Baxter's Spicy Bourbon BBQ product reviews

Up until about 5 years ago my cooking could be best described as bland and lacking seasoning, this was not just a personal feeling either. Recently I have started to browse the internet in search of some new and exciting recipes to broaden my palette. I find that sauces are an easy way to add an extra element of flavour to a dish, whether it is on the side or used in the cooking of the meal. When I saw there was a new range of sauces available to request, I checked out what the flavours were - I was instantly intrigued by the Spicy Bourbon BBQ sauce.

This product comes in a 300ml glass bottle, is gluten free, and has no artificial flavours or colourings. The bottle is eye catching with the Baxter's logo proudly at the top of the label, with a man on a motorbike underneath, and according to the bottle this product is a medium bbq sauce. This product is proudly made in NZ with ingredients including bourbon, vinegar, molasses, and a variety of spices. The sauce is a warm shade between red and brown, and the smell once the bottle is opened smells strong and spicy.

I decided that first I would take a teaspoon of the sauce and try it straight, now I love spicy food and sauces so I was expecting heat, however I was not prepared for that amount of heat. The spicy sauce was strong but delicious, and left my mouth hot for quite some time after I had finished it. The bourbon flavour was the most prominent. I then decided to try some of the sauce swirled on a piece of meatlovers pizza I had made, the flavours complimented each other perfectly, and the combination meant that the sauce was not too overpowering.

At the price of $8.50 per bottle I believe that this sauce will most likely be used sparingly so as to get the most out of it, however I am also quite keen to try marinating some chicken nibbles in the sauce overnight and then cooking on the bbq. I look forward to trying some of the other sauce flavours in the future.

Up until my recent health binge, if you asked anyone about me, they'd probably tell you 3 things; he can sing, he reviews stuff, and he likes to drink. It's been somewhat of an unhealthy relationship in hindsight that has led to me shooting up in weight from 70kg up to about 125kg at my heaviest. It has only been a recent emphasis in increasing my mindfulness in what I eat that I have been able to garner a healthier relationship with the calories I consume. However, cutting out the alcohol altogether is not recommended, neither is it necessary, in this new age of moderation for me. While the cost-to-benefit ratio for simply drinking a beverage is quite low on the benefit side, there are still flavours there that I do miss. This is where we finally get off tangent and back on task with this Spicy Bourbon BBQ sauce that piques my interests in alcohol, spicy things, and I guess BBQs as well.

Now, this can apparently be used as a marinade, but I've had issues in the past with marinading the meat ahead of time, and then when it comes to cooking, everything burns up and ruins the meat and the flavour. I've since expanded my cooking skills and learned that you can actually just add the sauce at the end, once everything is cooked. That was the process here. pan fry up some chicken nibbles with some sliced white onions and give them a quick bathe in the sauce after it has finished cooking. Quick and easy, and I had a pretty uniquely flavoured meal in under 10 minutes.

I like the packaging choice, with the 100% recyclable glass and metal lid. and the design of the vessel (which is too thick for a bottle, and too narrow for a jar) is great for pouring. Thin enough to control the output, but wide enough to get a knife in to get the last bits, if you have to.

Now, this sauce is absolutely splendid. The bourbon provides a rich sweetness that is balanced out by the birdseye chillis and the smokey flavour blends everything together exceptionally well. Combined with the char of some well-crisped chicken wings and drumsticks and you have a delicious flavour profile that matches those slow-smoked meals, but with a mere fraction of the time taken to make. The sauce mentions a spicy kick from the birdseye chillis, but I certainly wouldn't say it is dominant in any way. It is noticeable in how it prevents the bourbon from overpowering in its sweetness, but there is nothing that would make me feel a warning about the heat level is necessary (that is coming from someone that regularly adds Ghost Pepper sauce and Carolina Reapers to his meals, my tolerance is likely very high).

Do note, I made a lot of nibbles so I had some more the next day, and well, the sauce doesn't have the same kick when it's cold. I really should have reheated them, but didn't want soggy boiled microwave chicken, nor did I want to risk burning the sauce.

Lesson learned. Cover everything in this sauce, and eat it all while it's hot. That is all.

I really like the quality of Baxters sauces and this did not disappoint. It was fantastic and a real hit for us especially for burger nights. I loved the texture - not too runny and not too blobby. We tried it with crackers, toasties, burgers, wraps, pasta and it delivered across the board. I love a good BBQ sauce and the more spice the better in our house. This was a perfect solution to that "what should we add to spice it up a bit" question. I found it especially good with budget bread/cheese/potato which needs a lift.

However, this is not for the faint-hearted, it definitely has a kick and as a house with at least three different BBQ sauces for different occasional needs, this is probably not the one for the children as it has a pretty "adult" taste between the chilli and the bourbon. It is fairly sweet but most sauces in this space are like that. It has a fabulous aroma which makes it a lovely dipping sauce for wedges as well.

