In the heart of Texas, barbecue is not just food for your belly but food for your soul. There is a lot of competition when it comes to great BBQ sauces. To create one that people not only love but that wins prestigious industry awards is sort of like winning a Nobel Prize or an Oscar; it's a once-in-a-lifetime achievement. Yet, 1934 BBQ and its founder, Fredrick Khoury, have the proverbial secret sauce, a sauce that has not only won numerous awards by the toughest critics in the business, the National Barbeque & Grilling Association (NBBQA) but is a fan favorite year after year garnering its shelf space in hundreds of high end/specialty stores around the country.
Roots in Tradition
Inspired by their pioneering spirit in Texas barbecue, Khoury's grandfather crafted the original Central Texas BBQ sauce in 1934, which became a staple at community events for over 60 years. Khoury's 1934 BBQ recipe was crafted and handed down from his grandfather. With a commitment to preserving his family's heritage, Khoury transformed his grandfather's recipe into a commercially available product in 2017. Created with care and attention to detail, this sauce captures the essence of Texas barbecue, with flavors that are a throwback to a bygone era. Made with the highest quality ingredients and free from any additives or preservatives, every bottle not only contains some history but also tradition and a whole lot of goodness.
Building on the success of the original sauce and his vast culinary expertise and industry experience, Khoury saw an opportunity to innovate and accommodate consumer preferences while staying true to tradition. Khoury crafted three additional versions for different taste buds and uses. "I created the three other flavors: smoke, sweet onion and heat. I'll tell you, they are one ingredient apart from each other with three completely different taste profiles. I mean, if you tasted them each, all four of them, side by side, you would not think that there was only one ingredient difference. It was a simple way of doing it, creating four different unique flavors, but not really changing the recipe that much and sticking with the high end quality spices that we use."
The Impetus of the Bloody Mary
Khoury's exceptional palette also inspired the brand's latest addition, the 1934 Bloody Mary Mix, which was voted the best Bloody Mary in the world's largest competitions three years in a row; the idea for the Bloody Mary came from someone asking if some of the spices used in our BBQ sauces could be used to "kick up" a Bloody Mary. Khoury created a concentrated product called "Shot." One ounce of "Shot" added to any Bloody Mary kicked up the taste to another level, or they could make a Bloody Mary with "Shot" by adding a few ingredients.
Liquor store owners loved the product, and a few mentioned that customers preferred a "ready to drink" version. Khoury followed through with that thinking and re-created the recipe by making a "Ready to Use" product with the same taste profile as the "Shot."
1934 Bloody Mary mix may seem like a big leap from Khoury's barbeque sauce, but they have ingredient similarities. "I knew that the ingredients had to be clean like our BBQ sauce. You've got different stores that have different restrictions with regards to ingredients. One of the strictest is Whole Foods. You know, they don't want any preservatives or additives. Our barbecue sauce ingredients are 'clean' and do not have anything that could be banned from a store, and I stuck with that as the foundation for the Bloody Mary, clean ingredients and an award-winning taste profile that everybody loves."
In Texas especially, but in other parts of the nation as well, barbeque is much more than a meal; it's a way of life. 1934 BBQ is that sauce that elevates your BBQ game. Each bottle tells a story of heritage, innovation, and unmatched taste. It's more than just a condiment—it's culture, it's history. 1934's accolades and recognition from industry experts and consumers alike speak for themselves. Whether it's the rich flavors of the original barbecue sauce or the bold complexity of the Bloody Mary mix, each of 1934's bottles showcases Khoury's commitment to quality, flavor, and a family legacy.
Get a taste of 1934 today.
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