AlbuKirky’s Duke City Sweet Barbecue Sauce comes to us from Albuquerque, New Mexico (Albuquerque is sometimes referred to as Duke City).
Outside the Bottle
This sauce has a streamlined, fluted plastic bottle and a professional appearance with a sun logo and some key attributes called out such as No HFCS and All Natural.
“All natural” can mean a lot of things to different people. For this one, a closer look at the ingredients shows there’s basically “no bad stuff” – meaning it can be served to anyone guilt-free. All natural ketchup and all natural Worcestershire sauce are included as the baseline ingredients. Good news.
There’s a lot of good things about the label, but to me it doesn’t stand out as particularly unique or remarkable.
Inside the Bottle
Whether cooked or uncooked, it tastes great. The flavor is different from a standard KC Style BBQ sauce like Kraft or Sweet Baby Ray’s and it’s different from a tangy vinegar-flavored sauce like Open Pit or Stubbs. It’s like a sweet KC style sauce with some interesting extras added. The flavor itself is not completely new to my tastebuds – it reminds me of a few unique sauces I’ve tried with a little something extra thrown in… Drapers, Timberfolks, etc. The flavor combines cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and more and has almost a “festive” flavor. It has no heat and it’s not spicy, but you could call it “spiced BBQ sauce” with all that is going on inside of it.
Bottom Line
Overall it’s a high-quality, professional label and has a great flavor. The only criticisms I’d have to offer is on the outside of the bottle. The essence of the flavor is a modern mixture and a blast of sophisticated flavors and people sometimes need to be told that. The approach on the label could also be a little more bold and interesting – after all, Duke City could certainly conjure up royal imagery i.e crowns and fancy jackets and swords, etc.
Website
http://www.albukirkyseasonings.com/
https://www.facebook.com/albukirky
Site Editor, BBQ Sauce Lover, Family Guy, Hi Tech Marketer by Day. He recently wrote the Ebook “How to Market Your BBQ Sauce” which can be purchased on this site.
Leave a Reply