comfort – Seeing Double

Price: $10.00

#2 on Hot Ones’ ’24 line up, Seeing Double by Double Comfort is not spicy enough to make you feel like you just listened to a Foreigner song, instead it hits the smoky notes of a dark salsa and is fairly vinegar forward. There is no garlic here to balance out the vinegar, instead employing ingredients like lemon extract to create some acidity and a variety of peppers though there is not an abundant heat level here (Heatonist lists two out of ten on the heat scale).

Bottom Line:
Despite the lack of garlic, this is still a great option for all sorts of meats, wings included, and anything else you may drizzle hot sauce on.

10. Hot Ones the Classic Hot Sauce – Garlic Fresno by Heatonist

Price: $10.00

A Heatonist and Hot Ones internal creation, their Garlic Fresno varietal is a tangy twist on the typical flavors in standard hot sauce offerings – instead of white vinegar, there is sweet-ish funky note from apple cider vinegar on the initial taste, garlic puree that provides a slight textural grittiness followed by a tangy peppery and garlicky aftertaste from the Fresnos. This entry is not only one from the Hot Ones 24’ set we sampled as part of these overall rankings but also one specifically co-signed and formulated by the fine folks at Hot Ones themselves.

No surprise, it pairs extremely well with wings, even though it’s bit more thin and wet in texture than a lot of others we sampled.

Bottom Line:
Garlic Fresno by Heatonist and Hot Ones almost hits a sweet chili note, the way the Fresnos and apple cider vinegar meld and mix, the aftertaste has some traces of the soul of Thai chili sauce. This particular sauce is a mix of simple and sophisticated, and a success at that. Expect a sauce that’s a bit sweeter and tangier than a traditional hot sauce.

9. Il Mig’s Onima

Price: $14.00

Il Mig Onima is listed as a six out of ten on the Heatonist heat scale and is coincidentally #6 in the Hot Ones ’24 set as well, but the heat developed here is one that cannot be quelled easily or quickly, even with frozen dessert aide on deck. You may have sweat coming out the top of your nose after just a slather of this one, but the flavor is too dynamic and interesting to ignore despite the immediate discomfort. It’s the sherry vinegar, rice koji and habanero pepper puree that gives this special sauce a decadent richness and resulting schvitz that are both welcome, delicious and dare we say therapeutic. The only issue is the heat spice may stunt you in your tracks even though your brain says “more Onima, please.”

Bottom Line:
Onima is great on a lot of things if you can handle the temperature and resulting sweats. Bring something cool or cold to accompany your sampling.

8. Butterfly Bakery of Vermont – Ooh La La – A Guster Hot Sauce

Price: $9.00

Oddly the only different ingredient between Butterfly Bakery of Vermont’s Maple Wood Smoked Onion Hot Sauce and Ooh La La sauce is butternut squash. The two sauces are almost identical in their composition from an ingredient standpoint, but it’s difficult to process and believe that’s the only difference. The Ooh La La Guster sauce tastes much more like a stereotypical traditional hot sauce with its garlicky note (though no garlic noted on the label), begging the question of whether there might be different proportions of the similar ingredients between the two sauces. Could it be the butternut squash, or is that a color additive? Either way, this Guster version is just slightly tastier than its Maple Wood Smoked Onion.

Bottom Line:

Butterfly Bakery of Vermont makes some legit hot sauces, which is unlike any bakery we’ve ever visited. Between this special edition Guster version and their Maple Wood Smoked Onion sauce alone there is a lot to love.

7. Sweet Baby Ray’s – Original

Price: $2.26

You’d be hard pressed to find a better basic hot sauce than Sweet Baby Ray’s – it has all of the essential elements – peppery heat, vinegary acidity and that salty garlic note that barely registers since it’s so expected. SBR’s gives itself a three out of five on the heat scale and accounts for the heat with aged cayenne, which has very little residual heat on the backend besides a little tingly warmth on the roof of your mouth.

Bottom Line:
Easy come, easy go, Sweet Baby Ray’s Original can come to any meal where hot sauce would up the ante.

6. Mark’s Hot Sauce – Fermented Kimchi

Price: $14.00

Can titling a kimchi-flavored hot sauce “Fermented Kimchi” be considered redundant? These are the type of deeply profound questions we ask at Uproxx after trying 25 hot sauces. Semantics aside, Mark’s Hot Sauce has a winner with their Fermented Kimchi entry into these voluminous rankings. Factoring in the garlic, soy sauce, kimchi, thai chili peppers, and fresh ginger, you have a lot of fundamental Asian ingredients in play here and the result is a sauce that goes grandly on wings, and probably could be great for dumplings, congee and pho, as much. A three out of ten on Heatonist’s meter, you can drag your ribs, wings, veggies, etc through this one with reckless abandon.

Bottom Line:

Mark’s Hot Sauce is #3 on 24’ Hot Ones hierarchy and lightly spiced experience enables a broader application of consumption when it’s time to add some new options in your heat arsenal.

5. Seed Ranch Flavor Co – Truffle Fire

Price: $16.00

Seed Ranch Flavor Co’s Truffle Fire is a flavor bomb, point blank. Starting with a sweet note likely from the crushed tomatoes, dates, carrots, olive oil and chickpea miso, followed by a strong but earthy truffle note that proceeds and washes over your palette. The finish is mainly peppery and hot on the backend with the combination of ghost pepper, Carolina Reaper pepper, and chile de árbol, along with the smoky spice of paprika. Your lips may tingle and your forehead may bead, but you won’t be deterred from sampling a few more times just to take in all of the truffley goodness therein. Although rated a four of ten, it could be the cumulative heat of hot sauces sampled previous or that the current heat is a bit underrated causing sweat to populate the brow, temples, and upper lip areas simultaneously. Bring a coolant.

Bottom Line:

Truffle Fire is about as decadent as hot sauce can get, Seed Ranch Flavor Co does not employ the ubiquitous truffle oil you find on many a french fry in 2024, instead they utilize summer truffle and truffle juice to impart and inject real truffle flavor into a very unique and delicious sauce that also dials up the heat.

4. Crystal – Hot Sauce

Price: $2.69

That Louisiana favorite, Crystal is one of those reliable taste and time-tested hot sauces that has been around for 100 years for a reason, it toes the line of hot sauce perfection. Though lacking garlic, Crystal does it simply by combining in ideal proportion aged red cayenne peppers, distilled vinegar and salt. The result is a sauce that is more zing and tang, than ghost peppers and shmatas to sop up the inevitable sweat from the heat. Though more of a plebeian pleasure, Crystal doesn’t need to ratchet up the Scovilles to turn heads, the perfectly balanced flavor is all you need.

