Grumpy’s Private Reserve Bar-B-Que Sauce vs. Mad Will’s Chipotle Barbecue Sauce

Posted October 26, 2006 by Anthony

I had both of these come in at the same time. During my preparation of reviews I noticed that the ingredients were quite similar for both. I had 5lbs of ribs here so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to put the sauces to a little competition.
I am ever glad I did. Both of these sauces are incredible on their own. Let’s take a closer look at each of them.

Grumpy’s Private Reserve BBQ Sauce

WINNER 10th Anniversary Fiery Food Challenge

This hefty sauce is a winner all around. Its simple understated design bottle wearing a badge of accolades lets it do the selling here. The aroma was definitely sweeter than its competition but not so much that it is sickly sweet. A trend I find up and comers seem to use. The texture was incredibly smooth and fine particulate was visible. Basting ribs was an experience in itself. The sauce held fast and coated evenly in a thick layer.

Highly recommend Grumpy’s Private ReserveIngredients: tomato paste (tomatoes), brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, water, hot sauce (peppers, vinegar and salt) liquid smoke (purified natural liquid wood smoke, water) Worcestershire Sauce (vinegar, molasses, high fructose corn syrup, anchovies, water, onion, salt, garlic, tamarind extract, cloves, natural flavourings, chile pepper extract, soy and corn protein), black pepper, kosher salt, garlic powder, spices, chili powder, cayenne pepper, onion powder, powdered mustard

(For health conscious folks out there worried about high fructose corn syrup, note that it is part of the Worcesrershire ingredient list)

But most important is how did it taste? In short, incredible. All I can say is that this is what you think of when you think of a BBQ sauce. There really wasn’t much heat to speak of but like I always say, this was not intended for heat.

The taste was extremely flavourful with strong notes of smoke. Even the feel of this sauce was pleasant to lick off of fingers.

For those that like to get messy with a bold sauce with a touch of sweet, I highly recommend Grumpy’s Private Reserve.

Packaging 9/10 ““ Understated and Proud
Aroma 9/10 ““ Thick, zesty and bold
Appearance 10/10 ““ As good as a BBQ sauce gets
Taste 9.6/10 ““ Absolutely incredible flavour – bold and strong
Heat 2.5/10 ““ Not very hot

Overall 9.5/10 ““ No denying the awards this sauce has won. Incredible!

Grumpy’s BBQ
5183 East 126th Court
Thornton, Colorado 80241
www.grumpysbbq.com

Mad Will’s Chipotle BBQ Sauce

This private label bottle sample I received had just enough BBQ sauce for one solid application. So in hindsight this vs. article was a good idea because I could never have coated enough ribs with just this one bottle.

A truly smoky, spicy BBQ sauceIngredients: Tomato puree (water, tomato paste), Brown Sugar, water, cider and distilled vinegar, soy sauce (water, wheat, soybeans, salt) Hot sauce (peppers, distilled vinegar, salt) Salt, Hickory Smoke Flavor, Chipotle peppers, modified food starch, dehydrated garlic, dehydrated onions, spices, Worcestershire sauce base (natural spices, distilled vinegar, hydrolyzed vegetable protein [contains soybeans], natural flavours)

This BBQ sauce took care of all the heat in these ribs. What the Grumpy’s did for the bold strong flavour, this BBQ sauce added the bite. It truly was a smoky, spicy BBQ sauce. And just like the Grumpy’s this sauce knew how to make best friends with the meat quickly. The basting was a breeze and the sauce hung on well just like Grumpy’s.

The heat was incredible. Not that it was hot, but constant and medium in level. It never intruded and phased out just enough we before the next rib was grabbed.

Packaging 0/10 ““ N/A
Aroma 9.5/10 ““ Spicy, smoky and brave
Appearance 10/10 ““ As good as a BBQ sauce gets ““ deep reddish brown
Taste 9.6/10 ““ complex and serious
Heat 5/10 ““ some serious bite from a chipotle BBQ sauce

Overall 9.5/10 ““ Incredible BBQ sauce that needs to be tried!

Mad Will’s Food Co.
Auburn, CA 95602
1-888-275-9455