Well, we’ve had a virtual mudslide of e-mails in the last month or so from people wondering what we we’ve up to, as we haven’t really kept anyone up to date with all the goings-on around here. It’s true, we have been quiet for a little while as of late, but after a grueling schedule of 17+ events this summer, we took a little down time to ourselves. However, behind the scenes for the last 6+ months, we have also been working on a rather large project that is going to push our little company to the next level. Nick, Cheffy and Bob, in Nicks’ truck on my ride back to the airport in Dallas during Zest Fest, got a sneak peek into the lovely world of corporate negotiations. Well, after hammering out the smallest of details, and many sleepless nights, we here at DEFCON HQ are proud to make this announcement. As of now, Defcon Sauces is proud to be:
“THE OFFICIAL WING SAUCE OF THE NEW JERSEY DEVILS AND
EXCLUSIVE SUPPLIER TO THE BRAND NEW PRUDENTIAL CENTER ARENA”.
It’s a friggin’ HUGE step for us, and being that this is the first year of the new arena in Newark, NJ, getting in on the ground floor of the arena was a major priority. The new arena is absolutely gorgeous. We went to the open house last Sunday and were floored. The best part is, our wings will be served at ALL events (over 150 this year alone) at the bars and restaurants throughout the building. They will have all 3 levels of heat, and the bottles will also be available in each of the luxury boxes for every event. As you may or may not know, myself and Maggie are HUGE hockey fans, and it’s very special to us to be able to promote our favorite team in a way that we see apropos. The above advertisement will be displayed throughout the arena as well as during every event. Man, I’ve been wanting to let people know what we were up to, however, I didn’t want to jinx it. So, if you’re ever in the area, stop by the most amazing (not to mention expensive) arena ever built in the United States, and chow down on some Defcon wings! Oh yeah, and keep an eye out for the Inaugural Year labels (hint).
Ok, that being said, we are also working on 3-4 different things for next year. As you can understand, with myself and Maggie, sleep is considered very over-rated and just a plain waste of time. We will be launching various new and quite interesting things at the many trade shows we will be attending (Albuquerque, Miami, Dallas and Jungle Jims), and yes, we will be issuing another Batch or two of ZERO’s during the course of the upcoming year. We kind of fell behind on the production of a Batch #5, mainly due to the fact our time was not our own this summer. Who knows, the ZERO just might be available to the consuming public sometime next year as well (insert evil chuckle).
Man, this is a load off my mind being able to write this, and I must apologize for being so quiet for the last couple months, but the means have certainly justified the ends in this case. We here at DEFCON HQ do not know the meaning of term “slowing down”. Right now, we’re in a peak season with football and all, and have throttled back the event calendar a bit. Do note, we WILL be doing our annual NFL Championship Defcon Day at Toro Loco in South Orange, NJ again on Sunday, January 20th. Yes, there will be a Deathmatch. Many of you who attended the last January event definitely remember the chaos!
With all that being said, we wish to thank all of you, who have allowed us to evolve into something much more than we had expected, especially given the short amount of time we have been around. We look forward to meeting all of you at some time, many for a repeat introduction, perhaps at one of our events or trade shows we’ll be showing up at. With the amount of fun we’ve had thus far, we’re looking forward to many more laughs with everyone, and maybe, just maybe, a few beers as well.
Written by Creator
Nick Lindauer founded Hot Sauce Blog in 2004, making it one of the internet's very first hot sauce review sites. After 20+ years of tasting, reviewing, and attending every major fiery foods event in the country, he's back behind the keyboard covering the hot sauce world he helped build.
36 responses to “ONE SMALL STEP FOR HOT SAUCE, ONE GIANT LEAP FOR DEFCON”
Awesome news Creator!
Congratulations and good luck with it. Sales should go through the roof.
Wow – that is great news! Congratulations!
Two scenarios here:
If the Devils don’t go very far – it is because they have been gorging on too many Defcon Wings every period.
If the Devils do go far it is because they are gorging Defcon Wings every period.
Go Leafs Go!
Congrats John! That’s good work, man.
Congrats to the Creator and Createss, well deserved. I hope the ice can survive the heat in the arena. 😛
DEFCON SAUCES at the Devils games is HUGE!!! Congrats John!! All of your hard work is now paying off.
LET’S GO RED WINGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WOW! Simple congratulations seem not enough. You may certainly be the hardest working team in this industry and it has paid off. Good job and don’t forget us little people. LOL. See you in Albuquerque!
Gary
Nicwe Job Good Luck
HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAJOHN. FROM BBJJ AND WIFE
Cool news. Sounds like you’ll be busy, busy for awhile. See you at the Jungle in August.
