Costco sells macadamia nut clusters, which are a delectable blob of caramel, macadamia nuts, and chocolate. They’re little clumps of heaven, and I have stopped buying them because my self-control when they’re in the house usually comes down to: I won’t eat the whole bucket today.

A few years ago, Costco brought in a version of the clusters that wasn’t the Kirkland brand. I don’t remember what brand it was, but it was the only option and had the same name, so I grabbed one. I got home, manhandled the Costco haul into the house, divided up the food into the fridge, the freezer, and the pantry, and sat down to eat one of my favorite treats.

It wasn’t good. They had too much chocolate. The quality of the chocolate was good, the nuts were great, the caramel was the same, as far as I could tell. But the ratio of chocolate within the treat was different—and not just different, but wrong. Absolutely wrong. So wrong, in fact, that I didn’t even finish eating them. I gave three-quarters of the bucket away to small children, who had no care for whether the chocolate ratio of the cluster ruined the entire thing.

But I cared. The original macadamia nut clusters (which I’m happy to report are currently available at Costco) were a little piece of perfectly designed heaven, and having eaten the exact right creation, there was no settling for something similar but subpar.

That’s what makes a special food special: there may be similar foods, similar flavor profiles, other products within the realm, generally speaking.

But when the special sauce hits, it hits; there are no substitutes, variations are unacceptable, adjustments are unthinkable, because it’s no longer a special sauce. It may be another very special sauce, but it’s not THE sauce.

When we celebrate the Top 49ers, we know what we have. It’s not just a group of Alaska companies (though we love you all); it’s not just a collection of wealthy corporations (though we’re always excited for economic growth); it is a magical combination of local insight, Alaskan values, and business done right: a super special sauce that we have had the privilege of documenting for more than forty years.