I'm in love with hot sauce. I've had people say, "I know BP is enjoying the meal when he starts mopping his head with the napkin."

When dealing with off-the-shelf stuff, Texas Pete is tastier than Tabasco. Red Rooster is about the same as Tabasco.

Try some datil-pepper sauce... it's not the hottest, but that macho "measuring" of the heat will only lead to you eating some nasty gimmicky crap anyway, so don't do it. Not that you would- but others are reading. :)

Datil peppers (native to St. Augustine, FL I think) have some nice heat but also add to the flavor of your meal. I swear by 'em. There's a datil pepper-pickle relish called "Hellish Relish" that makes THE BEST deviled eggs and egg salad.

Avoid shit like this. My family, who appreciate but don't share my love of hot foods, are always giving me these gimmicky sauces and they are always gross.

At the local Viet Wah, I bought a jar of Chili Paste with Holy Basil Leaves. The stuff is heavenly! I threw it in with stir fried chicken and veggies.
It can be found here. PK044

My favorites are Tapatio and "hot cock sauce" or Sriracha. They're both pretty common here on the west coast. I like them because they have a sweet tangy flavor as opposed to Tabasco's mouthful of vinegar.

Also, El Pato is a good tomato sauce with a nice kick for pasta. I usually find it in the mexican food aisle at the grocer.

Now I'm hungry.

I like them because they have a sweet tangy flavor as opposed to Tabasco's mouthful of vinegar.

Ew. Sweet hot sauces are not real hot sauces... vinegar, however, adds years to your life even as the heat adds years to your face.

Have you tried The Gentleman's Relish, jon?

harissa

I get a chilli garlic hot sauce here and we put it on almost everything. Googling for it led me here:

http://www.chilliworld.com/

Looks pretty extensive.

Don't want a sweet hot sauce, but don't want pure capsicum pepper spray either.

I look for a hot sauce that has some additional ingredient (besides vinegar or sugar,) like papaya, prune, etc.

The Gentleman's Relish: someone else mentioned that on here, and I wished I had complimented his good taste. I'm always down for more (than the one or two jars per week) of the anchovies.

Indian pickles, particularly from Priya (scroll down to the pickles section of the table for flavors). They're more a spicy condiment than a hot sauce, but oh so delicious, and easily available in Jackson Heights (at Patel Brothers, among other places).

I also like the Sriracha. It's one of a handful of hot sauces that I can tolerate -- most of them are way too sour for my taste. I want hot sauce, not hot and really god damned vinegar-y sauce.

Also, anything with Thai chilis. Sometimes I can find sweet thai chili sauce, which to me is amazing; it has a strong kick-in-the-mouth spiciness plus delicious sugar.