McILHENNY COMPANY REDISCOVERS ITS HISTORY
WITH OPENING OF NEW ORLEANS MUSEUM

AVERY ISLAND, LA - In 2006 McIlhenny Company will formally open a
museum in New Orleans dedicated to the origins and history of
Louisiana's most famous product, Tabasco=AE brand pepper sauce - a
product whose history is uniquely intertwined with that of America for
over 135 years. This museum, and the information and exhibits it will
present, are the result of concerted efforts to elucidate the events
surrounding the creation of a global culinary icon. And once these
efforts began, they rewrote a storied history that, while riddled with
rumor and misinformation, had long been taken as gospel.

"The collection of documents and artifacts relating to Tabasco sauce
history has been a huge undertaking," said Dr. Shane K. Bernard,
historian and curator to McIlhenny Company. "I've found items of
considerable value in attics, in warehouses, and in other archives and
museums around the world. And while reviewing this material I
discovered inconsistencies concerning such basic events in the history
of Tabasco sauce as the origin of peppers that Edmund McIlhenny used to
concoct his product, and the early reception of that product by the
general consuming public."

According to legend, Edmund McIlhenny encountered a Mexican-American
War veteran on the streets of antebellum New Orleans. The ex-soldier,
named Friend Gleason, gave McIlhenny a few pepper pods collected during
his recent travels in Mexico. McIlhenny liked the peppers so much that
he planted a few of them on his plantation at Avery Island, Louisiana,
and using their offspring he concocted a fiery pepper sauce that he
called "Tabasco." McIlhenny placed his first 350 bottles of sauce on
the market in 1868. Tabasco sauce's fame immediately spread far and
wide, and soon McIlhenny was distributing tens of thousands of bottles
throughout America. Demand spread overseas, and by the early 1870s
Tabasco sauce had established itself worldwide.

"However, this somewhat romanticized tale, full of specific and
colorful details that imply veracity, is largely untrue. We don't know
for certain how Edmund McIlhenny obtained his original peppers. He
never recorded the story for posterity, and his wife, brother-in-law,
and children held diverse views on the subject, some mutually
exclusive," said Dr. Bernard. "In addition, 350 recycled cologne
bottles containing Tabasco sauce were not sent to market in 1868.
Rather, McIlhenny grew his first commercial crop in 1868, but sold no
Tabasco sauce until 1869, when he sent 658 new cologne bottles filled
with his condiment to market. And we know from McIlhenny's
meticulous business records that the domestic popularity of Tabasco
sauce grew slowly over a decade or more, and didn't successfully
export to Europe until the late 1870s."

Another incorrect version of the origin of McIlhenny's peppers claims
that Edmund McIlhenny obtained his original batch of pepper pods not
from the soldier named Friend Gleason, but from Colonel Maunsel White,
a prominent Louisiana businessman during the antebellum period. As Dr.
Bernard discovered, this alternate description of the story asserts
that Colonel White not only gave McIlhenny his pepper pods, but also
his "secret recipe" for making a pepper sauce.

"How these intertwined, erroneous stories involving Colonel White
originated is still a mystery," said Dr. Bernard. "There is no
evidence that Colonel White gave his peppers to McIlhenny."
Admittedly, Colonel White did call his peppers 'tobasco,' but in
the antebellum period 'tabasco/tobasco' appears to have been a
geographically descriptive term that referred to a number of peppers
- as well as to a seasoning, now called allspice, that was not even a
member of the pepper family. Even more significantly, according to Dr.
Bernard, present-day White descendants deny that Colonel White and
McIlhenny used the same botanical variety of pepper for their
respective condiments.

Furthermore, McIlhenny did not obtain his pepper sauce recipe from
Colonel White. "Colonel White's recipe was not 'secret,' as
some have asserted, but had been published at least twice in the
mid-nineteenth century," added Dr. Bernard. "According to that
published recipe, Colonel White boiled his concoction; McIlhenny, on
the other hand, never boiled his peppers, but allowed them to ferment
and age naturally. The recipes, therefore, were different."

Edmund McIlhenny first used the Tabasco trademark - the familiar
diamond logo - in 1869 when he sold his initial batch of pepper sauce
domestically. "Tabasco" quickly acquired a secondary significance
as the brand name of Edmund McIlhenny's sauce and shortly lost its
geographic descriptiveness. He patented a version of his Tabasco sauce
in 1870, and subsequently in 1888 a noted botanist classified
McIlhenny's pepper as the tabasco pepper, eventually known by the
scientific name Capsicum frutescens var. tabasco. In 1898 and 1900
federal courts granted protection to the McIlhenny family's
distinctive label and trade dress for its pepper sauce product, and in
1912 courts first recognized the McIlhenny family's exclusive
ownership of the Tabasco trademark.

