Minorcan Mike’s Datil Pepper Products are Sweet with a Little Heat

Larry Vaught Photo

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — Every time we come here I always make sure to visit the Farmers Market at the St. Augustine Amphitheatre because I have never seen a market quite like this.

It has so many unique booths with everything from baked goods to handcrafted items to fresh cooked foods and so much more.

When we were here in July we tried the Minorcan Mike’s Datil Pepper Sauce and my daughter-in-law used it to make meatballs that my grandsons loved. She asked me to search for my sauce to bring home and that is what I did.

However, not only did I find the sauce, but I got the history of this unique product.

Mike Osteen was a UPS driver for over 30 years and the last 15 years or so had the same neighborhood route. He knew most of  his customers and since they exchanged gifts at Christmas, he made sauces and started giving the sauce out as a gift.

Osteen’s friend, Dave Rounds, told me that “Mike’s grandfather made his own pepper sauces and Mike started fooling with recipes and came up with the recipe” he is selling today.

“The Minorcans are a strong and proud group of people,” Rounds said. “If you go to restaurants around town a lot have their own Datil Pepper recipes and some make their own sauce that they think is unique to them because Datil peppers only grow in the St. Augustine area.”

Minorcan Mike’s sauce is different. Don’t call it a BBQ sauce because it is used in way more ways.

“You can use it on scrambled eggs, tacos, fish, hamburgers or put it in your Bloody Mary,” Rounds said. “Instead of ketchup or BBQ sauce, use this.”

The sauce took off when Osteen gave a jar the Ace Hardware manager on St. Augustine beach. She took it to a Jacksonville Jaguars tailgate and told him if he could produce it commercially she could sell it.

“Mike did all the correct and necessary things to start selling through Ace and eventually we made a presentation to about 20 Ace Hardware owners who owned a combined 30 to 40 stores. They took a chance and put it in all their stores and gave the product the boost it needed,” Rounds said.

Now they also have Datil pepper salsa, jelly, mustard and rub.

“I can’t tell you how many repeat customers we have from talking to people at the Farmers Market and other places. Our products actually have about equal sales and it has been really interesting to watch it grow,” Rounds said. “Our online presence is growing daily. You never know where orders are coming from. We have orders from Oregon, Utah, Texas, New Hampshire. I don’t know how all these people have even heard about our products.

“I do know we meet people at the Farmers Market from all over the country who have flown here and can’t take product back with them. They sample our product, get home and can’t place orders fast enough.”

You can order online at minorcanmikes.com or by calling 904-687-9360. You can also email minorcanmikes@gmail.com with questions or orders.

The company logo is “Sweet with a Little Heat” and that’s a fair description based on all the products I have sampled at the Farmers Market — and hopefully will again Saturday.

“Some people are afraid to try our product. They are afraid it will scorch their throat and they will not be able to speak,” Rounds said. “That’s not the case. We are after people who can take our products home and their spouses, kids and children can enjoy it on what they want to put it on. That’s why we say ‘Sweet with a Little Heat’ because we want it to be something you can enjoy.”