Well, the short answer is - it tastes great! The longer and more complicated answers are below...

SUSTAINABILITY:
Aside from flavoring, the main reason we focused on maple syrup is sustainability. In producing maple syrup, the host tree is preserved and re-used year after year. This is not the case for traditional sugar crops, which require expensive fertilization, refinement, and significant environmental impacts.

OUR PRODUCT IS FOR EVERYONE:
Sugar has a lot of hidden issues in how it is made / refined & not all sugar is created equal. We wanted something anyone could buy and not worry about what was in it / how it was made.  Diabetics / Omnivores / Vegetarians / Gluten-watchers / Vegans...  we all deserve the right to not have to worry about what we are putting in our bodies, and the environmental impacts associated with it.

To start with, the bleaching & refining compounds used by many sugar producers rely on substances like Bone-Char from cattle processing and animal byproducts. This means that products using such sugars are not Vegan & Veggie friendly... and I wanted to make a product that EVERYONE can consume.

What about non bleached sugars - like beet sugar?

One of the byproducts from beet sugar (one of the most common used sugars) is hydrogen cyanide. In sufficient quantity, this can be a toxic chemical that kills through metabolic asphyxiation (meaning it destroys your body's ability to use oxygen). Many of the refineries dispose of this through legalized dumping in water supplies (to render it inert via dilution). While this is indeed a safe handling practice, it has been theorized that over long periods of time the dumping process can accumulate and kill local fisheries through buildup of the toxin. We would rather not take the chance any of these theories are true, especially when there are better alternatives.

A CLEAN CONSCIOUS:
So, we turned to the lovely maple tree for our source of goodness - Maple Syrup. You don’t kill the tree, and you don’t rely on anything other than heat & boiling to refine it. The byproducts are simply water-vapor and the reduced tree sap... aka: maple syrup. 

Besides, it tastes awesome & is made 100% in the US by sustainable manufactures. 

Now, realistically you have 3 ways to go about this recipe:  HONEY style or MAPLE style or SPICY PEANUT style. To do this,  quite simply you add one of the following:

• Honey
• Maple Syrup & Brown Sugar
• Peanut butter

All three of these sauces have their merits... it is up to you and your kitchen cupboard to decide which one you'll choose. In my honest opinion you should make all three!!!

NOTE: This is a 2 step recipe, where you'll be cooking the wings in a separate mixture, and adding the sauce to them post-cooking.


INGREDIENTS NEEDED

Sauce 
1/4 cup Hotmaple Smokey Habanero Sauce
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon soy sauce

And, choose one of these 3 sauce options / flavors

• Honey Sauce:  1/3 cup natural honey
• Maple Sauce:  1/3 Cup Maple Syrup + 2 Tbs. brown sugar
• Spicy Peanut:  1/3 Cup Creamy Peanut Butter
  
  

Wings 
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus more for the pan
2 pounds chicken wings, split at the joints, tips removed
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper (shake)

COOKING DIRECTIONS:
Preparation work:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Pat Dry the Chicken wings with paper towel, and place in a large bowl

3. Lightly coat a large rimmed baking sheet with vegetable oil.  

Cooking the Wings:

In a small bowl, mix 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, the melted butter, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Pour the mixture over the wings and toss well to coat. Spread the wings in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet.

Bake the wings until browned and crisp, 45 to 55 minutes. 

Meanwhile, make the sauce: 

Melt the butter in a small pot over medium heat. Add the sauce ingredients together and stir until the mixture bubbles gently & sugars are dissolved. Careful to not bring to a boil or caramelize the sugars. Remove from the heat and set aside.

FINALLY... We Coat them!

Carefully remove the wings from the baking sheet and transfer to a large bowl. Pour the warm sauce over the wings and gently toss to coat. Transfer the wings to a serving platter and drizzle with more Hotmaple Smokey Habanero for an extra kick!

Many of you that know me well, also know a few of my eccentricities. Mainly the following two:

1) I despise the much loved plastic-wear known as "the spork". I hate everything about it.

2) I extremely dislike the taste of "Corn Chips"

That being said, many of you have proceeded to tell me:  "Wow - you REALLY have to try your sauce with Corn Chips".

So... here we go:

Results?   The customer is always right.

There is some sort of magic flavor-pairing that happens with the Corn-chip + Hotmaple Smokey Habanero that creates a delightful taste that can only be described as... magical?

So, take pride my customers -- for you have done the unthinkable. You have conquered my hatred of the Corn-Chip.

Now on to the spork...

Hotmaple Smokey Habanero isn't just for cookin'... it is also for drinkin' !!!

Belly-up to the bar and try out:  "the Brass Knob"

How to make "the Brass Knob":

1 part Grand Marnier 
2 parts Knob Creek Rye (small batch preferred)
~1 tsp Hotmaple Smokey Habanero Sauce

Shake well over ice and pour.

Serve it straight up for the daring, or pour it as a lowball over the rocks with a touch of soda and lemon peel.

Taste: Fruity and Spicy

Yes, I am in Chicago.  That wonderful midwestern city with the epic skyline, beer that flows like water, and endless supply of processed meat products. Meat products flow in such volume here, that Chicago poets are required by law to pay homage to its meat-ness in their opening lines:

Okay, so it is an unofficial law that I just made up, but there is seriously a LOT of meat product here. There are so many styles of sausage-based meats in Chicago that Lady Ga-Ga's dress of meat looks down-right vegetarian in comparison to what the streets look like at lunchtime. I know that many like to say Chicago is the "Windy city", but I really think it should just be called "the Sausage Meatropolis". 

Therefore, to honor my stay at "the Sausage Meatropolis", I have decided modify one of the city's most classic Sausage offerings in a way that would even make Abe Froman proud. Yes, I have Hotmaple-ized THE CHICAGO-STYLE HOTDOG

Now, before you Chicago natives don your Bears Jerseys, and decide to unleash the mighty fury of the great Mike Ditka on me... let me explain: I AM NOT CHANGING ANY OF THE CORE COMPONENTS OF THIS DELICACY. SO PLEASE LOWER YOUR PITCHFORKS.

Instead, I am just asking you all to try ADDING a bit of Hotmaple Smokey Habanero to the wonderful mix of the Chicago-style Hot Dog. 

Everyone reading this blog that has never tried a Chicago-Style Hot Dog needs to go out and procure everything in the picture ASAP! Whatever you do, do NOT skip on the celery salt... never, ever.

Once you have this magnificent creation crafted - slather on the Hotmaple Smokey Habanero. It will give that Chicago-Style dog a bit of a "kick in the pants" and put some fire in it. The smokey flavor also wakes up the beef hot dog, and turns it into a grill-masters dream.

This is one of those matches made in heaven that you need to try once before you die.
Hotmaple Smokey Habanero + the Chicago-Style Hot Dog.