Even after the snows fall, grillmeisters and barbecue fans can take comfort in their stores of Grandville’s Gourmet BBQ Sauce—one of the best lines of sauce and one of our top three picks of the thousands of products tasted in dozens of categories at this summer’s Fancy Food Show (the specialty food industry’s premier event).

What makes Grandville’s different?  Ingredients, consistency and quality. Check the ingredients list of most bottled barbecue sauces and you’ll find variations on the theme of corn syrup, tomato paste, vinegar, molasses, sugar/brown sugar and seasonings—salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, liquid smoke, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco®, lemon juice, et al. They’re generally very sugary: you would not likely do anything but baste meat with them. Grandville’s is packed with minced onions, bell peppers, chiles, garlic cloves, and, depending on the flavor, pineapple and other real fruits, vegetables, and herbs. This fresh bounty of nature provides the deep texture and memorable taste of Grandville’s sauces.

In Original, Mild, Extra Spicy, Cajun, Tropical, and Teriyaki, Grandville’s bills their sauces as “the thickest, chunkiest BBQ sauces on the planet.” They have a consistency between a dessert sauce and a jam—think of them not as something drippy, but as “barbecue jam.” The sauces are packed with so many good things, you might want to use them for other purposes too.

BBQ America

PBS Television - May 2006

Rick Brown, creator, host and executive producer of "Barbecue America" featured our sauces in Consumers Digest in May 2006 as one of his favorite in the past 7 years. "Complex heat, but not too fiery; dark brown-red sauce tastes of peppers, garlic, onions in a semisweet tomato base; peppery aftertaste".

Golf Connoisseurs Magazine

The Hot List - September/October 2006

"American Style BBQ Sauce"

Grandville’s Gourmet BBQ sauce “Original Spicy” is thick and chunky, well-balanced sauce, created from an old Kentucky family recipe.
Grandville's was featured in the Connoisseur's magazine for our 2006 SCOVIE Award.

Home of BBQ

Reviewed - May 20, 2008

Grandville's Gourmet Tropical

This sauce was used on pulled pork and brisket that was cooked low and slow over cherry wood. The opinions are both mine and Will Breakstone’s, owner and pit-master of Willie B’s Award Winning BBQ.

It’s strange how it works out. If you find an average or subpar sauce you will usually see that they have a website that is chock full of information and they are often well known. Awards won (how, I don’t know), recipe suggestions, a vast history and a corporate bio will be featured on their site. With some of the best sauces the information available is sparse and no one has heard of them.

I'm afraid that this might be the case with Grandville’s Gourmet BBQ Sauces. I had the pleasure of trying their tropical variety and it was fantastic. They have done very well with winning awards, taking first in two categories and second in a third at the 2006 Scovie Awards. Unfortunately, like numerous other quality products out there, it seems that they need help in getting the word out. I hope that this review helps.

The tropical sauce lives up to their billing as ‘the thickest, chunkiest BBQ sauce on the planet’. It is a fun departure from the thick, pureed sauces that you usually see. There are visible chunks of onion and other vegetables in the sauce that provide a great mouth-feel when chewing.

The aroma of the sauce isn’t as strong as I would have liked, but that might be the nature of the beast with a sweet (as opposed to spicy) sauce. It is, however, indicative of the taste, with the flavor being more pronounced than the aroma and certainly stronger.

The flavor of the sauce was outstanding. I had a recent run of sampling an array of below average sauces that all seemed to have the same flavor profile. This sauce and another that I’ll be reviewing soon helped to restore my faith. There is great BBQ sauce out there if you are willing to look for it.

Grandville’s Gourmet Tropical BBQ Sauce has a sweet, fruity flavor which avoids being overpowering. Although great with the pork and brisket, I’m looking forward to trying it on chicken. I’m amazed that of the three sauces that they had won awards for, the other two scored higher (taking first as opposed to second).

The sauce comes in an 18 oz. wide mouth (similar to a mason jar) glass jar. There is a nice label on the jar with a cute logo. The glass has a nice heft to it.

If you are looking for a sauce that has a different consistency, if you are looking for a sauce that has a ‘fruity’ flavor profile or if you are just looking for a great sauce; check out Grandville’s. You’ll be glad you did.

Michigan Sportsman

Reviewed - April 4, 2008

Top Ten Best BBQ Sauces

This stuff isn't sauce; it's a meal! Huge, chunky pieces of tomatoes and other delicious stuff make this sauce more like stew than anything else. Totally unique and not for those that simply want color. This outstanding product has color, texture and, incredible TASTE!

Awards

2007

• 1st Place-Cajun- BBQ Sorcerer
• 3rd Place-Extra Spicy- Hot Pepper Award
• 5th Place-Tropical-National BBQ News
• 6th Place-Tropical-Diddy-Wa-Diddy Great American Barbecue Sauce, Rub & Baste Contest

2006

• SCOVIE AWARDS
• 1st Place- Original Spicy- American Style
• 1st Place- Cajun- Unique Style
• 2nd Place- Tropical- Fruit Mild
• With over 700 specialty products from around the world competing for top honors in one of the world's most competitive gourmet food competitions, we are extremely proud to receive a coveted SCOVIE Award!
• 4th Place-Tropical-National Barbecue Association

2003

• SCOVIE AWARDS
• 1st Place- Tropical-Fruit Style
• 3rd Place- Cajun- Other