Picking a Peck of Royal Peppers

First came the startling revelation that the Queen of England uses Tupperware. Now comes the news that when white-gloved waiters at Buckingham Palace lift the dome on silver platters, they present Her Majesty the Queen with ... a bottle of Tabasco sauce?

So maybe it doesn’t happen exactly like that (maybe it's already in her Bloody Mary?) but we at Tonic can reveal that the very down-home and very American condiment is served at the British royals' palaces and castles. According to the U.K.’s The Times, the hot sauce is such a favorite of the royals that it’s been granted a royal warrant by the Queen. That makes Louisiana's McIlhenny Company, the makers of Tabasco, the only independent United States food company to receive that honor. (What exactly is a royal warrant and how do you get one? Read more about it here.)

And you thought it was just the British tabloids who spiced up the royals' lives.

Photo courtesy of Tabasco.