Frequently Asked Questions
WHERE IS MY ORDER?
We ship orders Monday - Friday. Depending on when you placed your order shipping times will vary.
WHY IS SHIPPING SO EXPENSIVE?
Shipping rates can be high, we totally understand. We do offer free local delivery and all orders over $89 ship free. Our rates displayed are live from Purolator and can fluctuate.
CAN I PICK UP MY ORDER LOCALLY?
We currently only offer shipped products.
WHERE CAN I FIND YOUR PRODUCTS?
All of our suggested retailers are listed on our site, on a map with links to their websites (coming soon). We are pretty strict on who we promote as retailers. We only use one or two retailers per city/town and we try very hard to only use retailers who are family owned and locally based. Support local whenever possible.
WHERE’S THE SCOVILLE RATING ON YOUR SAUCES?
Despite Scoville ratings being a “standard” in the hot sauce world, we don’t really work off that. Heat level is so subjective that it varies immensely from one person to another. We’ve done our best to rate them on a scale of 1-10 based on feedback from our customers.
DO YOU HAVE A STORE?
We do not have our own retail store at this time, but we do have a list of stores that carry our sauces!
WHY IS MY OG A BIT HOTTER OR SLIGHTLY LESS HOT THAN MY LAST BOTTLE?
The Scotch Bonnets (the heat) grow in the ground. Sunlight, rain, soil, etc affect the heat they possess. This is why on a Scoville scale they are listed at 100,000-350,000. Mother Nature is a mad scientist.
WHY IS MY NEW BOTTLE OF SAUCE DARKER THAN MY LAST BOTTLE?
The peppers (Scotch Bonnet and Bell Peppers) range in colour. Bonnets that are more orange will produce a lighter red sauce. Conversely, dark red bells and bonnets will produce a darker red sauce. The colours in handcrafted sauces are at the mercy of Mother Nature.
I SAW A TINY BLACK SPEC IN MY LAST BOTTLE OF HOT SAUCE, ANY IDEA WHAT THAT WAS... AND CAN I EAT IT?
We smoke our ingredients at approximately the same temp (250F) for the same amount of time (2 hours) every time. Once in a while, some of the softer ingredients sit in a hot spot. Because of this, occasionally the outsides gets a bit charred. It doesn’t affect the overall flavour, but those bits get puréed and there’s nowhere for them to go. They’re totally safe to eat, don’t worry.
WHY DOES MY MOST RECENT BOTTLE OF HOT SAUCE TASTE MORE SMOKEY THAN THE LAST BOTTLE?
Great question. We try to keep every batch exactly the same on every level. Sometimes, it’s windy and it draws the smoke through the smoker quicker. Less time for the Smoke to impart its flavour. Sometimes the ingredients are more porous which results in more smoke retention. For lack of a better explanation, it’s the excitement of “what’s coming next” that you get with a small batch, handmade sauce.
IS THIS SAUCE VEGAN?
Yes.
IS THIS SAUCE GLUTEN FREE?
It took years of hard work to replace the vegan “stock” we used to use (it had MSG). We developed a new flavour additive which is primary Nutritional Yeast, with a few other natural herbs (listed in the label). That said, as proud as we are of this trade secret, we are hesitant to state that our sauces are 100% gluten free for liability issues. We are at the point that we make or know EVERYTHING that goes into our sauces, and there is no gluten. But we’ll say that they are 99.99% gluten free just in case.
ARE ALL OF YOUR INGREDIENTS GROWN AND PURCHASED FROM LOCAL (NIAGARA) FARMS?
They used to be. We have grown over the past few years and it’s next to impossible to source ALL of our ingredients from Niagara. We’re focused now on the fact that all of our sauces are handmade in small batches right here in Niagara. We get as many ingredients as possible from local farms.
WHY HAS MY FAVOURITE SAUCE BEEN SOLD OUT ON THE SMOKE EATER WEBSITE AND AT THE LOCAL RETAILERS?
Smoke Eater is small batch and hand crafted. Sometimes the ingredients needed to make the perfect batch of sauce aren’t available. Some sauces are seasonal. Sometimes, we get a massive order that once we fill, leaves our supply depleted. Rest assured that in these instances, we are working hard to replenish our stock. If you love a particular sauce, buy a bit more than you need to avoid this conundrum!
I HAVE A GREAT IDEA FOR A SAUCE AND A BUNCH OF MY FRIENDS AGREE THAT IT WOULD BE GREAT. DO YOU TAKE REQUESTS?
Hell yeah. But some flavours are tough to marry, and some may not be a hit outside of your circle. But all ideas are welcome!
I OWN A RESTAURANT AND I LOVE YOUR SAUCE, DO YOU "WHITE LABEL" ANY OF YOUR SAUCES?
Not really, but if you want to carry or sell Smoke Eater as your own, with your own label, it’s not out of the question.
If you have any other questions that aren’t addressed here, feel free to reach out to us and we’ll answer it to the best of our ability.
Thanks for your interest and your patronage!!