Bottom Line:

It doesn’t take unique or unusual peppers or ingredients to make a hot sauce delicious, flavorful or memorable. Crystal’s hot sauce only has 3 ingredients but calibrates them well enough to make something simple also sensational.

3. Los Calientes – Barbacoa

Price: $12.00

The best Heatonist x Hot Ones creation we tried — despite it’s lower Scoville measurements and four out of ten on the heat scale — is the sweet heat of the Barbacoa Los Calientes. Its sweetness of apricot, apple juice and agave nectar flavors combined with the traditional spicy pepper, garlic and vinegar notes, makes putting it on everything almost irresistible. Tacos, ribs, wings, nachos, burgers are all fair game here, to name a few food groups we all care about. Not much else needs to be said about Los Calientes Barbacoa besides that it’s expertly crafted.

Bottom Line:

Get your own and let us know. Los Calientes Barbacoa may be sweeter than most hot sauces but we were hooked anyway.

2. Frank’s Red Hot Buffalo Wings – Hot Sauce

Price: $3.99

For us hot sauce amateurs, there is always the comfortable feeling of knowing that supermarket staples like Frank’s exist when there are a befuddling amount of hot sauce varieties at a store. Frank’s is like that hug waiting for you on the hot sauce aisle, you know what to expect – typical vinegary, peppery hot sauce from your basic cayenne peppers, garlicky notes on the back end and a richness from the buttery element. It’s very typical but hits all the right rhythms, notes, and melodies when it comes to a hot sauce you actually want to eat and not just survive.

Bottom Line:
Frank’s Buffalo Sauce is the real deal for the less adventurous hot sauce consumers, streamlining all of the sophisticated ingredients and tactics into the bare bones hot sauce experience that is really all anyone needs to get the full flavor dynamic.

1. Sweet Baby Ray’s – Spicy Garlic

Price: $2.26

Though boasting the same exact ingredients (they’re ordered differently but otherwise identical) as Sweet Baby Ray’s Original version, the Spicy Garlic tastes even better, especially if you like hot sauce that is a bit more garlic-forward. Who doesn’t? The garlic is really what rounds out the body and dynamic of the hot sauce – not making it just about peppery spice and vinegary astringency. This is what you want on your wings, achieving the true pure “buffalo” taste you know and crave. And sure, other foods too.

Bottom Line:

Sweet Baby Ray’s has not reinvented anything or even innovated, they’re taking the best elements of buffalo-style hot sauce flavor and have honed in on what makes the taste delicious. Apparently, garlic has a big role, so we will accordingly give a standing ovation.

Keeping up with new music can be exhausting, even impossible. From the weekly album releases to standalone singles dropping on a daily basis, the amount of music is so vast it’s easy for something to slip through the cracks. Even following along with the Uproxx recommendations on a daily basis can be a lot to ask, so every Monday we’re offering up this rundown of the best new music this week.

This week saw Charli XCX expand the Brat-iverse and GloRilla launch her album journey. Yeah, it was a great week for new music. Check out the highlights below.

For more music recommendations, check out our Listen To This section, as well as our Indie Mixtape and Pop Life newsletters.

Charli XCX — “Sympathy Is A Knife” Feat. Ariana Grande

Brat has been perhaps the most culture-moving album of 2024, and Charli XCX kept the party going last week with Brat And It’s Completely Different But Also Still Brat. Among the many remixes on the stacked project is a re-worked version of “Sympathy Is A Knife,” now co-starring Ariana Grande.

GloRilla — “Whatchu Know About Me” Feat. Sexyy Red

Glo and Sexyy are two of rap’s biggest talents to emerge over the past few years, and now they’ve joined forces on “Whatchu Know About Me.” The track comes from GloRilla’s just-released debut album Glorious, which also features collabs with folks like Megan Thee Stallion.

Pharrell — “Virginia Boy (Remix)” Feat. Tyler The Creator

The soundtrack for Pharrell’s Piece By Piece LEGO-style biopic is largely a compilation of songs you’ve heard hundreds of times before. But, there are some original cuts here, too, like the quick but sharp “Virginia Boy (Remix)” alongside Tyler The Creator.

Tyla — “Push 2 Start”

Tyla dropped her “Water”-powered, self-titled breakout album earlier this year, but she just revived it to wrap up the year with a deluxe edition. The expanded LP adds three new songs, including the smooth “Push 2 Start.”

Cordae — “Mad As F*ck”

Cordae has become one of rap’s most esteemed figures in recent years, but fame has its drawbacks. Cordae reflects on that topic on his latest, “Mad As F*ck,” which sees him addressing everything from luxury to fake friends.

Jennie — “Mantra”

Rosé and Lisa had big solo news this month, and now it’s Jennie’s turn to do something outside of the Blackpink camp. In her case, it’s the new single “Mantra,” which arrived alongside a Rush Hour-inspired video.

Lil Durk — “Late Checkout” Feat. Hunxho

Durk recently announced Deep Thoughts, a new album to follow his 2023 LP Almost Healed. We’ve heard a couple tastes of it so far, including last week’s “Late Checkout,” a Hunxho-featuring number on which the two express their infatuation for a special someone.

Halsey — “I Never Loved You”

We’re less than two weeks away from Halsey’s next album, The Great Impersonator. She has so far teased an intensely personal LP, and that’s further proved on her vulnerable single from last week, “I Never Loved You.”

Maggie Rogers — “In The Living Room”

We got Don’t Forget Me from Rogers earlier this year, and now she just launched an arena tour last week. To celebrate the occasion, she dropped a new single, the evocative “In The Living Room.”

The Linda Lindas — “Nothing Would Change”

When The Linda Lindas had time “during spring breaks, winter breaks, and long weekends,” as the young band previously put it, they busted out their new album, No Obligation. The project continues to show the literal children (besides 20-year-old Bela Salazar) are already better at most when it comes to catchy punk rock, as “Nothing Would Change” illustrates.

The bourbon world is absolutely exploding with options for excellent, easy-sipping.

That said, the category of affordable bourbon is in an odd space with delicious bottles over $30 swelling while the sub-$20 range is slowly shrinking. Let’s state it plainly: finding great, cheap bourbon is getting harder and harder. That’s precisely why we put together this list for you this Bourbon Heritage Month so you can explore the absolute best-tasting bourbons without breaking the bank.

Most of these bottles are readily available in pretty much any liquor store in the country, and though their prices will vary depending on where you’re located, you can also reliably expect to pay right around $20 for each of them. Best of all? Each and every one of them is delicious and will leave you pleased with the quality-to-cost calculus.

