Rock'n Chair BBQ Sauces

The primary BBQ sauce that started this slow-burn venture back in 1985 was a simple tomato-based sauce that was made on the spur of the moment. While waiting for guests to arrive at a backyard BBQ we were having, I discovered, to my horror, that I had no BBQ sauce, not a drop. And BBQ without the sauce is not a BBQ. So, I immediately started scrounging around for the makings. I tossed in a little of this and a little of that, just stuff that I had around the house that I thought would taste good. And, to my wonder, it saved the day. Nobody got sick, and everyone loved the BBQ.

With that accidental success, and the enjoyment of making something of my own, I decided to develop a recipe and just make my own sauce from then on. Over the next 40 years of tweaking this and tweaking that in the recipes, in an attempt to hone in on the flavors I had my mind set on, with a desire to use only natural ingredients in the process, I finally got the flavors I had hoped for.

I enjoy a good bourbon, a cold, bold-flavored Guinness, rich maple syrup, and strong-flavored blackstrap molasses. With those flavors in mind, the first flavor I worked on was a combination maple/bourbon flavor with a smoky aftertaste. After a couple of years of trying, I finally nailed the flavor I was looking for. The next in line was a blackstrap/bourbon. Another year or two and I found the flavor I was looking for. The third flavor I tackled was blackstrap/Guinness. I could already taste the flavor I had in mind. After about a year, I finally found that flavor. But at the time, this was just for myself, family, and friends. It never occurred to me to sell it.

You have to know that it was simply a hobby with me back then. I enjoyed playing with the different ingredients and testing it out on unsuspecting friends and family. Finding out what works and what doesn’t. So, time just wasn’t a factor. I was doing it because I enjoyed it. And hearing the compliments from my test cases, I mean, guests, was reward enough. But selling the stuff was not even on my radar. Not until a little prompting much later.

Fast forward to the 1990s, and they, friends and family, were starting to ask me to bring my BBQ sauces to the get-togethers whenever BBQ was on the menu. Over the years, I would then be asked by different folks if I would send them a bottle the next time I made a batch, which I would do.

Then, in 2022, I was asked why I didn’t sell my sauces so they could buy them. This began to stir the pot for me to sell my sauces. After stewing on this for a couple of years, I finally decided in 2025 to get serious about making and selling the sauces. And now, 40 years later, here we are making sauces that are available to the public.

This has been a long time in the making. And I hope that each person who spends their hard-earned money to try a bottle of any of our sauces feels that it was well worth the money.