Hugh Mosher has sold his hot sauce to several area bars and restaurants, including O’Toole’s on the Southside. Photos by Michael Thompson.
Correction: A previous version of this story misspelled Hugh Mosher’s last name as Moser.
Faced with the closure of the restaurant that served his favorite hot sauce, Hugh Mosher took matters into his own hands.
In March, Mosher launched Damn Yankee Chipotle Hot Sauce to recreate a favorite sauce he found during 25 cent wing nights at the now-closed restaurant Out of Bounds; Gus’s Bar & Grill is now open in the space.
“I fell in love with the sauce, but the owner would never give me the recipe,” Mosher said. “After years of being frustrated, I went and started playing around and made my own batch.”
He developed the recipe that would become Damn Yankee sauce about two years ago after experimenting with it for six months.
“Everybody that tasted it loved it,” Mosher said. “It’s a sweet, smoky smack.”
Damn Yankee sells individually for about $6 a bottle.
Mosher also owns New South Construction, a one-man home repair business he launched in 2007. He said a busy winter gave him the extra cash needed to try to capitalize on his recipe. He has put about $1,700 into the business so far.
He has used a plant in Mechanicsville to produce about 80 cases of 5-ounce bottles and 14 1-gallon jugs.
Since officially launching the venture in March, Mosher has peddled Damn Yankee into 10 neighborhood markets and seven restaurants around Richmond. He said he has sold about 50 12-bottle cases and nine jugs.
Five-ounce bottles retail for $6 and can be found at places like Westwood Pharmacy, Union Market and Strawberry Street Market. The Pig and Pearl went so far as to feature the sauce on its menu, and O’Toole’s, Poe’s Pub and The Cultured Swine also use the sauce on their menus.
The product’s name was inspired by Mosher’s move from the Garden State to Richmond about 15 years ago.
“I moved to Richmond from New Jersey in 1999,” Mosher said. “I got called a damn Yankee by all my friends.”
Mosher has yet to turn a profit in the hot sauce trade, but that isn’t stopping him from thinking ahead. He said he hopes to develop a fruity sauce and a spicier sauce to add to Damn Yankee’s product line, a step he hopes will help make the business a full-time venture.
“I’d like to introduce two other sauces,” Mosher said, “and eventually stop crawling under houses.”
Hugh Mosher has sold his hot sauce to several area bars and restaurants, including O’Toole’s on the Southside. Photos by Michael Thompson.
Correction: A previous version of this story misspelled Hugh Mosher’s last name as Moser.
Faced with the closure of the restaurant that served his favorite hot sauce, Hugh Mosher took matters into his own hands.
In March, Mosher launched Damn Yankee Chipotle Hot Sauce to recreate a favorite sauce he found during 25 cent wing nights at the now-closed restaurant Out of Bounds; Gus’s Bar & Grill is now open in the space.
“I fell in love with the sauce, but the owner would never give me the recipe,” Mosher said. “After years of being frustrated, I went and started playing around and made my own batch.”
He developed the recipe that would become Damn Yankee sauce about two years ago after experimenting with it for six months.
“Everybody that tasted it loved it,” Mosher said. “It’s a sweet, smoky smack.”
Damn Yankee sells individually for about $6 a bottle.
Mosher also owns New South Construction, a one-man home repair business he launched in 2007. He said a busy winter gave him the extra cash needed to try to capitalize on his recipe. He has put about $1,700 into the business so far.
He has used a plant in Mechanicsville to produce about 80 cases of 5-ounce bottles and 14 1-gallon jugs.
Since officially launching the venture in March, Mosher has peddled Damn Yankee into 10 neighborhood markets and seven restaurants around Richmond. He said he has sold about 50 12-bottle cases and nine jugs.
Five-ounce bottles retail for $6 and can be found at places like Westwood Pharmacy, Union Market and Strawberry Street Market. The Pig and Pearl went so far as to feature the sauce on its menu, and O’Toole’s, Poe’s Pub and The Cultured Swine also use the sauce on their menus.
The product’s name was inspired by Mosher’s move from the Garden State to Richmond about 15 years ago.
“I moved to Richmond from New Jersey in 1999,” Mosher said. “I got called a damn Yankee by all my friends.”
Mosher has yet to turn a profit in the hot sauce trade, but that isn’t stopping him from thinking ahead. He said he hopes to develop a fruity sauce and a spicier sauce to add to Damn Yankee’s product line, a step he hopes will help make the business a full-time venture.
“I’d like to introduce two other sauces,” Mosher said, “and eventually stop crawling under houses.”
I have used the sauce and it is good stuff!!! Good luck Hugh
Hugh, I LOVE THE SAUCE keep on cooking
Big lov from N J