Are we all set?

Here are the absolute best-tasting bourbons under $20, ranked for 2024!

• • We Blind Tasted & Ranked The Best 10-Year Old Bourbons For 2024
  • Here Are The 50 Best Bottles To Try For Bourbon Heritage Month, 2024
  • We Power Ranked The Best Barrel Proof Bourbons Of 2024
  • The Absolute Best Tasting Bourbons Under $50, Ranked For 2024
  • The Best Whiskeys We Tasted At The 2024 Kentucky Bourbon Festival

10. Old Forester 86

ABV: 43%
Average Price: $20

The Whiskey:

While it features a spruce label, in line with the rest of Old Forester’s packaging, Old Forester 86-proof has a history that dates back to 1959 when consumers were thirsty for a lighter style of whiskey, well-suited for inclusion in cocktails.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose has a bit of graham cracker, youthful oak, and cocktail cherries, with the volume of each aroma turned down. The overall impression is light and approachable.

Palate: On the palate, all of the nosing notes come alive with a bit more vibrancy and are joined by a vanilla splash. With regards to the mouthfeel, this is a thin whiskey. Still, the texture isn’t overly watery or unpleasant, as it’s just substantive enough for the flavors to develop before washing out and transitioning to the finish.

Finish: On the finish, there’s a bit of oak, honey, and bright red cherry, but it’s quite brief so you’ll find yourself reaching for a second sip rather than savoring your first.

Bottom Line:

There are outlines of a really flavorful bourbon here, so it’s easy to see why Old Forester originally introduced this expression in the late 1950s to ingratiate themselves with the growing cocktail culture. However, if you’re looking for a neat-sipper, this bourbon will do the trick in a pinch, thanks to its assortment of easy-going flavors.

9. Four Roses Bourbon

ABV: 40%
Average Price: $19

The Whiskey:

Four Roses Bourbon, the oft-overlooked entry-level offering from Four Roses features a blend of all ten recipes that the distillery is famous for. Little known fact: Four Roses regularly utilizes slightly older bourbon in these blends, which is part of the reason they eschew an age statement. It’s also part of the reason that this remarkably consistent expression is so damn good.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose on Four Roses Bourbon begins with a touch of honeysuckle, the floral aspect of rosewater, and stone fruits like white peach and Golden Delicious apples.

Palate: On the palate, this whiskey is surprisingly spry, as the lean mouthfeel allows notes of black tea, white peach, and honey to coast over your tongue. A touch of vanilla and black pepper spice can be found as each sip transitions from midpalate to the finish, which adds a bit of nuance to the generally light flavor profile.

Finish: On the finish is where the sweet notes make their final stamp, with honey and vanilla leading the way as this pour succinctly falls off the palate.

Bottom Line:

Four Roses Bourbon is one of the best easy-going bourbons that money can buy, and it’s one I regularly keep on hand for the hotter summer months. While it’s a fairly straightforward whiskey when enjoyed neat, follow this tip for summer sipping: pop it in the freezer and pour heartily when you need a refreshing drink that’s a tad bit stronger than water.

8. Fighting Cock Bourbon

ABV:51.5%
Average Price: $18

The Whiskey:

Fighting Cock Bourbon was formerly a formidable bottom-shelf offering that sported a 6-year age statement and proudly flew under the radar. These days, the expression is produced sans an age statement from a mash bill of 75% corn, 12% rye, and 13% malted barley. Fun fact: it’s said that this bourbon was created as a direct competitor to Wild Turkey 101, thus the fowl name and atypical proof point.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Fighting Cock bourbon kicks things off with a bit of baking spice, with nutmeg and black pepper powder hitting the nose at first before some dilute honey and peanut shells come wafting out of the glass.

Palate: Once on the palate, the initial impression of the nosing notes is reversed, with the flavor of peanuts leading the way while some washed-out caramel and vanilla extract follow closely behind before the gentle baking spice notes arrive. The mouthfeel is disappointingly thin, which serves as a disservice to the limited layers of flavor, but the flavors themselves are simple but harmonious.

Finish: The finish closes with black pepper and the addition of nutmeg, along with a sweet honey kiss, before it fades away with short-to-medium length.

Bottom Line:

While “kickin’ chicken’s” branding might be all about emulation, the whiskey itself is a simple yet fairly unique bottom-shelf offering. What Fighting Cock lacks in complexity, it makes up for with a nutty, crowd-pleasing flavor profile that brings enough heat to make it a standout.

7. Very Old Barton 100 Proof

ABV: 50%
Average Price: $16

The Whiskey:

Very Old Barton comes from the Barton 1792 Distillery and features expressions at 80, 86, 90, and 100 proof. Their 100-proof offering, the best of the bunch, has limited distribution in Kentucky and surrounding states.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: On the nose, this bourbon has banana bread, faint ripe cherry notes, butterscotch, and corn pudding. It’s a light, sweet, and harmonious blend of aromas that simply works.

Palate: Once you sip this bourbon, you’ll observe the aroma notes translating to the palate, with semi-sweet banana bread and butterscotch taking the fore while toasted corn and youthful oak round things out. The texture is unremarkable, but for a $20 bourbon, that’s to be expected, and it isn’t a bad thing.

Finish: The finish is succinct, with a bit of nuttiness joining the ripe cherries found on the nose, along with a touch of black pepper spice.

Bottom Line:

Very Old Barton’s 100-proof offering features an unassuming label that does little to distinguish among its various proof points, but for those who know, this top-of-the-line expression is fantastic bottom-shelf bourbon.

6. J.T.S. Brown Bottled In Bond Bourbon

ABV: 50%
Average Price: $16

The Whiskey:

J.T.S. Brown is named after John Thompson Street Brown, who founded the wholesale liquor company that would become Brown-Forman. It is currently offered at 80 and 100 proof, though it also featured an 86-proof version until at least the late 1980s.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose on this whiskey has a flourish of butterscotch and clove that make it stand out from the rest of Heaven Hill’s budget bottled-in-bond offerings. A touch of lemon zest and peanut butter are also evident.

Palate: On the palate, the butterscotch and peanut butter are out in full force, along with some vanilla cream, sweet oak, and white pepper. The flavors are impressively balanced, and despite this whiskey’s restrained mouthfeel, they appear to be well-defined on the palate.

Finish: The medium-length finish again highlights the fusion of peanut butter and vanilla with a gentle white pepper send-off.

Bottom Line:

It’s a crowded bunch when it comes to Heaven Hill’s bottom-shelf bottled-in-bond expressions, but J.T.S. Brown reliably outperforms the majority of them thanks to its well-managed balance and surprisingly stout depth of flavor. Like many of Heaven Hill’s most affordable options, it won’t wow you with its complexity but rather with its consistently great quality for an equally great price.

