avery island is located in the bayous of louisiana, west of new orleans. es wide, the island has been owned by the mcilhenny's and their family for almost 200 years. >> tony simmons: this is where we take our pepper mash... >> gupta: it's 9:00 a.m. that means tony simmons, the fifth-generation c.e.o., is heading to the warehouse for his daily taste test. farmers all over the world grow the peppers, mash them, and ship it all back to avery island. you do this every morning that you're here? >> simmons: every morning i'm here, i check these barrels, if they're making mash. where's this from? >> colombia. >> gupta: that means every bottle of tabasco in the world has his personal seal of approval. >> simmons: so i'm looking at the color and that's why i've got an incandescent light. i want to look at the color, i want to look at the seed. and when i taste the mash, usually, what i'm looking for is i get some salt out on the edges of my tongue and then about the time you think, "well, this isn't that much of a big deal," the heat comes late. you want to try? >>