Indeed, McIlhenny Company itself used the aforementioned tale of the
Mexican-American war veteran in its own promotional materials and press
releases for many years. As a result, this and the other stories have
found their way into countless newspaper and magazine articles, as well
as books on history, botany, and other subjects. Many of these
articles are easily retrievable on the Internet or via archival
services such as LexisNexis, and continue to live on.

One such subject that continues to invite false rumor involves the
McIlhenny family and giant, orange-toothed swamp rats called nutria.
One of McIlhenny Company's early presidents, E. A. McIlhenny, has
been held responsible for many years for introducing nutria to
Louisiana, a notion he himself embraced. However, as Dr. Bernard
discovered, E. A. McIlhenny's own business papers show that he was at
least the third nutria farmer in the state and at least the second to
intentionally set loose nutria into the state's wild.
"Furthermore, E. A. McIlhenny never imported nutria to Louisiana, as
often claimed, but purchased his original nutria from one of the
pre-exiting farms in St. Bernard Parish below New Orleans," said Dr.
Bernard. "However, E. A. McIlhenny did eventually release a large
number of nutria into the wild of his own volition. But it was not the
result of a hurricane that blew down his pen, as one popular story
goes, resulting in a mass escape."

McIlhenny Company's commitment to correcting its own historical
record demonstrates the complexity of distinguishing between actual
history and the "fakelore" that often passes for history. In 2000
and 2001, Dr. Bernard supervised two archaeological digs on Avery
Island - an attempt to shed further light on the earliest days of
this fiery cultural icon.

The opening of the Tabasco museum in 2006 marks an important milestone
in this long-term process. "I am certain that after the opening we
will continue to discover additional truths about Tabasco sauce and its
amazing history," said Dr. Bernard. "McIlhenny Company is
dedicated to its history and to providing accurate information, even
though this often means amending widely held beliefs." This quest is
not likely to cool down any time soon in the McIlhenny Company
Archives.

###

The TABASCO=AE marks, bottle and label designs are registered trademarks
and servicemarks exclusively of McIlhenny Company, Avery Island, LA
70513.

05/05

One time on Usenet, said:

> McILHENNY COMPANY REDISCOVERS ITS HISTORY
> WITH OPENING OF NEW ORLEANS MUSEUM

Why is RFC being spammed by the tabasco people? Weird...

--
Jani in WA ~ mom, vid gamer, novice cook ~

Gal Called Jani wrote:

> One time on Usenet, said:
>
>
>>McILHENNY COMPANY REDISCOVERS ITS HISTORY
>>WITH OPENING OF NEW ORLEANS MUSEUM
>
>
> Why is RFC being spammed by the tabasco people? Weird...
>
Well, it is a food related history. I found it kinda interesting. I love
the little teeny hot sauce bottles in the military MRE packs.
Goomba

Goomba38 wrote:
> Gal Called Jani wrote:
>
>> One time on Usenet, said:
>>
>>
>>> McILHENNY COMPANY REDISCOVERS ITS HISTORY
>>> WITH OPENING OF NEW ORLEANS MUSEUM
>>
>>
>> Why is RFC being spammed by the tabasco people? Weird...
>>
> Well, it is a food related history. I found it kinda interesting. I
> love the little teeny hot sauce bottles in the military MRE packs.
> Goomba

Tabasco is and will continue to be a staple in my pantry. I don't care
where he got the peppers, it's tasty stuff.

Jill

Gal Called Jani wrote:

> Why is RFC being spammed by the tabasco people? Weird...

Yeah, I do not understand that either. I have taken the tour a couple
of times, it is pretty neat.

Becca

"Gal Called Jani" > wrote in message
...
> One time on Usenet, said:
>
> > McILHENNY COMPANY REDISCOVERS ITS HISTORY
> > WITH OPENING OF NEW ORLEANS MUSEUM
>
> Why is RFC being spammed by the tabasco people? Weird...

Heh, Id'no, but the info is mildly interesting I suppose. However, I make
far superior hotsauces - for an unbiased opinion on the greatness of my
hotsauces, well, just ask me.





Shaun aRe

Shaun aRe wrote:

>
>
> Heh, Id'no, but the info is mildly interesting I suppose. However, I make
> far superior hotsauces - for an unbiased opinion on the greatness of my
> hotsauces, well, just ask me.
>
>
>
>
>
> Shaun aRe
>
>

Well, you are still alive kiddo, so they can't be that bad...

