Surfer brings back the flavors of Baja - in a bottle.

Encinitas, California July 25, 2007 – The name Rob Burns seems like an appropriate moniker for someone with a passion for hot sauce. As a master hot sauce maker, Rob has scorched a tongue or two on many occasions. But it was his love of surfing and his travels through Baja, Mexico that led him to find something other than just waves—he discovered a taste for the local cuisine that he simply had to reproduce upon returning stateside. The solution to his dilemma was to ultimately create three distinctive hot sauces that personified Baja’s spicy offerings.

“I started making the sauces at home, mostly for friends and my own consumption, but the demand for the sauces just grew out of proportion,” says Burns. “At that point, I basically had to start a business, or I’d pretty much go broke keeping up with requests. That’s when I created Scorpion Bay Hot Sauce.”

The entrepreneurial Burns, along with his business partners, met one evening to discuss their business plan. While brainstorming over a few beers they decided on naming the company Scorpion Bay after an elusive surf break located just south of the sleepy fishing village of San Juanico, in Baja Sur. It’s a place that still maintains an authentic, rustic feel that echoes the flavor of the sauces Burns creates.

There are three offerings in the Scorpion Bay lineup: Hotacado Avocado Hot Sauce, De Arbol Hot Sauce and Chocopotle Chipotle Hot Sauce. What makes all of these sauces stand apart is their consistency, which is noticeably thicker than traditional commercial hot sauces. To facilitate pouring, rather than thinning the sauces Burns opted to package his sauces “with wider mouth bottles.” He adds, “We simply refused to compromise, so the bottle redesign was the obvious choice.”

The company’s business plan is a simple one—produce a great product while attaining little more than self-sufficiency and the ability to travel at will. Wade Koniakowsky, a San Diego artist specializing in surf and landscape paintings, created the artwork for the label. Scorpion Bay’s motto, “Do what you love—do it well and you will never go wrong,” is found on the side of every bottle.

Burns’ ultimate goal is to elevate the way people think about hot sauces, so that they’re less of a novelty item and more of a key ingredient to virtually every culinary item.

Currently Scorpion Bay Hot Sauce can be purchased via gourmet food shops across the nation and on their website, which also features easy-to-follow recipes for entrees, side dishes and even hot sauce themed desserts such as “Key Lime Hotacado Avocado Hot Sauce Pie” and “Chipotle Chocolate Sundaes.”