5. Benchmark Bonded Bourbon

ABV: 50%
Average Price: $19

The Whiskey:

Benchmark’s Bonded expression is yet another bottle in the revamped Benchmark lineup, which received a facelift and a line expansion in early 2023. For this Bonded offering, Benchmark follows the Bottled in Bond regulations, meaning that, among other things, this bourbon comes from a single distilling season and is bottled at 100 proof.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose on Benchmark Bonded has four distinct aromas: nutmeg, caramel, oak, and brown sugar. There are gradations to those aromas, with the nutmeg coming across as less-than-fresh, while the caramel and oak are more lively next to the subdued brown sugar note.

Palate: Once you take a sip of Benchmark Bonded, you’ll find that the nosing notes perfectly indicate what to expect. Again, those four distinct notes come through, and though they’re joined by a bit of black pepper and cereal notes, it’s the nutmeg, caramel, oak (with the addition of barrel char), and brown sugar that steal the show flavor-wise. The texture is stout, allowing the liquid to occupy the entire palate before ceding the reins to the finish.

Finish: On the finish, there’s more brown sugar, black pepper, and even a bit of mocha on each sip. The finish hangs around for a medium length, befitting its proof point, and offers a balanced climax to an overall very balanced bourbon.

Bottom Line:

As the sole bottled in bond expression in the Buffalo Trace portfolio outside of the E.H. Taylor lineup, this solid budget bottle exhibits the quality standard one can expect from the Buffalo Trace Distillery. For less than $20, you can find two different expressions from the Benchmark brand, but this is the one you should grab.

4. Old Bardstown Bottled in Bond

ABV: 50%
Average Price: $20

The Whiskey:

Old Bardstown Bottled in Bond Bourbon is one of those IYKYK expressions from the Willett Distillery. It is sold exclusively in Kentucky on the bottom shelf of liquor stores. This bottled-in-bond offering is not to be confused with the 101-proof small-batch variant available nationwide.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: It begins with a really round butterscotch note with some intriguing menthol and tobacco leaf aromas that make you dig deeper in the glass to uncover additional layers of Brooks cherries, pecans, and vanilla extract.

Palate: Old Bardstown Bottled in Bond Bourbon is dense and full-bodied on the palate despite the proof, and it opens with sticky toffee and Brooks cherries while a touch of the menthol from the nose streaks up the middle of the tongue and introduces some dark chocolate at midpalate.

Finish: The moderate finish sees the blossoming of dark chocolate flavor with some fresh hazelnuts, caramel, and white pepper notes rounding things off.

Bottom Line:

This unassuming bottle packs a real wallop with a substantive mouthfeel and a dark, rich flavor profile that will have you double-checking your receipt to be sure you didn’t steal this bottle at roughly $20 USD. Rest assured, your receipt is right; hell, all is right with this bourbon in your glass.

3. Evan Williams Bottled in Bond Bourbon

ABV: 50%
Average Price: $20

The Whiskey:

Evan Williams Bottled in Bond is often named as one of if not the best bourbon under $20. Aged for at least four years, per the Bottled in Bond regulations, this 100-proof bourbon is almost as readily found around the country as Evan Williams “black label.”

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nosing notes open with honey, lemon zest, and a distinct peanut note on this bourbon. From there, the periphery aromas are faint — a touch of brown butter, apricots, and cumin, but otherwise nondescript.

Palate: In the mouth, those initial three notes make the most substantial impression, along with a piquant texture that slightly prickles the tongue and adds a bit of pop to the citrus flavors in the liquid. One thing I love about this whiskey is how balanced its flavors are, with none of them speaking over the others.

Finish: On the finish, you’ll find some black pepper spice and youthful oak that curtail the peanut and lemon zest flavors. The finish is short-to-medium, giving just enough room to make a satisfying impression on the palate before encouraging repeat sips.

Bottom Line:

Evan Williams’ Bottled in Bond Expression is a masterclass in delivering a high-quality, no-frills bourbon. At 100-proof, it can stand tall in cocktails, bringing an abundance of flavor to classics like an Old-Fashioned, but it has just enough depth to perform well on its own—making for a delicious, cost-friendly, everyday sipper.

2. Jim Beam Single Barrel Bourbon

ABV: 54%
Average Price: $20

The Whiskey:

Look, Jim Beam and affordable bourbon go together like America and apple pie. For this expression, they take their classic Jim Beam bourbon mash bill and make it available at a much higher 108-proof in single barrel form.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: On the nose, you get some of the characteristic nuttiness that Beam is known for, an enticing blend of hazelnut and peanut shell, while a bit of chocolate, oak, and mocha adds depth to the overall profile. There’s also plenty of caramel and a touch of clove rounding this one out.

Palate: With one sip, you can appreciate the classic Jim Beam profile in this bourbon. On the palate, it has that Cracker Jack box assortment of flavors from caramel corn to honey-roasted peanuts with a touch of graininess, graham cracker, and oak. The texture is a significant step up from both Jim Beam’s white and black labels, with a bit more oiliness, which makes this bourbon a pleasure to chew for a while.

Finish: The finish has a surprising touch of anise with black pepper, barrel char, and gobs of more gooey caramel waiting for you.

Bottom Line:

Considering its proof and overall quality, it should come as no surprise that Jim Beam Single Barrel Bourbon is one of the best value bottles in American whiskey. This seriously underrated pour combines the best elements of Jim Beam’s prolific bourbon with a budget-friendly bottle that you’ll want to buy again and again.

1. Wild Turkey 101 Bourbon

ABV: 50.5%
Average Price: $20

The Whiskey:

Wild Turkey 101 Bourbon is not only the most classic expression in the brand’s lineup, it’s one of the most iconic bourbons in America. Wild Turkey’s signature 101-proof designation was first formulated in the 1940s by Austin, Nichols & Co. executive Thomas McCarthy and it’s been a benchmark for high-quality, budget-friendly bourbon ever since.

Tasting Notes:

Nose: The nose on this whiskey encapsulates what Wild Turkey is all about. There’s a lovely dusting of baking spices like nutmeg, cinnamon, and clove resting atop stone fruits like stewed red apples, bruised peaches, and a faint dose of caramel and oak.

Palate: On the palate, Wild Turkey 101 Bourbon offers a familiar range of flavors, from apple chips, cinnamon bark, and oak to vanilla extract, nutmeg, and clove. The mouthfeel is intriguing, maintaining enough grip on the palate to heighten the impact of the various baking spices but enough give for the fruit-forward flavors to strut their stuff.

