Bootlegger’s BBQ Products coming to Maricopa

Cliff Edmonson said his barbecue sauce is so good it ought to be illegal.

That’s the motto for the Maricopa resident’s Bootlegger’s BBQ Products, which he started making almost 30 years ago while living in Alaska.

Soon, those sauces will be available for local residents to buy and – if in keeping with the bootlegging tradition – sneak some home for a little mischief.

Despite the outlaw appearance, Edmonson plays by the books. He currently is not selling the products in Maricopa because he does not have a city license. He does have licenses in Chandler and Maricopa County, so he sells to clients there.

He applied for a city home-business license a month ago, and said he hopes to serve Maricopa residents soon. The city was not open Friday to comment on the status of his application.

Edmonson’s start in the “bootlegging” business was in 1985 or 1986, he said, while he was a pilot for Wien Alaska.

“There was a distinct lack of good ribs anywhere (in Alaska),” he said. “I know good barbecue ribs when I taste them.”

The barbecue aficionado set off to make the perfect sauce. He used the best ingredients and after five or six years – and a little bit of trial and error – he said h e had the perfect recipe.

John Schlink, a lifelong friend and a regular client, remembered the first time he tried the sauce. He told Edmonson he’d buy some on the spot.

“It’s smooth. It’s not vinegary,” Schlink said. “It’s not sweet either. It’s right in the middle. That’s what I like about the barbecue sauce. It doesn’t overwhelm.”

Schlink said he uses the sauce on all types of meat including pork ribs, pork chops, chicken and hamburgers.

“We used it Sunday evening and I’ll probably use it again this weekend,” he said. “I like it.”

Another client, Brian Burman, said he uses it on breakfast burritos. It’s great on anything, he said.

“I like to joke that I’d put it on an ice tray,” Burman said. “I’ve never really done that though.”

After Edmonson came up with his recipe, there still was the problem of manufacturing the sauce. At the time, there were no commercial packers in Alaska and if one needed a product packed, it had to be done in Seattle.

Edmonson started manufacturing it under the radar at a local business in Alaska. He would go through the back door in the middle of the night to get everything packed and ready. The store’s owner, who allowed Edmonson to use his shop, laughed at the scenario and said, “Man, you’re a bunch of bootleggers.”

The name was born, and Edmonson keeps with the bootlegging theme today.

When he delivers an order to clients, he carries the bottles in a knapsack bag “so the feds won’t see” and if someone jokes their check might bounce, Edmonson jokes right back:
“I know a guy. His nose is pushed over and he’ll show up in the middle of the night with a violin case.”

Edmonson, an Arizona native, moved back to Arizona in 1991 with his wife Lynette, a flight attendant he met on the job. He started manufacturing the sauce through a company called Sting ‘N’ Linger in Tempe.

“It didn’t take long before we were in 272 grocery stores,” Edmonson said.

The barbecue products were available in local Albertsons and Bashas’ grocery stores, and he was set to begin selling his products in Megafoods Stores.

Two weeks after giving Megafoods 1,100 cases, Edmonson said, the chain filed for bankruptcy. Edmonson said he never received any payments and didn’t get the cases back.

Bootlegger’s BBQ Products went dormant for six years because Edmonson couldn’t pay for the operations. But before long, old customers started calling and asking for the sauce. Edmonson started producing it again, but he no longer offers it through any grocery stores.

The business also took a hit during the recession, but Edmonson said he reduced inventories and got through it. He doesn’t see himself opening a retail business, but he does want to give Maricopa residents the opportunity to sell the product and make a few extra bucks.