The Official U.S. Maple Syrup Almanac -- 2017 Alamanc_2017 | Page 53

smoking and hot sauce opera-
tions,” Hausslein said. “Together
we are pulling sap from better
than 10,000 trees using all man-
ner of technology, old and new,
to keep this innovative turn in
sugarmaking viable.”
Smoked maple is his main
special product.
“But like most other sugar-
makers, I am very proud of our
regular maple syrup, considered
the finest kind for miles around
by those who have sampled it,”
Hausslein said. “I do not dabble
in other flavors, like bourbon or
vanilla, as my syrup produced in
the old fashioned way has those
flavors already in it, and I do not
aim to be in the flavor business,
like a scented candle company
might choose to be.”
To keep things running
smoothly, in his company’s rapid
growth phase, Hausslein relies
heavily on dedicated employees
whose teamwork is critical.
“Andrea Ogden and her hus-
band, John, bring farming talent
and an historic Landgrove sugar-
bush to our business,” Hausslein
said. “Andrea is the administra-
tive brains behind our entire
operation, and is not afraid to
put on a hair net and make sri-
racha when the peppers are ripe.
The operation could not and
would not run without her.”
The Ogdens’ three chil-
dren cross-country ski and ride
mountain bikes hard and fast for
team Vermont Maple Sriracha,
as well as some more prominent
U.S. National teams.
U.S. Maple Syrup Almanac
However, Hausslein said his
wife, Ann, is the creative power
and recipe developer behind the
operation. “She is an expert gar-
dener, forager, healer, and chef,
and Sugar Bob would be lost in
the woods without her,” he said.
The couple’s three kids are
scatted between New Orleans,
Nantucket, and home in Lon-
donderry. All three know how to
stoke the evaporator when the
sap flows come in springtime.
Brian Sylvester is the com-
pany production and fulfillment
specialist, the true keeper of the
operation’s institutional knowl-
edge. “He’s a gunslinger in the
kitchen the likes of which you’ve
never seen,” Hausslein said.
“And we have a cast of ne’re do
well friends and family without
whom there would be no soul,
no love in the sugarhouse. Mike
2017
and Shawna Batogowski are
invaluable.”
“My primary job is to stay
out of the way of all our in-
house talent, and keep the floors
clean,” Hausslein said smiling. “I
love to boil syrup all night long
in the spring, and love to tell
our story at markets and shows
all year long.”
The company’s goals are sim-
ple.
“We hope to bring the magic
of Smoked Maple and Maple
Sriracha to you, your family, all
their friends, and their friends,
too,” he said. “As long as we
can tap trees in the springtime,
smoke syrup, brew sriracha, and
cook great meals for our friends
during the rest of the year, we
consider the whole thing a suc-
cess.”
BOB
HAUSSLEIN of
Londonderry,
Vt. has found
a niche market
for his smoked
maple.
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