Finish: The finish is where black pepper flares up, along with a more forceful impression of the oak and clove notes. It’s a short-to-medium finish that pairs well with the flavor profile, giving the impression that this blend is perfectly proofed.

Bottom Line:

Wild Turkey 101 might conjure memories of crazy college nights for some people, but serious connoisseurs know that even with its rowdy reputation, this is one of the best-kept secrets in bourbon. With a robust, spice-heavy profile, Wild Turkey 101 is bold enough to liven up any party while offering the depth of flavor that makes it great to savor at length in quiet contemplation, too.

In June, Kanye West’s former assistant, Lauren Pisciotta, sued the producer for breach of contract, creating a hostile work environment, sexual harassment, and wrongful termination. While Kanye expressed plans to countersue Pisciotta, saying she was trying to blackmail West, the former assistant has since amended her lawsuit to now include even more serious claims against Kanye. According to Rolling Stone, Pisciotta’s updated complaint now includes claims that West also drugged and sexually assaulted her at a music studio in Santa Monica hosted by another musician being accused of sexual misconduct, Sean “Diddy” Combs.

Pisciotta claims that drinks were served during the studio session, with a mandate that all in attendance must drink to remain at the studio. She says that after sipping her drink, she became “disoriented,” and does not have any memory of anything that happened until she woke up the next day. She later learned of the alleged assault when told by West they’d “hooked up” at the session, and after informing him she didn’t remember, said West laughed and replied, “Women love to say they don’t remember.”

In Pisciotta’s initial suit, she claimed that West promised to pay her a $1 million per year for her assistant gig, but only if she deleted her OnlyFans account. After she complied, he began sending vulgar texts, including sexual videos and pictures. She says she was promised a $3 million severance when she was fired in 2022, but that she never received it.

In the world of cinema — bear with me for a second — the best movies always come out at the end of the year. From October to December, the silver screen is hit with “serious” films, Oscar-bait, and artistic statements. It’s a season that belongs less to blockbusters and more to the auteurs. In 2024, fast food is doing the same thing, only instead of giving us great films, fast food is giving us what we all truly want: more chicken sandwiches (though we wouldn’t be surprised if we one day get a film about chicken sandwiches, stranger things have happened).

It’s no secret that this decade is all about the chicken sandwich. We’ve turned our back on the mighty beef patty and opened our hearts — our, you know, mouths — to fried fillets of chicken breast.

This year, we’ve already ranked 25 different chicken sandwiches. So what are we to do when this month we’re hit with not one, not two, but three brand new chicken sandwiches? Put ‘em to the mighty blind taste test to see which is most worth your money, of course!

Methodology

For this blind taste test, we’ve rounded up all the newest chicken sandwiches, including the McDonald’s Chicken Big Mac, the Popeyes Ghost Pepper Chicken Sandwich, and the Burger King Fiery Royal Crispy Chicken Sandwich. Luckily, I live in close proximity to all three restaurants, so I can scoop up each sandwich quickly, allowing me to eat each sandwich while they are still hot and fresh. I’d say that makes for a fair-blind taste test.

After I picked up all three sandwiches, I returned home, took photos of each, and had my girlfriend shuffle them up and serve each one to me at random while I wore a blindfold. I took exactly three bites of each, recorded my initial impressions, and ranked each from worst to best.

Here are the results.

Part 1: The Blind Chicken Sandwich Taste Test

Taste 1:

Right off the bat, I’m getting an intense surge of cayenne pepper heat. It’s nice and spicy and kicks the salivary glands into action. The tomatoes and lettuce provide a bit of reprieve from the heat, but the finish is still pretty spicy, and the heat intensifies between bites. The chicken has a crispy and airy breading, and the meat is tender but a bit bland outside of all the spice.

Taste 2:

With just one bite, I can already tell there is so much wrong with this chicken sandwich. It’s bland, the meat is spongey and heavily processed, and its way too bready. I’m going to guess this is the Chicken Big Mac because I can taste so much bread that I can’t imagine this being any of the other sandwiches.

While I don’t like the taste of the chicken, the breading is nice, airy, and very crispy. It provides a nice audible crunch but I can’t seem myself returning to this one. I begrudgingly took a few more bites to see if the flavor would grow on me. It didn’t.

Taste 3:

After a big, pleasing crunch, I’m getting juicy and tender chicken gently seasoned with a mix of garlic, onion, and spices, with a slightly fruity, buttery finish. The sauce used here helps to accentuate and elevate the wonderful seasoning blend. Here is what I love about this sandwich: it feels like the chicken is the star and that’s the sign of a great chicken sandwich.

Part 2: The Blind Chicken Sandwich Ranking

3. McDonald’s — Chicken Big Mac

McDonald’s still hasn’t perfected the chicken sandwich. It’s the McDonald’s menu’s one true weak point. I love a chicken nugget as much as the next person, but I don’t need one in sandwich form, and this sandwich comes across like that.

It’s too heavily processed, too bland in flavor, and has way too much bread. If McDonald’s truly wants to be a contender in the chicken sandwich wars, it’s going to need to raise the quality of its chicken filet to be a true contender.

The Bottom Line:

If you already like chicken sandwiches from McDonald’s, this might be worth experiencing, but if you don’t, this won’t win you over.

2. Burger King — Fiery Royal Chicken Sandwich

I’m really surprised by this one! Burger King’s “fiery” blend of spices is unique and really delivers on the heat. It doesn’t come close to being as good as our top pick from this blind taste test, but it’s easily the best chicken sandwich Burger King has dropped since the beloved but discontinued Ch’King.

I’m interested in trying the bacon and Swiss cheese version of this sandwich, I imagine that’ll add a lot to what this sandwich offers.

The Bottom Line:

Easily Burger King’s best chicken sandwich right now.

1. Popeyes — Ghost Pepper Chicken Sandwich

Popeyes’ Ghost Pepper Chicken Sandwich is so far ahead of the other two we tasted, that I almost feel bad for the competition. This takes an already great chicken sandwich and dials up the heat a bit, which results in an even better chicken sandwich.

What won us over with this one is how much focus was put on the chicken filet itself. It’s juicy, tender, crunchy, and well-seasoned. The pickles and sauce aren’t doing any of the heavy lifting here, which is the way it should be.

The Bottom Line:

The Ghost Pepper Chicken Sandwich isn’t just the best new chicken sandwich dropped this month, it’s also the best new chicken sandwich dropped all year.

