Our Story
Our Mission
At Captain Mowatt’s, we’re fueled by history and heat. Inspired by a fiery past and driven by a love for bold flavors, our mission is to ignite tastebuds while honoring Maine’s maritime spirit. Blending tradition with creativity in every small batch, we craft delicious hot sauces using ingredients like Maine seaweed, maple syrup, blueberries, and, of course, a wide variety of hot peppers. Family owned and operated, we strive to make every customer’s experience with us one to remember by delivering quality, passion, and a true taste of Maine in every bottle.
How It Started
Captain Mowatt’s was officially founded in 1997, but the story really begins in the late 1970s out in the Gulf of Mexico. At the time, Dan Stevens was working as the captain of a crew boat servicing oil rigs. Every meal came with a heavy dose of hot sauce, thanks to the rig’s Louisiana-born chef who never served food without it. In that small galley, surrounded by the sea, Dan developed a lasting love for bold, fiery flavors and he’s been chasing that heat ever since.
Back home in Maine, Dan searched for a hot sauce that captured the punchy Southern heat he had come to love, but nothing quite hit the mark. So he started experimenting in his own kitchen, bottling homemade sauces in baby food jars. Friends and family couldn’t get enough, they kept coming back for more.
The turning point came when a friend asked Dan to make a batch for her restaurant, Becky’s Diner in Portland, Maine. The sauce was an instant hit. Customers loved it so much they started sneaking bottles off the tables. To keep up with demand, Dan enlisted his family and transformed their kitchen into a full-blown hot sauce factory. His three kids wore swimming goggles and bandanas to protect their eyes while chopping chili peppers and Dan filled each bottle by hand with a ladle and funnel. Friday nights were spent in the living room, carefully labeling every bottle and sharing entrepreneurial lessons along the way.
As word spread, so did the sauce. Captain Mowatt’s began winning first-place trophies at hot sauce competitions across the country.
Today, our headquarters sit on Portland’s Eastern Promenade, overlooking the same waters once sailed by the man who inspired our name. What began as a search for great flavor has grown into a proud local tradition, still family owned—and still burning the planet one tongue at a time.
Meaning Behind the Name
Captain Mowatt’s is named after Captain Henry Mowatt, a British naval officer whose legacy is deeply tied to Portland, Maine. In 1775, during the early days of the American Revolution, Mowatt led a naval attack on the town, then called Falmouth Neck, and set much of it ablaze. Seen as either an enemy or a misunderstood captain following orders, his name became permanently etched into the city’s history.
The name Captain Mowatt’s was chosen as a nod to Portland’s maritime past. A mix of grit, rebellion, and resilience. It’s the same spirit we bring to our hot sauces: bold, fiery, and unforgettable.
Our original sauces Canceaux, Spitfire, and Halifax Jerk were named after the very ships Mowatt used during the bombardment of Falmouth Neck. What once brought destruction now brings heat and flavor. A fleet of warships became a lineup of hot sauces, turning a piece of Portland’s past into something worth tasting. History and hot sauce.
Captain Henry Mowatt: A Legacy of Duty and Fire
Captain Henry Mowatt was born in Scotland in 1734. At 18, he joined the British Royal Navy. After six years of service as an able seaman and midshipman, he was commissioned as a lieutenant aboard HMS Baltimore in 1758. His early years taught him navigation, ship handling, and military strategy. Skills that shaped the rest of his career.
In 1764, Mowatt was given command of the 16-gun sloop HMS Canceaux, a hydrographic survey vessel used to chart the rugged coastlines of Atlantic Canada and New England. The name Canceaux came from a fishing village in Nova Scotia, now spelled Canso, derived from the Mi’kmaq word kamsook, meaning “opposite the lofty cliff.” His coastal charts, stretching from the Saint Lawrence River to Boston, were so precise they were used for decades.
From 1771 to 1774, Mowatt surveyed the coast of Maine. He came to know the people of Falmouth (now Portland) and grew attached to its peaceful harbors and tight-knit community. He once called it “one of the most delightful and peaceable stations” he had ever served in.
But that connection was tested in October 1775. Tensions between the colonies and Britain had erupted, and Mowatt was ordered to return to Falmouth and make an example of the town. The Royal Navy instructed him to destroy it as a warning to other rebel ports. Mowatt knew the people of Falmouth and had lived among them. While he could not refuse the orders, he did what he could to lessen their human cost.
He arrived in Casco Bay aboard the HMS Canceaux, joined by a small fleet that included the Cat, Halifax, Symmetry, and Spitfire. On October 16, Mowatt issued a formal proclamation warning residents to evacuate. Two days later, on the morning of October 18, the bombardment began.
For nine relentless hours, cannon fire rained down. Fires spread from building to building. Homes, churches, and warehouses collapsed into flames. By the time the smoke cleared, more than 400 structures were gone. Though no casualties were suffered, the devastation was immense.
The burning of Falmouth shocked the colonies. It convinced many that reconciliation with Britain was impossible. The attack helped ignite support for independence and directly led to the formation of the Continental Navy. For Mowatt, it became the most controversial moment of his career, a choice that placed duty above friendship, and orders above affection.
Despite the backlash, Mowatt continued to serve. In 1776, he took command of HMS Albany and later led a squadron during the Penobscot Expedition in 1779. His tactics helped a small British garrison defend Fort George in Castine against a much larger American fleet, leading to the capture and destruction of all 44 American vessels. The worst American naval defeat until Pearl Harbor in 1941.
In 1795, he was promoted to captain and given command of the 50-gun HMS Assistance. He died of apoplexy on April 14, 1798, while sailing off the Chesapeake Bay. He is buried in the Episcopal churchyard in Hampton, Virginia.
Carrying the Flame Forward
Although Captain Mowatt’s legacy is complicated, it reflects the difficult choices of a time divided by loyalty and rebellion. At Captain Mowatt’s, we believe history and hot sauce go hand in hand. Something to consume, appreciate, and remember. We’re named after Captain Henry Mowatt not to celebrate destruction, but to reclaim that fire and honor Maine’s maritime past. What once came by cannon now comes by bottle—still fiery, still unforgettable, still burning Portland since 1775.