Number 11 brings us to a nexus of Key West and BBQ sauce in Uncle Jimi’s Almost World Famous Key Lime Chipotle BBQ Sauce– whew, that’s a mouth full.

After my last tasting, the first thing I’m doing here is checking the ingredients- no MSG. Nice. In fact, the only preservative is vinegar, very nice.Without even opening the bottle, you can tell by just flipping it upside down that this BBQ sauce is thick. It hangs upside down for a moment before slowly sliding down the bottle neck to the cap. It should be great for coating meat on the grill.

To be fair in comparison for the BBQ sauces, I’m going with chicken to try this stuff out for the first time. We went with slathering some as we grilled and we also left some chicken plain for some straight dipping style chow. As I slather some on the grilling chicken, the smell is unmistakably BBQ. This is not an abstract sauce that says it’s a BBQ sauce, but fails to resemble what most of us think of as BBQ. It’s a traditional, thick, red sauce.

I can’t help but sneak a little taste on my finger- from the bottle, not from the bowl I’m using to slather the chicken because I would prefer to avoid salmonella. I can immediately tell that the look and smell of this sauce do not deceive; it is a really good BBQ sauce. It’s sweet, but not overly so. It’s tangy, just like a good traditional BBQ sauce should be. It’s even a little complex with the smokiness of the chipotle and tartness of Key Lime, but still manages to retain that unmistakable BBQ sauce taste. That’s not easy to do, but Uncle Jimi pulls it off.

Then, there’s a little surprise. It has a kick! Not a barely noticeable kick, but a real nice kick. A check of the ingredients shows that Uncle Jimi put some habanero pepper in there too. Oddly, I wouldn’t have known that with the smell; I couldn’t detect that. It’s not a major kick, but there is certainly some heat packed in. In fact, I think it’s a perfect heat level for BBQ Sauce. It’s hot enough for those who like the heat to enjoy, but not too hot where no one else will eat your grilled feast.

After the grilling is complete and everything is transported to the table, we dig in. I already know the flavor is great, but the thickness of this sauce did the chicken right by capturing the juices in a nice BBQ sauce barricade. Grabbing some of the plain chicken and going in for the dip proves to be just as delicious and a bit hotter than the slathered-while-grilled version. Still, a perfect heat level in my opinion and the wife agrees. It is too spicy for the kids, though. I would expect that considering they seem to have an aversion to spiciness and that’s probably the case with most little ones.

I’m really impressed with this sauce. Uncle Jimi manages to blend together a group of difficult ingredients and ends up with a flawless sauce. The bottom line? Pretty easy on this one: a solid 9 on flavor and a 2.5 for heat. This sauce has just become a staple in my sauce arsenal.