Iconic and beloved regional spice mixture Old Bay released a limited edition hot sauce on Wednesday and the internet more or less lost its mind. An hour after the brand announced the release on Twitter, the website was crashing and every iteration of the hot sauce—a 3-pack of 10 oz bottles, a large 64 oz bottle, and a 3-pack of 5 oz bottles—was completely out of stock.
The brand announced the creation of the hot sauce on Tuesday, and excited fans were apparently waiting at the ready this morning when it went on sale around 11:15 a.m., according to the Baltimore Sun. “From what I understand, people kept refreshing the page and were ready when the product went on sale,” wrote a representative for McCormick, the company that owns Old Bay, to the Chicago Tribune.
By 12:15 p.m. on Wednesday, Old Bay confirmed that its wares were sold out, and said they would be restocking the product. Some people were less than reassured by this assertion.
https://twitter.com/ira/status/1222570100718309387
Marylanders in particular expressed devastation about their inability to get their hands on a bottle.
https://twitter.com/LisaMcCray/status/1222606817131401216
Old Bay could put out a line of cologne/perfume and Marylanders wouldn't hesitate
— alazar (@zarzarbinkss) January 29, 2020
this is honestly a violation of my human rights as a baltimore native currently living hundreds of miles from the ocean
— sasha (@albusmumblecore) January 29, 2020
One person even said they spent an hour refreshing the page trying to get their hands on the product, confirmed their order, and then got a notice that it had sold out. Old Bay tweeted at several dissatisfied customers, letting them know it would be “restocking ASAP” (although not today) and that the hot sauce would soon be available in select retail stores for a limited time.
Did you happen to get your hands on a bottle (or a few) of the hot sauce? Email me. We want your reviews!
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Natalie Delgadillo