Quick Answer
Is Dave's Gourmet Buffalo Wing Sauce worth buying?Dave's Gourmet Buffalo Wing Sauce is an excellent choice for heat enthusiasts who want commercial buffalo sauce with above-average heat and craft hot sauce quality. It's noticeably hotter than Frank's-based commercial sauces, with a more complex flavor profile that reflects Dave's Gourmet's expertise in serious hot sauces. Not ideal for guests with low heat tolerance — this is a medium-hot sauce by mass-market standards and a medium by hot sauce enthusiast standards.
Dave's Gourmet Background
Dave's Gourmet is a San Francisco-based hot sauce company founded by Dave Hirschkop in the early 1990s. They became well-known in the craft hot sauce world for products like "Insanity Sauce" — one of the first commercially available super-hot sauces. Their buffalo wing sauce applies this heat-forward approach to the wing sauce format.
Dave's occupies an interesting position: too hot for casual consumers, not extreme enough for hardcore heat seekers. Their buffalo wing sauce hits the sweet spot for people who want genuinely hot buffalo sauce with craft quality.
| Feature | Dave's Gourmet Buffalo | Frank's RedHot Original |
|---|---|---|
| SHU (approx) | ~1,500–2,500 | ~450 |
| Heat profile | Build-up, complex | Immediate, simple |
| Pepper complexity | Multiple pepper types | Pure cayenne |
| Price per oz | ~$0.60–0.80/oz | ~$0.29/oz |
| Flavor | Complex, slightly fruity heat | Clean, vinegar-cayenne |
| Best audience | Heat enthusiasts | General audience |
Product Review
Dave's Gourmet Buffalo Wing Sauce uses a more complex pepper base than standard cayenne-only buffalo sauces. The result is a sauce with layered heat — you notice different heat components building at different intervals rather than a single wave of cayenne burn.
Flavor profile: vinegar-forward (consistent with buffalo expectations), but with more complexity behind the vinegar. Fruity, slightly earthy notes from the multi-pepper base. The heat arrives quickly and has staying power — expect 5–10 minutes of warmth after eating.
As a wing sauce (combined with butter): the added butter richness balances the higher heat well. The finished sauce is more complex than Frank's-based buffalo but unmistakably in the buffalo family.
Heat Level Reality Check
Dave's Buffalo at ~1,500–2,500 SHU is classified as:
- "Hot" or "Extra Hot" at most chain restaurants
- "Medium" at the Anchor Bar and other heat-forward establishments
- "Mild" to experienced hot sauce collectors who work with habanero-level products daily
For a general party: clearly label this as "hot" and provide dairy cooling options nearby. For heat enthusiasts: satisfying but not extreme — a great everyday hot sauce for people who regularly eat jalapeño-level food and want more.
💡 Best Application for Dave's Buffalo
Dave's Buffalo sauce works particularly well on grilled wings where the char can match the sauce's heat intensity — the combination of smoke char and building heat creates complexity that standard buffalo sauce doesn't achieve on grilled food. Also excellent as a hot dipping sauce rather than a toss sauce: serving it on the side lets guests self-regulate how much heat they take on. This is especially useful for mixed heat-tolerance groups.
Verdict
Overall: 4.0/5 for heat enthusiasts; 3.0/5 for general audience
Best for: Wing enthusiasts who want commercial buffalo sauce with meaningful heat; special "hot" option at a multi-sauce wing night; a step up from Frank's for experienced heat eaters.
Not for: Mixed groups with varying heat tolerance; those looking for classic mild buffalo flavor; everyday use for heat-sensitive cooks.