Anyone who knows me probably knows I like hot, spicy foods. But what I like even more is hot sauces. Because with a hot sauce, I can make any food (or drink) as spicy as I like. Which, by most people's standards, is pretty damn spicy.

So, I've been delighting in local establishment RJ's Hot Sauces, here in Leesburg. Now RJ himself is a bit of a mystery. He opens the store only on Saturdays, and then only from "about 10am" to "about 5pm". In practice, "about 5" means that you are likely to be out of luck if you get there beyond 4:30. He is, as you may have guessed, very laid back, and very knowledgeable about the hundreds of hot sauces, salsas and bbq sauces he stocks.

RJ, however, is going to be closing his store at the end of the month of July because he's lost his lease. So, anyone who lives nearby and shares my passion for hot sauces, get yourself over to RJ's - he's opening his store every day except Sunday to move his stock, and offering a "buy three, get one free" promotion. He's not real thrilled to be working in the shop every day, which makes me wonder how he actually makes a real living. But I digress.

So, I was hearing RJ's tale of woe and talking sauce and decided to stock up on some of my faves (1, 2, 3) and maybe see what else he had to recommend.

Well, seems ol' RJ's been holding out on me, because it was only last week that he hipped me to Ring of Fire, which he casually described as the "world's greatest hot sauce". He wasn't kidding. It's not that it's incredibly hot (because it isn't - I mean don't get me wrong, it's hot, but it's not, say, Pure Cap), but it is intensely flavo(u)rful - a wonderful mix of hot peppers, vinegar, crushed black peppercorns, coriander and other things.

I opened some today, mixed with a regular store-bought salsa and ... oh ... my ... God ... yeah, it's that good.

So, needless to say, I'll be back there this weekend to buy some more while it's easily available from a local merchant, and I suggest you do too.