BBQ SAUCE OF THE WEEK: Hillsdale Bank

That's Hillsdale Bank, as in lending institution, not gently sloping landscape or edge of a river or stream. As pastoral as Hillsdale Bank sounds, Greg and Donna Beverlin's restaurant in Hillsdale, Kansas is actually in an old bank building. They've been at it for over 25 years and have won a lot of fans in the Greater Kansas City Area.

Yes, they're from the Greater Kansas City Area, and this is definitely a Kansas City Style Sauce. It's thick - one of the thickest I've come across, actually. It's smooth - no noticeable bits or chunks. It's quite a bit sweet and quite a lot smoky - in fact, it's one of the smokiest I've come across. This is the HOT version, so there is some noticeable burn on the back end.

I love the clean, simple label. I love that the ingredient list is so short. And I love that it's billed as 82% organic (never seen that before!). Overall, it's got a nice balance between the sweet, the tangy and the spicy, but maybe has just a little more smoke than I usually prefer.

Grade: B