The photo was some hastily put together falafel burgers, which were hugely improved by becoming Spicy BBQ falafel burgers and even the meat eaters said they were great.

I can't say enough about how good this sauce was/is and we will definitely be buying more as we got through it all before lockdown finished. A great winter treat not to be missed would be my advice

Last Christmas I experienced the most amazing Bourbon Glazed Ham. It was the talking point of the table and everybody went back for seconds and thirds - it blew everyone's taste buds. So when I saw this up for review I got excited as the memories flooded back to me. I had such high expectations for this.

We decided to try with a nice piece of Steak. I didn't glaze the meat at all in it, instead, because we have children - I decided to pour some to the side of the plate and let everyone dip it in as they pleased. I did try a tiny bit before and it was not what I was expecting. It was just a sudden explosion of heat. So I gave the girls a very small portion and my husband and I a tad bit more. Unfortunately the spice hid the flavour and I didn't get any real hint of any of the ingredients because the heat was too overpowering and all I found was that I received burning lips.

Since, the steak was kind of a bust - we decided to try with chicken nibbles. Again, I did not marinate it in the sauce, instead after serving the chips, chicken nibbles and ranch salad I pulled out the two sauces we had for reviewing. Both girls went for the previous sauce, where as I did put this on my chicken nibbles and a few of the chips and my husband went for both sauces - covering his nibbles with this sauce and his chips with the other sauce.

My husband and I agree that there is no real flavour detected instead its just a hot heat. It is really disappointing - I am just hoping that Baxter's makes a new flavour with just the Bourbon and leaves the spice and heat out of it. I have since had an idea to try mixing it in with sour cream and see if that changes it up a bit. I would like to try the chicken again with the sour cream option because, unfortunately to us this really does not offer any real advantage to any meal.

This is the absolute height of perfection of BBQ sauce! We are a family that has BBQ's all year round, as being Canadian, the weather doesn't put me off cooking a great meal that is chargrilled with love and served to my family. I have tried so many different BBQ sauces with varying heat and flavours to try to recreate the meals I grew up with. I have finally found the perfect BBQ sauce!

Baxter's Original Spicy Bourbon BBQ Sauce comes in a perfect sized bottle of 300ml, it is easy to see the depth of colour through the bottle and once opened the scent evidences the richness of flavours contained inside. The flavour is layered with subtle heat from the chilli, a tartness from the vinegar and a top note of bourbon - it is thick enough to slather onto your steak, chicken, or meat patties. We put this onto our hamburger patties and then added extra once they were cooked.

The best burger my family and I have EVER had - due to the richness of the spicy bourbon BBQ sauce which added so much flavour. The children (aged 10 & 12) loved it - it wasn't too spicy or hot, but they enjoyed each bite and said to certainly try this on other meats.

I love that Baxter's is a New Zealand company and this is made in New Zealand. Bonus that it is gluten-free, vegetarian and there are no artificial colours or flavouring. A must when summer comes around and our entertaining friends and family starts up as many of our friends are gluten-free and I love knowing I can use this bbq sauce without hesitation. A great price, a great product and one that will definitely be in my fridge as it is so versatile.

We loved the aftertaste of the bourbon in this sauce. It fused nicely with the smoky effect and the chilli - just enough to let you know it was there, but not enough to mask the other flavours. All four of us like our food spicy, but I am the only one who likes it really hot; my partner and my cousin like the heat to be toned down somewhat, while my cousin's partner likes a milder version. She did enjoy this sauce; clearly it was not too hot for her, something I had feared might be the case. She was also glad to find that it is really thick, so she could choose exactly how much to add to her meal - important when the degree of heat is important. There is nothing worse than having the contents of half a bottle land on your dinner and ruin it!

I thought that the suggested serving size (10g) was quite generous; I added 5g to my dinner, and noticed that the other three did the same. I did top it up part way through the meal when I realised just how tasty it was. We served it with a fusion stir-fry, which ended up as a stew when reheated. Food that has been twice cooked tends to lose its flavour so the sauce was just what was needed to liven things up.

The very first thing that struck us about this product was the user-friendly packaging. My cousin has arthritis in his right hand and has difficulty opening some bottles and jars. He was impressed to find that the seal was not too stiff to break; he managed to open it on the first try. We have had a succession of items lately that have needed an array of tools to make them budge, so this was a true selling point in his opinion. We also liked the label; it looks suitably "American" with its detailed information and impressive logo, so much so that I had to double check to make sure it was a New Zealand product. (It is!)

We found that the sauce was a perfect accompaniment for sausages cooked on the barbecue and served with crusty white bread and fried onions - a sophisticated version of the traditional fundraiser sausage sizzle. My cousin added some fish steaks; these were equally delicious with a little sauce, and they did not last long. Although it is still technically winter, we have had some balmy days which are ideal for a meal outside. We plan to try barbecued steak next week; I am sure the sauce will go well with this as well.