Sauced Up Smokers started in 2007 when friends, Chef Ben Mesiti and Leon Kaufmann entered their first BBQ competition. While they didn't fare as well as they would have liked in their inaugural effort (45th place), they weren't discouraged. Rather than throw in the towel, Ben and Leon set out to create their rubs and sauces to improve their standing on the competition circuit.

Sauced Up Smokers has since added a third partner, Jon Riesch. Together, the three man team continues to compete and produced sauces. They also offer smoker rentals and BBQ vending. There are even plans to move into catering.

After formulating their Ninja Dust BBQ Rub, they developed their first BBQ sauce. Roadhouse Series BBQ Sauce is a pretty traditional Kansas City style sauce. The thick tomato sauce is bright red and packaged in 20 oz glass bottles. Roadhouse Series is thick, and pours slowly.

The flavor is very sweet thanks to presence of HFCS, brown sugar, honey and molasses. Though not quite as smokey as most Kansas City sauces, the liquid smoke is still detectable. The sauce also finishes with a slight pepper spice. It's not a burn, but you'll feel the spicy tingle on your tongue.

When the bottles first arrived, I immediately thought ribs. The bright red sauce was just asking to be brushed on a slow smoked rack of spares. So, when I experimented with some new rib techniques last week, I naturally reached for Roadhouse Series.

 I brushed the sauce on a rack of ribs as it finished cooking. The sweet, slightly spicy sauce was an excellent pairing with the smokey pork. When the sauce was heated, it poured like liquid candy, giving the ribs a beautiful red, glossy shine. I later used Roadhouse Series on BBQ chicken with the same results.

Click here to see Sauced Up Smokers website. See how Roadhouse Series BBQ Sauce rates on our "Product Reviews".