Happy belated birthday to Cardi B, who celebrated turning 32 on October 11. It was actually Cardi who gave a gift to her fans, though, by revealing what her stage name used to be back when she worked as a stripper, before her current music stardom.

In an Instagram post from yesterday (October 13) featuring multiple photos and videos showing off a dress, Cardi wrote:

“So let me tell ya about my little thotty dress.. the dress I was gonna wear for my birthday was a little too small and there wasn’t enough fabric… so I got my ass in a truck and went to Staten dolls gentlemen’s club where I worked at for four years and bought this little dress because baby NOTHING was gonna stop this night… I love the fact that they don’t see me like CARDI B.. they still treat me like CAMILLA (Fun fact.. that was my stripper name [laughing emojis]).”

Cardi and her dress apparently had quite the evening: In a video shared on her Instagram Story the day after (archived by Hollywood Unlocked), a disheveled-looking Cardi declares, “I will never, ever drink again. I will never pray for me… wait [laughs]… I’m still drunk. I will never drink again.”

Sydney Sweeney is happily engaged. No one is going to come between her and fiancé Jonathan Davino. Not Glen Powell and certainly not a human-sized duck. During ESPN’s College GameDay on Saturday, the mascot for the University of Oregon Ducks appeared behind the hosts and guest / It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia star Kaitlin Olson — feel free to make a bird joke later, this is not the time — with a sign. It read, “Sydney Sweeney call me back.”

The duck shot his shot, and was turned down in front of millions of people.

Sweeney responded to the Carly Rae Jepsen-like request on Instagram. “Sorry. Changed my number haha,” the Euphoria actress wrote in a Story to her 22.4 million followers. Ouch. At least Oregon won their game against Ohio State. Otherwise, it would be all-time bad day for the Duck.

As for Sweeney, she’s used to this. While promoting Anyone But You on an Australian talk show last year, the actress shared that she went to her first Australian Football League game and “got to meet everybody. I want to go back.” Co-star Powell chimed in, “Well, they had a good time meeting Sydney as well. The whole team slid into her DMs afterward. It was… Australia wanted to welcome her to town fast.” Sweeney joked, “Yeah… in a very big way.”

Hopefully the Oregon mascot didn’t send her a duck pic.

WBD is betting big on James Gunn’s retooling of the DCU, and he has been taking his time to get things right, which is just fine because he’s not taking the simplest path to reinventing DC superheroes onscreen. Nor is he taking the safest route, given his Peacemaker revelations the most minute details, including naming The Suicide Squad and running with that irreverent yet twisted attitude.

Gunn and Peter Safran are executive producing the HBO drama series Lanterns with Chris Mundy set as showrunner and details beginning to come together. As comic book fans know the Green Lantern Corps. contains 7,000+ members, and at least a few of them will surface in this show. Let’s put on our nerd caps and mull over what to expect from this series.

Cast

The two leads of the series are set in small-screen stone. Kyle Chandler (of the upcoming Back In Action and of Friday Night Lights fame) will star as the older version of Hal Jordan, the same Lantern that Ryan Reynolds once disastrously (and he knows it) portrayed on the big screen. As for his co-lead, his star is currently on the rise, which makes this tidbit ultra satisfying.

Aaron Pierre, who earned Bond comparisons in Netflix and Jeremy Saulnier’s, will Rebel Ridge and will soon be heard in Barry Jenkins’ Mufasa: The Lion King, will step up as Lantern John Stewart.

As the casting trickle usually goes, we should hear more names soon.

Plot

Gunn and WBD have kept a tight lid on plot details, but the Guardians of the Galaxy helmer did share that the series “is putting together a crack team of writers, based on a wonderful pilot script and bible by Chris Mundy, Tom King, and Damon Lindelof.” King, of course, is infamous in DC comic book circles as a prolific writer, and Lindelof is no stranger to DC after reinterpreting Alan Moore’s Watchmen for HBO.

Do we want a logline while we wait for more specifics? Why not:

The series follows new recruit John Stewart and Lantern legend Hal Jordan, two intergalactic cops drawn into a dark, earth-based mystery as they investigate a murder in the American heartland.

Release Date

Don’t expect this series to pop right into existence. 2026 looks like the most likely bet, which is fine because Gunn surely does not want to flub the DCU’s debut.

Trailer

No way, man. However, this seems like an optimal time to remind everyone that Ryan Reynolds realized that his Hal Jordan run was never meant to be.

The main ingredient found in all of chef Wes Avila’s cooking is his restless, creative spirit. In just over a decade, the Pico Rivera-born chef (just one town over from where I grew up) has transformed all notions of what a taco could be at Guerilla Tacos, combining ingredients like fried oysters, sweet potatoes, sushi-grade yellowtail, and other meats and veggies generally unfamiliar to the tortilla, explored the rich and ancient flavors of the Yucatan at his restaurant Ka’teen, took his unique approach to Mexican-influenced food to Kyoto, Japan with Piopiko, and created my personal favorite, the Angry Egrete Dinette, a Chinatown Los Angeles based culinary playground where the James Beard nominated chef made whatever the hell he felt like making with whatever ingredients were on hand.

Chef Avila has a habit of making an impact and then stepping away from his work to explore new passions. In 2020 he stepped down as Executive Chef at Guerilla, leaving the Arts District taqueria in the skillful hands of Chef Jason Beberman and Chef Steven Londono, and although the Angry Egrete Dinette was beloved and earned Avila a James Beard nomination for “Best New Restaurant,” the restaurant was supposed to be a three-month pop-up but ended up extending itself to a three-year project.

Avila closed AED’s doors on New Year’s Eve of last year. It’s Avila’s ability to step away and reimagine his cooking that makes him such a vital, beloved, and inspiring chef and although we miss AED, we knew it was only a matter of time before he brought us something new.

And that new something is the West Hollywood-based MXO Steakhouse, a contemporary Mexican wood-fire steakhouse inspired by the cuisine of Monterrey and infused with Avila’s own unique approach to flavor.

We caught up with the chef to talk MXO, his plans for the future, the evolution of Mexican cuisine in America, and why he’ll (probably) never create another food truck concept again.

What can you tell me about this new West Hollywood joint, MXO? What was the plan going in and what has you excited about it?

The plan going in was to do something a little bit different. I had done the taqueria thing, we had done the Tulum thing, and so after visiting Monterey and some of the other northern cities, I found that there was a lack of a Mexican steakhouse in the United States and specifically in Los Angeles.

I couldn’t think of a steakhouse where you can get a good cut of steak and Mexican sides and tortillas. So I talked to my business partners about this and they were like, “let’s do it.” So we found this space with some other partners and started finishing out the build. The whole thing was to do wood fire cooking, a big focus on different steak cuts and just a good quality steakhouse with a Mexican twist, Northern Mexican twist specifically.

