The Toad & The Butterfly, a Blog

Word of mouth built this company one bottle, one jar, and one customer at a time. It worked - for over 20 years. But over the last year I realized that nobody can tell our story the way I can.

Walking those fields last week reminded me that every bottle starts long before we light the smoker or pour the sauce. It starts with choosing the right varieties, healthy soil, and months of tending a crop that we'll eventually turn into hot sauce.

My favorite thing about making new micros every month is that we're pushed to be creative on demand. Sometimes creativity comes in a flash of insight, but there is a special earned feeling to creativity that you have to build as a skill.

This is exactly what I want Pepper Patrons to feel like. A chance for connection and learning, understanding why ingredients taste the way they do, and share in the experiments happening around our kitchen.

This month we went into the freezer and pulled out some peppers that don't always get the spotlight. Boldog Hungarian peppers. Velociraptors. Beautiful, classic cayennes.

When we sat down to decide what we wanted to do for Pride this year, I knew I wanted to do something different. One person suggested that we simplify things. Then another suggested we make it more complicated.

If you’re putting together your own picnic condiment kit, this sauce pulls it all together.

The April Microbatch drop features a no heat, a low heat and medium sauce that makes folks lose their ever-loving minds.

There’s a moment every year when you smell that first grill firing up and you take a deep breath. Dinner moves outside. Friends linger longer. And whatever’s on those grates deserves better than ketchup.

We don’t boil maple syrup or work in the woods ourselves, but we get to work with some of the best people who do. And this is the weekend that reminds us just how much work goes into that one perfect ingredient.

This one tastes like sitting with your favorite people in a cozy, wood-paneled gin bar. Or sipping cocktails in a cabin in the woods.

I just finalized our projected needs for the 2026 growing season. I send our totals to the farms we work with, they tell me what they can grow and at what price, and then I spread our orders across all of them.

I have always loved the depth and texture of roasted butternut squash, and I was thrilled to discover it was the perfect foil for smoked onions and red jalapeños. The result was Ooh La La, a sauce I adore just as much as the album itself.

4th time's a charm. We're back on Hot Ones. Meet Smoked Serrano Squash Reaper X!