Hoosier Daddy Sweet & Sassy Barbecue Sauce (4/5)

(From bbqsaucereviews.com) This sauce has an interesting, mustard/tomato compound flavor that is somewhat concealed by the aggressive spoon wielding boar on the label. The sauce is a blend of a tomato-based and mustard based BBQ sauce, so you're getting a hybrid sauce here, one that's got enough flavor to not need any spicy ingredients to mix it up. I liked the flavor – the tomato/mustard blend was nicely executed, each bite was half traditional BBQ sauce flavor and half mustard BBQ sauce flavor… each bite was a little bit one way or the other, making it fun to eat.

On the negatives, the ingredients were not the best, and the texture was a bit too smooth – it would benefit from some real chunks of garlic or onion or even celery. I tried it on grilled chicken and on ham (as a dipping sauce) and liked it on both. First glance at the bottle and I’m a little confused.  I’d been emailing Kim from Hoosier Daddy for some time, and the whole time I’m expecting an Indiana Hoosiers sports tie-in.  Yes, the sauce is made in Indianapolis, but I can’t find a connection to the basketball team made famous by the 1986 movie starring Gene Hackman.

At first, I figure licensing fees to make a true Hoosiers BBQ sauce would have been quite pricey.  Maybe it’s something to look at later?  Then I wondered if I really knew the meaning of a Hoosier anyway…  And according to Wikipedia, “Hoosier is the official demonym for a resident of the U.S. State of Indiana. Although residents of most U.S. states typically adopt a derivative of the state name, e.g., Indianan or Indianian, natives of Indiana never use these. The State of Indiana adopted the nickname “Hoosier State” more than 150 years ago. “Hoosiers” is also the nickname for the Indiana University athletic teams.”  Want to learn more??  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoosier

So, it’s a sauce from Indiana folks for other Indiana folks. Duh! I asked my wife if she knew that all Indianan’s were simply called Hoosiers… she said “of course, you didn’t know that?!” Oh well… in the Boston, Massachusetts area, someone could make Beanpot BBQ Sauce or Minuteman BBQ Sauce or just Masshole BBQ Sauce! The brand is Kimberlee Foy's dedication to her daddy, the boar on the bottle…
He was from Indiana (Hoosier)
He was her Daddy
Hoosier + Daddy = Hoosier Daddy.Bottom line:
If you are looking for a nice hybrid sauce – or maybe looking for a first mustard sauce to ease into, this could certainly be the sauce for you.