Bobby Joe's Ole-Time BBQ Sauce goes back three generations in the Cason family. The original recipe came from a travelling salesman who was visiting the Cason family's milling company in Statesboro, GA. Dorris and Grace Cason tweaked the recipe to their tastes and it instantly became a family favorite.

Sadly, when Grace died, the recipe seemed to be lost. Years later, Bobby Joe Cason stumbled upon the recipe in an old family cookbook. Bobby Joe and his wife revived the sauce and began making it again for friends and family. They instituted an open bottle policy. They invited locals to bring empty bottles and the Casons generously filled them. Eventually, people even began asking to purchase the sauce. Thus, Bobby Joe's Ole-Time BBQ Sauce went from being a family favorite to a professionally bottled sauce.

Bobby Joe's is packaged in 12 oz. glass bottles. The bottles feature attractive labels that really compliment the color of the sauce.The sauce is dark orange / red and speckled with coarsely ground dark spices. It's on the thinner side and pours quickly.

The original Ole-Time sauce is a sweet, ketchup base with a mild flavor. It finishes with a vinegar tang. I used the sauce on both grilled chicken and pulled pork. I felt the sauce was a bit too thin and mild for use as a finishing glaze. It didn't provide the chicken with the flavor I was looking for. Bobby Joe's , however, seemed tailor made for the smoked pulled pork. I always like a sweet, tangy sauce to compliment smoked meats. My recommendation for Bobby Joe's would be to liberally pour it over smoked meats or use it as a dip.

In response to the health needs of Bobby Joe's friends, the Cason family worked with Braswell's (an award winning producer and distributor of gourmet foods) to create a sugar free version of their sauce. The new sauce is sweetened with stevia and contains just 10 calories per serving. The sugar free version is meant to mimic the flavor of the original Ole-Time recipe. However, I found the new sauce to be completely unique from the original.

Bobby Joe's sugar free sauce is thinner and has a bit more tang. Because the sugar free version contains a fairly substantial amount of mustard, it is also lighter in color than the ketchup based original. I appreciate Bobby Joe's effort to create a sauce that diabetics can enjoy. Sugar free sauces are very rare. In fact, this is the first one I've reviewed. That being said, I don't think the sugar free version quite meets the standard set by the original Ole-Time sauce.

Bobby Joe's sauces can be purchased in several Georgia retail locations. Click here to learn more about Bobby Joe's company. See how their sauces rate on our "Product Reviews" page.