This is your first restaurant in West Hollywood, what made that location ideal for you?

It’s kind of two things. It fell into our perimeter that this location was available, and it was halfway built already because it had been getting built during the pandemic and then, like a lot of places, it just kind of changed. So I think ownership there had changed hands a little bit and the space was available about halfway built out, so when we jumped on it the kitchen plan was already there. Some of the infrastructure was already there, and so we took over.

And then the location is great, it being on La Cienega, it’s real central to that area. When I had my food truck, I had a stop right there off of Beverly, at the Blue Bottle. I knew the kind of clientele that would eat there and I was like, “it’d be really cool to do a space on this side of town and make it accessible to that side of town.” Because most of my other shops were on the south side, so I was really stoked to do that.

I want to talk a little bit about your restaurant Ka-Teen. The focus is on dishes from the Yucatan. What do you think people need to know about that type of cuisine and how did you get into it personally?

Just from visiting honestly, within the last, I guess, four to five years, I had been going to Tulum and Merida more than a couple of times, and it’s just something that kind of stuck with me and stood out that there hadn’t been — there’s been comida Yucateca, for sure in Los Angeles. You have every region already, but you didn’t get something specifically Tulum, like the vibes, like when you went to the beach and you’re walking and you can smell the copal and you hear the music and the jungle and along with that really good food. So that’s what got me inspired with Ka-Teen, that whole vibe.

The last two places, Ka’Teen and MXO — I mean you’ve always done very elevated food, but these are very high end spaces. Do you think you’ll ever do another street food concept?

Not specifically street food, not necessarily where I have a truck again, but I mean never say never. Never’s a long time. But I will probably be working on a fast casual concept next. Not something where it’s hardcore street style, but more kind of Egret-ish like I was doing there. It was a little bit more casual between street food and not so elevated, a little bit more approachable.

Speaking of Angry Egret, that was initially supposed to be a pop-up, if I understand that correctly, and it kind of just took off. It got a James Beard nomination. How often are people asking you to reopen it or do something similar to that?

I get emails to do ghost kitchen stuff with it pretty often actually where it’s like “Chef, you just come in, you do your couple of burritos, like the bangers.” But right now my focus is MXO, getting that locked in, dialed in. The crew’s doing a really great job already, but getting that really dialed in and getting all the bolts tightened.

After that, what I’m thinking is something kind of Egret-ish, but scalable where we can do multiple units. The thing with Egret was that it was so unique and we changed the menu so much, there’s no fucking way that I’d be able to do one here, one there, one over there with it being consistent. So I would probably distill my best ideas from Egret and distill some of my favorite stuff from Ka-Teen, more from MXO and do something a little bit more casual.

Which I can’t talk too much about the casual, the new one that I’m doing because it’s not really fleshed out quite yet.

That’s exciting either way! You have a lot of restaurants in L.A., you have the Kyoto restaurant, I know you do a lot of pop-ups worldwide. What country or city’s food space is really exciting you right now?

I mean Japan’s always number one for me, Japan’s always really exciting. I mean, Mexican food is my favorite, but vibes and energy and just where it’s like, fuck dude, there’s so much delicious food. Japan specifically in Osaka and Kyoto are popping… It’s their independent little places. It’s the mom and pop. There’s so many mom and pops there, it’s incredible.

I’m talking places that are the size of three, four seats. The restaurant is like a little bar and it’ll be packed with multiple different restaurants where you won’t even know how to get to it after you find it. It’s just so interesting to me and fascinating the amount of care that Japanese chefs and Japanese cooks put into their food that even in those little shops, you can get a really, really good meal that isn’t on anybody’s radar. You just have them find them by happenstance, just by walking.

Are you familiar with the artist Estevan Oriol?

Sure!

I was just talking to him a couple of weeks ago and we were talking about low rider culture and he brought up how the Japanese are killing it in low rider culture

For sure. They take it to the next level. I was actually speaking to a painter that I met through Instagram. I have a food truck. Funny thing, I bought it to do a food truck, but then I was like, “I don’t ever want to do a food truck again.” But it’s a really cool 1959 Dodge P300, so it’s a mail delivery van from the fifties. It doesn’t look like your typical square international food truck, those standard ones, it’s round. It’s got the flat front end, these really interesting lights, crazy bumper, and I called this painter in Salinas in northern California that does low rider, old school low rider paint, and so I’m probably going to turn into a giant low rider van.

He was telling me he’s visiting Nagoya in the winter to go paint cars because the low rider culture is so strong.

How come you don’t want to do another food truck? You feel like you’ve spent enough time in a tiny, cramped space with no air conditioning?

It’s not even the tiny space, bro. Honestly, it’s just the same amount of headache as opening a restaurant except on top of a 6,000 pound moving vehicle. It’s dangerous, there are accidents. One thing that happens with food trucks is you have the same problems you have have with a restaurant, you get floods, you have robberies, on top of that you get flat tires, you get fender benders, you get propane accidents, you get no power in your generator.

You name it, it’s multiplied. I’d say by at least five-fold the problems of a restaurant you have in a food truck. I mean the benefit there is you always have the prime location. If you’re not doing good business, a lot of times the answer is to just move. You can move two blocks. I remember when I was in the arts district and I moved two blocks over, I had guests that were like, “where’d you go? We haven’t seen you in a year.” And I was like, “dude, I’m two blocks over.” They’re like, “oh, it’s the art district. Nobody goes further than a block here, a block there.” He was right. A lot of times people just do not walk in L.A.

The good thing about the food truck is that you can move, but for me it’s so much more pressure running a food truck and unless you build out brand new ones, it’s very expensive. It’s as expensive as a restaurant. A build out on just your truck is close to $300K. Well, it was close to $300K three years ago when I was looking at it, so it might be more like $325, $350 now, it’s expensive, bro. And it takes a while to make that money back. You got to sell a lot of fucking tacos to make that kind of money. So that’s why it’s not as appealing to me.

You’re one of the first people in L.A. who started to transform the idea of what a taco could be at Guerrilla Tacos. You did all kinds of crazy stuff putting all kinds of foods on tortillas that most people wouldn’t expect. What made you want to challenge the preconception of what a taco could be in America?

Honestly, it was set and setting, bro. It was something that nobody was doing on the market when I was doing it. So I kind of struck at the right time with that idea and a lot of that stuff was instilled in me as a cook and as a chef, this idea of using seasonality.

