Some of us never leave home without a tiny bottle of Tabasco® hidden in the folds of a pocket, or deep in a handbag (or, presumably, manbag), ready to add spice not just to the blandest thing on the menu. I know because, not that long ago, I met someone who did just that. We’d be eating something utterly delicious wherever, and out would come the little red bottle for a surreptitious shake to make it more palatable to her.

For me, there is only one reason to use Tabasco® and that is to add an extra dimension to an already hot and spicy Bloody Mary. I detected its sharp, tangy notes in the oyster shot I drank, sitting in Sydney Harbour on New Year’s Day this year (the only difference between that morning after the night before remedy and a Bloody Mary being the presence of an oyster – and goodness knows how it reacted when drowning in the hot stuff).

If you rely on industrial quantities of Tabasco® to spice up your life you will be pepped up to know that you can now buy it in bulk. And, no, that does not mean buying a case of 57ml bottles, or the loved-by-chefs 350ml size. It’s available by the gallon jug – and, yes, you did read that right. Look for it in Fortnum & Mason, Harvey Nichols and Selfridges (RRP £75).

Just don’t expect it to come out of the bottle in delicate drips