There are around 10,000 taste buds on the human tongue and when they get hit with Lickety Lew's Boo Yow Sauce every one of them will stand up and take notice.

Wait a minute, you may say. What the heck is Boo Yow Sauce?

Boo Yow Sauce is the culinary condiment creation of Kings Mtn. entrepreneur Lewis Nance. It's an all-purpose sauce that comes in three flavors- Original, Yella, and Spicy. According to Nance, it's a perfect ingredient for any type of food from eggs to steaks and anything in between. "Food ain't kickin'? Give it a lickin'" as the label says.

Nance explained how Boo Yow Sauce came into being.

"Some friends of mine and I used to host parties called Bash in the Pash in a field near Lake Montonio," he said. "We sold tickets and would have hundreds of people attend. We cooked barbecue and needed a sauce, so I took a basic recipe and started tinkering."

Many experiments later, Nance found the perfect blend of base and spices and Boo Yow was born.

Demand was instantaneous.

"I made it for family and friends," he said. "I also began selling it on Amazon."

The success of Boo Yow inspired Nance to increase production.

"About five years ago, I contacted Bobbees Bottling in Louisburg, N.C., and gave them the recipe," he said. "They have a modern bottling plant and make it there."

Bobbees is well known in the food bottling business and prepares products for over 400 businesses. Boo Yow output is about 4,000 12-ounce bottles plus 600 gallons annually.

Boo Yow has made big inroads into the foothills and Southern Piedmont grocery and restaurant market. Eateries with Boo Yow on the table include Sammy's Neighborhood Pub in Belmont and Dallas, Firestone Grill in Gastonia, Court St. Grill in Lincolnton, Cornerstone Pub and Grill in Charlotte, The Skillet in Kings Mtn., The Woodshed Steakhouse in Stanley, and Boardwalk Billy's near UNC-Charlotte to name a few. Boo Yow can be found in many area Ingles grocery stores including ones in Lake Lure, Dallas, and Kings Mtn.

Sammy's Belmont owner John Bailey explained his Boo Yow connection.

"Lewis has been a friend of mine for many years," Bailey said. "My first experience with Boo Yow was at the Bash in the Pash events. The patrons at Sammy's give it high acclaim. That, plus the fact that it's locally made looks good in my business."

Nance's father, Ken, delivers Boo Yow in the company van. It's wrapped with the Lickety Lew's logo in bright colors and is easy to spot.

"People see the van and come up and buy bottles from me," he said. "It's very popular."

The bottom line on any food product is...."well, how do it taste?"

To answer this question about Boo Yow, this writer sampled all three versions using the semi-scientific method. That protocol involved pouring some in a spoon and down the hatch. Here are the very subjective results: Original- This version has a tomatoey vinegary base with smoky notes and a bit of spiciness on the back end of the flavor profile. Its overall taste is very "North Carolina". Yella- This version takes the Original base and adds a mustardy twang. The flavor is somewhat similar to South Carolina mustard based BBQ sauce but it still has the unique Boo Yow taste. Spicy- Adding habanero pepper sauce to the ingredient list gives this version more punch than the other two. The pepperiness lingers in your mouth and on your tongue but it's not as harsh as many other sauces of that type.

Nance has big plans for Boo Yow sauce.

"I hope to go national," he said. "As soon as the weather improves, I hope to start a 30x50 building in Oak Grove."

Well, there you have it. Lickety Lew's Boo Yow sauce is a perfect example of how inspiration, experimentation, determination, and clever marketing of a quality product has created something that makes folks happy and puts a few dollars in the originator's pocket. It's an All-American success story in three flavors.

For more information and to order sauce visit https://lickety
lews.com/ or call 704-913-8700.