Duckbutter is a slang name for the product cosmoline, a petroleum jelly that is a slick, corrosive inhibitor used to coat machines, guns and other metal parts in shipment or storage.

From 1968 through 1972, I attended a small north Texas liberal arts college that had only local fraternities and sororities. I was a member of the Drake Fraternity. Drake is the generic name for any male duck. I was Social Chairman for all four years, an unbroken record. The Social Chairman was responsible for organizing all of the parties and I was given the initial nickname “Slick” by some of my brothers. Many of us were also avid duck hunters. After many beers one evening, or it could have been an afternoon, my fraternity brother Dave (who later became my first of several brother-in-laws married to my sister), proclaimed that “I was slick like duck butter”. Well like they say, “the rest is history”. As a professional consultant, I disavowed that nickname for many years for obvious reasons. Only Gary my fishing buddy and life long friend has called me “Duckbutter” for 40 years. We fish in Louisiana and hunt in Montana whenever we can.

Original Duckbutter Hot Pepper Sauce is a Louisiana styled hot sauce that was developed to eat with many foods and it also compliments many libations. Most believe that it has a better and more complex taste than Brand X. The heat is moderate and would not overly impress Wilbur Scoville, who created the Scoville chilies heat index in 1912. Duckbutter is made to eat, not just burn. Yes, the portrait on the label is a close approximation of me after several days of hard duck hunting. R.D. Wilson, a local artist, duck carver, and friend drew the caricature. My close friends know that I always wear my sunglasses, often indoors.

I am now retired and live on my ranch, Lost Creek Ranch, in east Texas near the famous Lake Fork fishing lake. Duckbutter which started as a hobby has become a family business. Sharon (aka Mrs. Duckbutter), my wife of 38 years, is a great cook and I hope to add recipes using Duckbutter to this website. My son Matthew and his wife Lindsay live in Dallas, Texas and have given us a granddaughter, Madeline. Lindsay is my biggest Duckbutter fan. Matthew and I hunt and fish whenever we can. My daughter Rachel, and her husband, Greg, live in San Antonio, Texas and have given us three grandkids Emmie, Carter, and Harrison. Rachel is a professional photographer specializing in family pictures.

Enjoy Duckbutter Hot Pepper Sauce and the new Mrs. Duckbutter Cajun Blast. Use it often because I am skeptical of Social Security.

Have you had your Duckbutter today?

Donald E. Thomas