Grumpy's BBQ Sauces have been picking up awards from competitions all over the country over the last several years. If you've tried their products, you're probably not surprised. The "Q" Review gained a great deal of respect for this brand after sampling Grumpy's Bold XX. (See the raving 5 star review)

Like all of Grumpy's BBQ sauces, Not So Bold is packaged in 16 oz. glass bottles. This particular variety features an orange label. The dark mahogany sauce is pretty thick and pours moderately slow.

While Bold XX found a perfect balance of spice, sweetness and smoke flavor, Not So Bold toned back the flavor dial quite a bit. The all natural, tomato based sauce is a familiar Midwestern style that is heavy on the sweet thanks to an abundance of brown sugar. Not So Bold is the only sauce that I can remember with brown sugar list first among the ingredients. There is a slight note of hickory smoke flavor, but sugary sweetness is definitely dominant. The ingredient list also features vinegar, hot sauce and cayenne pepper. Tang and spice, however, were undetectable.

I used Not So Bold for both ribs and pulled pork. The thick sauce painted the ribs nicely. Though the flavor wasn't quite as bold as I'd have preferred, it was still adequately tasty and sticky on the bones. Out of the bottle, the sauce was a little thicker than I like for drizzling on smoked pork. To remedy this, I heated the sauce and mixed it with the smokey chopped pork. Paired with a tangy coleslaw, the Grumpy's sauced pork was a hit.

Though it doesn't quite hold up next to Bold XX, Grumpy's Not So Bold is still the type of sauce that nearly everyone can enjoy. It's comparable to the popular line of Sweet Baby Ray's. I give Grumpy's a slight nod over the national brands for the simple fact that they use all natural ingredients.

Check out the full line of Grumpy's BBQ Sauces on their website. The star rating for Not So Bold can be found on our Product Review's page.