Cathy - who's DH is thinking of making his own sauces too. We need to
use those chillies in the garden for something


--
I don't suffer from insanity - I enjoy every minute of it

In article >, Goomba38
> wrote:

> Gal Called Jani wrote:
>
> > One time on Usenet, said:
> >
> >
> >>McILHENNY COMPANY REDISCOVERS ITS HISTORY
> >>WITH OPENING OF NEW ORLEANS MUSEUM
> >
> >
> > Why is RFC being spammed by the tabasco people? Weird...
> >
> Well, it is a food related history. I found it kinda interesting. I love
> the little teeny hot sauce bottles in the military MRE packs.
> Goomba

Cost Plus World Market sells them - and other small containers of
condiments like mustard, ketchup.
--
-Barb, <http://www.jamlady.eboard.com> 5/8/05.
"Are we going to measure, or are we going to cook?" -Food Critic Mimi Sheraton

"Goomba38" > wrote in message
...
> Gal Called Jani wrote:
>
>> One time on Usenet, said:
>>
>>
>>>McILHENNY COMPANY REDISCOVERS ITS HISTORY
>>>WITH OPENING OF NEW ORLEANS MUSEUM
>>
>>
>> Why is RFC being spammed by the tabasco people? Weird...
>>
> Well, it is a food related history. I found it kinda interesting. I love
> the little teeny hot sauce bottles in the military MRE packs.
> Goomba

There are so many other good tabasco-type hot sauces on the market that I
haven't bothered with tabasco for years now. One of my favorites is the
brand, Amazon, in a wee-bottle.
Dee

Goomba38 wrote:

> Gal Called Jani wrote:
>
>> One time on Usenet, said:
>>
>>
>>> McILHENNY COMPANY REDISCOVERS ITS HISTORY
>>> WITH OPENING OF NEW ORLEANS MUSEUM
>>
>>
>>
>> Why is RFC being spammed by the tabasco people? Weird...
>>
> Well, it is a food related history. I found it kinda interesting. I love
> the little teeny hot sauce bottles in the military MRE packs.
> Goomba

Some motels still give out the little bottles of hot sauce with room
service. They even have minature bottles of dijon mustard and ketchup.
I have a few that I kept because they were so cute.

"Gal Called Jani" > wrote in message
...
> One time on Usenet, said:
>
> > McILHENNY COMPANY REDISCOVERS ITS HISTORY
> > WITH OPENING OF NEW ORLEANS MUSEUM
>
> Why is RFC being spammed by the tabasco people? Weird...

I dunno, but I didn't mind. As long as they don't overdo it,
I won't mind the occasional announcement from the Source
of the Holy of Holies....

Bob M.

One time on Usenet, Goomba38 > said:
> Gal Called Jani wrote:
>
> > One time on Usenet, said:
> >
> >
> >>McILHENNY COMPANY REDISCOVERS ITS HISTORY
> >>WITH OPENING OF NEW ORLEANS MUSEUM
> >
> >
> > Why is RFC being spammed by the tabasco people? Weird...
> >
> Well, it is a food related history. I found it kinda interesting.

Yeah, it still seems weird though -- they did it in two separate
threads. But at least it is on topic.

> I love
> the little teeny hot sauce bottles in the military MRE packs.

I received one of those with some baked oysters at a restaurant;
they're so cute! (The bottles, not the oysters)...

--
Jani in WA ~ mom, vid gamer, novice cook ~

"Dee Randall" > wrote in message
...

> There are so many other good tabasco-type hot sauces on the market that I
> haven't bothered with tabasco for years now. One of my favorites is the
> brand, Amazon, in a wee-bottle.
> Dee

A small bottle, or one you wee in?

Felice

In article >,
(Gal Called Jani) wrote:

> Why is RFC being spammed by the tabasco people? Weird...


First off, they're using Google Groups. I'd be surprised if McIlhenny
would actually use Google Groups to post. Second, the posting IP is
70.150.12.98, which resolves to Marina Del Rey, California, or
thereabouts.

Is it really the Tabasco people? Maybe, but I have my doubts.

--
to respond (OT only), change "spamless.invalid" to "optonline.net"

<http://www.thecoffeefaq.com/>

: In article >,
: (Gal Called Jani) wrote:

: > Why is RFC being spammed by the tabasco people? Weird...


: First off, they're using Google Groups. I'd be surprised if McIlhenny
: would actually use Google Groups to post. Second, the posting IP is
: 70.150.12.98, which resolves to Marina Del Rey, California, or
: thereabouts.

: Is it really the Tabasco people? Maybe, but I have my doubts.

: --
: to respond (OT only), change "spamless.invalid" to "optonline.net"

: <http://www.thecoffeefaq.com/>


The IP you mention is simply the NNTP server that was used to post the message -
it means absolutely nothing. The message originated from Google so is
essentially anonymous. Plus, it isn't even registered in DNS (therefore can't
resolve) - how did you come up with this Marina Del Rey, California crap?

BUT...an address very close to that one IS registered to tabasco.com -
70.150.12.99 is indeed a Tabasco address. But again this all means nothing.