TABASCO — Attraction in New Iberia

You have to do it all here or its just not worth it to the first time visitor. Whether it's coming to see the Egrets during the breeding season, getting up and close with an alligator well not too close but you could as all the ones here are tame, or taking their beautiful garden tour to see their old bamboo gardens and incredible live oaks. Maybe you just want a snack. Or learning a little about the history of the region is what your after their tour plus movie can provide which you can request to skip if its not your thing. As a environmental scientist by education i can say this island is truly unique to the area and a treat to anyone interested. Most things on the island are expensive as they make them in small batches to ensure quality and this is the only place most of their once sought after merchandise is purchasable. Being a local i have bought just about every variety of goods they have in their shop that i'm interested in. And from experience i can say just about everything that's sold in the shop except for maybe one or two local specialty pieces has lasted and lasted through use.

With one dollar you get free Tabasco, to play a few mini games, smell their pepper mash up close Omg, and taste all their goodies in their shop. The experience of smelling the process that makes Tabasco is hard to put a price on as it wafts up from the factory getting stronger as you pull up. Its the mixture of the sweet pepper mash with the salt cake from their salt dome plus the pungent brine used to ferment the mash. Imagine a intense salty ocean with a mix of sweet tangy smells that will leave your mouth watering any time you think of it. It really has a way of opening the nasal passages too! Lol it is Tabasco we are talking about after all

When you arrive you get about 4-8 mini bottles of all their verities of Tabasco for free. You take a small tour and watch a historic film followed by getting to see a section of their production line and end up in a game room where you can smell all the scents of Tabasco through its process to becoming their sauce. Next at their shop you get to taste all their concoctions including jalapeno or habenaro ice cream both surprisingly good, to their specialty chili (buy the chili starter cook it as they say Bam! fast one pot one of a kind Cajun chili soo good!), to all their sauces, spreads, and bread n' butter pickles. (Granted you have to eat them with the community pretzel stick bowl but wait don't! Just ask for new ones and they will provide you with a few so you get to taste test till your taste buds go out caution very hot! Literally i have never been told i couldn't have more.)

With the addition of their restaurant soon and the pepper horticulture tour farm its a hidden gem that's very easy to overlook as they don't really advertise. Avery island is more than just a factory its an entire community that works and lives there on the island all they do is this and its been that way for generations now. It's kinda crazy but its pretty much a Cajun north-pole if such a thing exists. You get a lot for that one dollar plus experiences your not likely to forget as we are all odd Cajuns down here and hospitality is a must.

At the end of the day It's easy to spend a lot at Avery Island but you don't have to. I go multiple times each year, and i always take a nephew or a niece as the experience is more tailored to them and we get a fun snack to boot.

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Avery Island was a great experience.. we had lunch in the little cafeteria and the food was actually really delicious..served with all their Tabasco sauces..place was hopping but we snagged a table on their spacious patio overlooking a large swath of property just filled with bamboo trees of all shapes and sizes...very peaceful..loved eating there...from there we went on our self guided tour of the Tabasco plant that i felt a huge sense of relief over, seeing as how i HATE organized tours of such places and wanted to go at my own pace...the plant itself was interesting enough..we took alot of pictures and learned quite a bit about the procedures there...then it was off to the Gift Shop which i almost think was the best part the day!...they had so much fun, unique stuff and even had samples of various peppers morphed with soft serve ice cream that was seriously DELICIOUS!!..and we got to sample the new Tabasco Siricha that was tasty as well...we probably spent a good hour just in the Gift Shop before we were on to the next adventure...The Jungle Gardens at Avery Island...but thats...

Great place to visit, especially for a family. If your passing near this area I would recommend the extra time to stop by and tour this place. They have an actual operational bottling facility on premises that you can see a portion of as well as various other steps in the sauce making processes that are able to see parts of. There are various monitors that show video clips explaining a lot of what is behind the scenes & history. Out back of the store is a green house that you can tour. It has various pepper plant varieties on display. They also have a store that carries various Tabasco products. Many of the products are available for sampling. I would definitely recommend this place to others. Just down the street is Avery Island which gives an added bonus to the tour. It helps make it worth the time to drive down for. I enjoy both places when I get...