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The box arrived two weeks ago at my desk; inside were four bottles of place-based Bull's-Eye BBQ Sauce: Carolina, Kansas City, Memphis and Texas. I carted them home for a family taste test.
We poured a little of each into bowls and lined them up by shade, lightest (Carolina) to darkest (Kansas City), then spoon-tasted each at room temperature without looking at the ingredients or reading the descriptions on the labels.
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Carolina had a sweet-sour fruity taste, with the flavor and a little of the scent of apple cider vinegar.
"Sweet," Grandpap said.
"Sweet and tangy," is how Bulls-Eye describes it on its website, brands.kraftfoods.com/bullseyebbq/.
Texas had a strong chili flavor that my daughter said reminded her of "huevos" -- meaning the canned enchilada sauce I serve with huevos rancheros.
"That's pretty doggone warm," Grandpap said.
"A pepper kick and a hint of mesquite," Bull's-Eye says.
Next up was Memphis, with a more subtle, smoky, almost maple-y flavor. Best so far, I thought.
"Spices, brown sugar and just a hint of mustard," Bull's-Eye says.
Then along came Kansas City.
"Nice and sweet, and I guess it's still a little warm," Grandpap said, noting that the sauces were beginning to mingle in his mouth. "I should have had a bottle of beer between each taste."
No doubt he'd have liked Bull's-Eye's Guinness Draft Beer Blend BBQ Sauce best, but that wasn't in the box.
While he and my daughter, both heat-seekers, liked the Texas sauce, I favored the Kansas City with its rich, musky, smoky flavor -- what Bull's-Eye calls "a blend of hickory, molasses and sweet BBQ spices."
Each has between 11 and 15 percent of the recommended daily amount of sodium in a 2-tablespoon serving and none contains high-fructose corn syrup. Each retails for $2.29 for a 17.5- or 18-ounce bottle.
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