Draper’s BBQ Sauce (5/5)

Draper’s BBQ Sauce is a good sauce with a surprise.    Owner Shane Draper also has a few surprises too (check out my intereview with him here).

I asked him what makes his sauce different, and here’s what he said:

As for what makes our sauce different, in a word balance.  When you try Smokin’ Sauce you are lightly hit with the first sweet notes of molasses and a touch of honey.  Next comes the bold and savory notes and you get some of the spices that I put in there that you normally don’t find in other sauces.  Finally you are hit with just a touch of heat.  It bites quickly and lets go and doesn’t linger.   If you mix the A.P. Rub in with that taste of Smokin’ Sauce the saltiness of the rub tempers some of initial sweetness and the bold flavors are much more amplified.  The spicy bite that hits on the backside is also a little stronger.  All in all I wanted layered flavors in a sauce and rub combination that you could identify, but worked well together in a chorus, yet didn’t overshadow the meat and smoke that should be the star performer.

I agreed and disagreed with this summary after my own taste analysis.  His statement doesn’t do it justice.

Aroma

The first whiff from the bottle and I knew this was something different.   BAM.   Maybe nutmeg, or cinnamon, or ***, or ******?  (censored)

Taste

Holy shit, it tastes like Christmas!

Just the right combination of this festive spice flavor without being too bold or underwhelming.   I’ve been exposed to a LOT of sauces now and a google search with this exact phrase “nutmeg site:bbqsaucereviews.com” will guide you closer to a tour of the various sauces that I’ve tried in the same vein.  I’d say Hecky’s came real close to a 5.   Also I can’t forget how Timberfolks made me a believer that good stuff could indeed come from a guy in the woods in Oregon.

Consistency/Color

Great color and consistency – Not sludge thick like Kraft, and not watery.

A better shot in good light of the specks and ingredients within the sauce.  This is a 45 degree drip held for about 15 seconds.

Taste Before Cooking

I dipped everything into this sauce from mac & cheese to hamburgers (I tried it with swiss cheese and cheddar too). Any type of bread sops it up nicely too.  The festive flavors really surprised friends of mine who tried it too.  One of those .. “what is THAT?! and then, oh I like that, and eventually, I need more of that!”

Taste After Cooking

It does what it’s supposed to do on the grill.  It consolidates, it coagulates, it reduces and the spices come out a bit stronger while the sweet sugars burn off slightly.  I only got a chance to cook it with chicken (although I put the sauce on a burger after it was grilled).  The boneless chicken held the sauce well.

Ingredients and Nutrition

Nutrition Facts (Fairly standard, not an all natural choice)

Ingredients on the label. Does contain high fructose corn syrup but too tasty to not get a 5.

Bottom Line

Instead of another traditional KC style BBQ sauce, he’s added a few unusual spices (here at BBQ Sauce Reviews unusual is good). What I mean is that there’s a few additional spices in the sauce that most people don’t normally get exposed to at the grocery store BBQ aisle.  This includes cinnamon, nutmeg, ___, and ___  (I asked but promised not to tell).   This gives the sauce a more festive flavor, one that reminds you of the holiday season with it’s spiced coffees, cakes, and beers.   This mystery flavor combination is reason alone to give the sauce a shot.

I really like this category of sauce – the whole festive flavor reminds me of a Harpoon Winter Warmer beer – which reminds me of the holidays.  When a sauce can conjure up a sentimental feeling of the holiday season but also transport you into the summer at the same time – it’s an amazing thing.  Drapers Smokin’ Sauce delivers a best in class example of this category.

Follow Shane and Draper’s BBQ Sauce on his website and Facebook page.

Thanks for reading!

Brian Henderson @bbqsaucereviews

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.

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Comments

  1. wooooooh, I want to order one ! 🙂

  2. Christopher Sorel says

    Get the Christmas bundle with the very cool shaker. Mine just showed up and great shaker.

  3. The Christmas Holiday Packs are a limited edition offering – they will probably sell out pretty soon:

    http://drapersbbq.com/store/page4.html

    What did you think of the taste of the sauce Christopher?

  4. Great review as always Brian! I really want to buy Shane’s Holiday Pack….just not sure how I can hide it from my wife lol she says I spend to much money on BBQ stuff….that shaker looks so bad ass too!

  5. Spot-on review! I’ve had the opportunity to try Shane’s products, and they have all been top notch!

  6. Sandy Griffin says

    Yum, it looks great. I like you showing what it looks like on a plate. We eat with our eyes and it does help to see the actual sauce. I would love to try some and share some ideas.

    Thanks for this great website. I post on Facebook. I am sure you will see. 🙂

  7. drapers bbq rub and sauce is some of the best rub and sauce I have found and as a kcbs judge and bbq cook I feel its a top 5 rub and sauce for bbq comps and backyard cooks

  8. Wonder if this sauce would be great for tri tip sandwiches?

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