And on the street, you’re dealing directly with customers. You don’t have your chef that’s running your place. You don’t have a GM that’s running your place. You are cooking, you are serving, people are eating, they’re talking to you. So I ask, I’m like, “Hey, if I added a couple of extra ingredients from the farmer’s market, would you guys be okay if I charge the dollar or two more for the taco?” And they’re like, “fuck yeah.” So it opened up my mind. I was like, all right, fuck it.

I’m going to do pork belly, I’m going to do pig head, I’m going to do cocktails of camaron with blood clams and surf clams and all this other shit on the street and just kind of pushing myself. It honestly was kind of a guilty thing, pushing it myself. It wasn’t that I’m doing this to impress people. It was like, this is fucking good. And then after by default people were like, “this is fucking good.” So it kind worked out like that. I also think I was fortunate to be in that really early cusp of street food.

The second or third wave of food trucks had died, by that time. It was kind of like the taper end of that real second huge pop of people kind trying to copy what Kogi did years ago, years before me, so it was kind of the tail end of that.

But there was a lot of food trucks on the market and they weren’t street carts, they were pop-ups. The only pop-ups that were doing stuff like that was Ludo Bites. And it wasn’t like it is now where people set up a street cart. That just wasn’t happening. The only people doing street carts were Rasa and they were doing them for years. They’ve doing the little hot dog carts, the little dirt dogs and taquerias that you’d see. But as far as being an American born Mexican, Chicano, you didn’t see that. You didn’t see chefs doing that. You didn’t see them setting up like that. So I was, if they can do it, why can’t I? So when I got shut down by the police, they said, “where’s your permit?” I have it, but I didn’t bring it with me. They kind of rolled their eyes and they’re like, “you need to shut it down”. They know that it wasn’t legal then. This was 2012, 12 years ago. It’s a while back.

Were the tacos you were making kind of a hard sell for people just walking on the streets who maybe weren’t familiar with what you were trying to do?

Not where I was at. I was in the art district and the art district had a pretty Bohemian crowd. So you had artists, you had people who were car dudes and you had some people come through that were like truck drivers or whatever who would be doing deliveries and stop by. And they’re like, “what do you got? Do you have a thigh, you have chicken?” I was like, “nope, I got pork belly, I have short rib.” And they’re like, “that’s all right, cool. Fucking pork belly, short rib.” As long as its meat it works for most people.

And then if you can tell them what kind of cut of meat it is, they’re okay with it. It starts getting ridiculous when you start getting an $8 taco or a $9 taco or a $10 taco. At the time I’d get some pushback and I get the occasional fucking idiot. That’d be like, “I can get this for $2 up the street.” And my and my wife’s reaction would be like, “then go up the street! I don’t need your energy bro. Fuck off. There’s La Reynas up the street. Go to La Reynas. You want those ones that are like all meat, you don’t even know where comes from. Go be my guest. So they’re a dollar, two dollars. Go ahead. I have no problem losing a customer if they were being negative and weird like that.”

How do you feel about the way that Mexican food in America is undervalued?

I think honestly a lot of that’s shifting. I think it’s very true in some markets, but Los Angeles, it’s changed a lot. I mean, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a dollar taco stand. Even La Raza you won’t find it, not for a good one. You ain’t going to get no fucking dollar taco. You get places that are good Street Mexican owned, Mexican ran tacos. They’re running three bucks, four bucks now.

There’s no front end where you can find one for like a dollar now, no fuck you, where are they a dollar where are they 50 cents? You could not survive. You couldn’t make that. It doesn’t exist anymore. So I think that’s changed a lot. And the Tex-Mex thing with the rice and beans and combo it’s not really as popular anymore. That was true 15 years ago. Now it’s not as popular. You get more regionality. You get what Oaxacan restaurants, you get Teco restaurants, you get Sonoran restaurants, etc. You pick what kind of Mexican food you want now. So if somebody’s going to a Cevicheria and complain about food, that’s the one that Mexicans don’t complain about. If you’re doing raw or you’re doing seafood, they won’t complain about the price because seafood is fucking expensive and they know it.

Another thing I was talking with Estevan about a lot was Chicano culture and how Chicano culture for him specifically in the nineties, was very resonant. It was very much a part of his personality. And now with the younger generations, that identity is starting to wane a little bit, starting to shift and change into something new. Do you ever feel a need to represent Chicano culture through cuisine? Or are you already doing that just by being Chicano?

I think I’m already doing that by it being a mix. My food is not straight-up Mexican, it isn’t. And I’ve never said it is. People get huffy about this, “this isn’t Sonora, this isn’t Monterey.” I never said it was, I said I was inspired by Monterey. I said I was inspired by the Yucatan. I never said this is Comida Yucateca. I never said, this is Comida teconas, I’ve never said that. I’ve always said my food is my food through my eyes being born and raised in LA of Mexican descent. You know what I mean? And that’s straight-up Chicano right there, as much as it could be.

You’ve pushed the taco, you’ve even pushed the torta. Is there any other Mexican food staple you think is due for transformation? An elevation or something you’d like to see? Not even necessarily something you want to do yourself?

I don’t know. That’s a good question. I think it’d be really cool to see a little bit more Afro Mexican cuisine. I know they exist. I know that there’s paisa out there that are half black, half brown. I think it’d be interesting to see some more representation of that kind of food. You don’t see too much of it in the United States at all, and I know it exists. I imagine it being very good. I talked to Bill Sparsan and he’s mentioned some places in Oaxaca, specifically these beach towns where there’s a much bigger population of Afro Mexicanos. And he said the food is really fucking interesting there. That’s the kind of food I want to taste next. That’s something I’d be really interested in seeing and trying, that hybrid of both cultures, especially through that eye of Southern Mexico.

Billie Eilish is touring in support of her latest album, Hit Me Hard And Soft, at the moment. Notably, Finneas, Eilish’s brother and creative partner who has performed with her since the beginning, has been missing from some shows, as he’s touring behind his own album, For Cryin’ Out Loud!. Some might wonder if this means the end of an era for the two, but Eilish insists it doesn’t.

When Eilish was asked in a recent Los Angeles Times interview “if any conclusions should be drawn” about the current situation, Eilish responded, “It’s really not the end of anything. You can’t be in two places at once.”

Eilish has been setting herself up to be more autonomous when it comes to making music, though: In an interview last month, Finneas said, “I’ve been setting up Billie’s recording studio for her so she can do home production without me, because she’s very good at it! And it’s funny, I’ve been giving her, like, the bare minimum of stuff, just so that she learns it all… I’m like ‘Listen, I could give you all the stuff that I use now, but it took me years to even have a use for it. And, if I give you this basic thing, it’ll make sense to you right away.”