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 past. Blending tradition with creativity in every small batch, we craft delicious hot sauces using ingredients like Maine seaweed, maple syrup, blueberries, and chile peppers from the finest growing regions. 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 the Heat Started
Captain Mowatt’s was founded in 1997, but the story really begins in the late 1970's out in the Gulf of Mexico. At that time, Dan Stevens was the captain of a crew boat servicing an oil rig. Every meal on the oil rig 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 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. 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 chile 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 story is deeply tied to Portland, Maine. In 1775, during the early days of the American Revolution, Mowatt led a naval bombardment on the town, then called Falmouth Neck, leaving much of it in ruins. Whether seen as an enemy or a captain bound by orders, his name became permanently etched into the city’s history.

Choosing the name Captain Mowatt’s is a nod to Portland’s maritime past and to the grit and determination of its people. We do not glorify the destruction that took place. Instead, we remember the strength that rose from it. The Burning of Falmouth was a turning point in America’s fight for independence, an event that shocked the colonies, fueled the push for liberty, and led directly to the creation of the Continental Navy. It is a part of Maine’s maritime story that speaks to resilience, rebuilding, and the spirit of a community shaped by the sea.

This same spirit inspires our hot sauces. Our original sauces, Canceaux, Spitfire, and Halifax Jerk, are named after the ships in Mowatt’s fiery fleet. Once instruments of war, their names now bring flavor instead of firepower. 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.

Carrying the Flame Forward
Although Capt. Henry 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 Capt. 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.