Just wanted to say Congrats! Finally some decent foods at an arena!!!! Hey John and Maggie we are good friends with the executive head chef and the head chef of the Prudential Center. Small world! We will have to have a shot for you to celebrate when we see you guys again. CHEERS!
Congrats Creator and Creatness(John and Maggie) that is super. I am glad that all of your hard work has paid off. Will be looking forward to the upcoming year from Defcon. Again CONGRATS !!!!!!!! Of course you know that I do have to say this nd it now has more meaning as we now have Brian Rafalski GO RED WINGS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Congrats John and Maggie!! I remember when you and I talked about this way back when, we were going through the same mumbo jumbo as you while negotiating a deal with the Canadian Football League team here in Saskatchewan.
It took months of negotiations and plenty of opportunity to just say f’it, but perseverance and faith in your product made it come to fruition.
We here at UBK Central wish you all the success in the world, and then some!
Congrats John and Maggie!
Hell yeah! Sweeet! Too bad it wasn’t for the Rangers though… lol
You guys rock! Soooooo jealous. I LOVE hockey and this is such a great honor!
THE OFFICIAL WING SAUCE OF THE NEW JERSEY DEVILS AND
EXCLUSIVE SUPPLIER TO THE BRAND NEW PRUDENTIAL CENTER ARENAâ€.
the ultimate complement to an awesome sauce!
Who are the NJ Devils?
😉
Congrats! After missing you at the Fiery Foods show in Ft Worth, I finally broke down and ordered your Laviathan pack. I gotta find out what I am missing out on!
I usually make my wings with Frank’s, butter, and a good heavy dose of Dave’s Insanity, dusted afterwards with a mix of chipotle and habanero powders. I’m looking forward to trying your sauces!
Thanks everybody, it’s talk like this that keeps us burning the midnight oil. Yeah, it was pretty overwhelming last night at the season opener seeing our name in lights on the concourses, and smelling our stuff at each concession stand. We played dumb and asked people what they were eating, most said they had never heard of Defcon, but wish they had. It was kind of fun giving them my card afterwards, one guy actually placed an order from his Blackberry while I was talking to him, funny stuff. Once again, thanks guys.
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I believe their official wing sauce is Franks. And you wonder why they win one Cup every 40 or so years. 🙂
Uh oh, have their wings all ready taken their toll, 4-1 loss? Don’t serve the players the Deathmatch wings John. 😉
Great Job Maggie!! We know you are doing all the work!!! ..lol
I havent met had the pleasure of meeting you guys yet but congrats, thats quite an achievement. Sounds like a lot of fun.
Wow guys really awesome! Who said nothin good ever came out of Jersey???????
Looks like the plan for world domination is well on its way…………
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Most people who ever drove through the State. I think the swampwater makes good hot sauce, so that is why some companies do well. 😛
congratulations, does this mean i might be able to have better luck finding your sauces in stores now?
[Comment ID #115100 Quote]
If you want us to be in a store near you, just have them contact us. We’ve done it this way for a ton of stores nationwide.
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Kristi…The Sopranos ( Im an addict ) and my wife Sheila…she grew up in Saddlebrook
Defcon Sauces, Congrats, thats huge !!!!!!!
[Comment ID #115104 Quote]
I am always in shock that Sheila grew up in Saddle Brook! My husband Garry did, and his mother did! Always reminds me of how small the world really is! 🙂
JOHN….YOU THE MAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Good job Creator!!! Thats pretty awesome for you guys.
So whats next?
I cant wait to hear the Devil’s “new promotion” night…
the first 1000 people through the door will get their very own Homunculus 😉 ???
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LOL! Actually, depending on how sales take off at the Arena, we may do a promotion night with a red Defcon puck or something like that. It would be pretty cool. To tell you the truth, it’s getting kinda scary around here (in a good way).
Hmmmm, a signed defcon puck with a vial of zero inside??? 🙂
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ftb??????
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“from the blog”
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oh god
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I want that puck….and a Defcon Leafs puck too 😉
Congrads John and Maggie!!!!!!!You have now put the two best in the world together hockey and wings….MMmmmm
Now give some to Eilas and Brodeur, my pool is suffering!!!!
“Now give some to Eilas and Brodeur, my pool is suffering!!!!”
I did last night, Sporto! It seems to have worked, especially with Pandolfo with a hat trick. Actually, it was really fun last night. Myself and Maggie dressed up as The Creator (ah, wait until you see the new and improved apparel) and The Createss last night at the arena. Man, talk about a marketing plan. We actually had people ordering stuff from the website via their blackberrys after meeting us and testing out the food, too funny!