The Hoya de Baza, the high plain that sits under the Sierra de Baza in the north of Granada province, runs on andrajos stews thickened over wood fires and the morcilla de Baza pressed across the comarca. RIBASTI, an independent hot sauce brand in Baza run by Roberto Cano, has taken bronze in Extra Hot Chili Sauce with LLAMARADA at the European Hot Sauce Awards 2026 (heatawards.eu), Europe's flagship hot sauce competition.
RIBASTI is run as an independent hot sauce brand in Baza by Roberto Cano, ten years in operation under the family signature. LLAMARADA, which translates as a blaze, is built to live at the extra-hot end of the table, drawing on the tradición and fuego Roberto describes as Granadina. A bronze placement in Extra Hot Chili Sauce, judged blind against producers from across the continent, puts a decade of work inside Europe's top tier.
Nathan Austin on LLAMARADA:
"LLAMARADA reads as an extra-hot built without apology for the heat: a fire-forward sauce that wants to land on grilled meat or to lift a stew that's been simmering all afternoon. The balance you'd expect from someone ten years into pressing his version of Granadina cooking through a bottle, the burn carrying flavour rather than displacing it." – Nathan Austin, Tasting Editor, Republic of Heat
LLAMARADA (bronze, Extra Hot Chili Sauce): an artisanal Spanish hot sauce built ten years into RIBASTI's run, leaning on Granadina tradition and a fire-forward heat profile. Built for grilled meat, slow-cooked stews and applications where the sauce should sit ahead of the dish.
"From the heart of Baza to the palate of Europe: our artisanal hot sauce 'Llamarada' has taken the bronze at the European hot sauce competition in the extra hot category. Tradition, fire and Granadina passion in every drop. Ten years as a brand stand behind us, and what is still to come is the continued search for the greatest hot sauce ever made." – R. Ribasti, RIBASTI
The European Hot Sauce Awards 2026 ran over 200 sauces from across the continent through blind tasting this year, scored on five criteria by a deliberately mixed panel of chefs, sommeliers, critics and chilli specialists. Extra Hot Chili Sauce is the category where the panel test for build under heat: a sauce has to deliver the burn without collapsing into pure capsaicin.
"Extra Hot is where the panel can hear a sauce fall apart. LLAMARADA didn't, and from a brand ten years into pressing Granadina cooking through a bottle, that's exactly the kind of result EHSA exists to surface." – Neil Numb, Founder, European Hot Sauce Awards
LLAMARADA is available from RIBASTI via ribastisalsapicante@gmail.com. Full EHSA 2026 results across all 16 categories: heatawards.eu/results/2026?utm_source=press_release&utm_medium=press&utm_campaign=ehsa2026&utm_content=ribasti.
The European Hot Sauce Awards 2026 are announced ahead of the Berlin Chili Fest, 29–31 May 2026. Republic of Heat's EHSA 2026 Top 3 winner box is live at republicofheat.com/de-en/discovery-set/euhsa_top3, with further EHSA selection boxes at republicofheat.com/de-en/hot-sauce-sets.
PRESS RESOURCES Reveal videos on YouTube, embeddable: - Extra Hot Chili Sauce: https://youtu.be/WXVJ6Qcbjzw Press kit (photos, logos, AI lifestyle composites credited Republic of Heat / European Hot Sauce Awards 2026): https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/14NrtOzq0vaIbw0Nu_KBrgZdP-7XElvGa?usp=drive_link
ABOUT RIBASTI RIBASTI is an independent hot sauce brand based in Baza, in the Granada province of Andalucía, founded and run by Roberto Cano. The brand has been operating for ten years, leaning on Granadina tradition and a fire-forward house style, with LLAMARADA built for the extra-hot end of the range. Reachable at ribastisalsapicante@gmail.com.
ABOUT THE EUROPEAN HOT SAUCE AWARDS The European Hot Sauce Awards (EHSA) is the professional competition for commercially produced hot sauces in Europe, run annually since 2024 from heatawards.eu. EHSA was born out of the Berlin Chili Festival, which has run since 2019 and returns 29–31 May 2026, and became an independent competition in 2024. Over 200 sauces from producers across the continent were entered in 2026. Entries are judged blind across five criteria: aroma, heat profile, flavour, creativity and finish. The 2026 edition covers 16 categories, with Gold, Silver and Bronze medals awarded across multiple positions in each. Each category also names a Best in Category, the top Gold. EHSA is run independently of any single producer or retailer.
ABOUT REPUBLIC OF HEAT Republic of Heat is a European hot sauce subscription designed to show off the flavours coming out of Europe and help solve the distribution problem independent makers face. Founded June 2025 in Berlin by Nathan "Naga" Austin and Simon "Scoville" Gardner. The Discovery subscription delivers three handpicked craft sauces plus a spicy extra to subscribers across the EU each month. Press partner of the European Hot Sauce Awards 2026. republicofheat.com.
PRESS CONTACT Press: Republic of Heat, on behalf of European Hot Sauce Awards contact@republicofheat.com +49 176 41601284
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