When friends and family start clamoring for your special sauce, that’s when you know it’s time to hit the market.
That’s exactly what Kevin Hogan did. A dentist by trade, Hogan developed a mouthwatering BBQ sauce and found that demand among family and friends was so great that he decided to bottle it.
The Charleston, S.C.-based Company is called Doc Crombie’s. The “Doc” part gives nod to his dentist career, and Crombie is a family name.
Hogan grew the business slowly, starting out in some Piggly Wiggly grocery stores in S.C. His products are now found in Whole Foods stores in the South Region as well as specialty retailers like Southern Season, The Coastal Cupboard, and Caviar & Bananas. For those who live in other areas of the country, they can order through the company website.
Because of his dental practice, Hogan only had a couple of days a week to focus on his line of BBQ and hot sauces. Last year, he brought on his brother, Pat Hogan, to run the business full-time and lead it into future growth.
Related: Best Barbecue Spots Across the U.S.
Right now the company produces three varieties of BBQ sauce (Original, Double Hot and Zesty Mustard Zip), and three varieties of hot sauce (Habanero Havoc, Big House Yellow, and Hoosegow Jalapeno). The sauces are gluten free, all natural, and created without the use of high fructose corn syrup, artificial flavors or preservatives.
“Our goals for 2015 include working on a vinegar BBQ sauce and creating three new rubs,” said Pat.
“When it comes to BBQ sauce, everybody and their brother has some, but ours has a more complex taste. Also, our sauces have multiple uses. The Double Hot is great on fish and salmon; the mustard BBQ sauce is good on chicken and ham. It’s the same with the hot sauces—they serve as great finishing cooking sauces as well as for dipping.”
Right now, the hot sellers include the Original Prescription BBQ Sauce and the Habanero Havoc Hot Sauce. They retail for $7.09 and $5.99. If you want to try them all, order up the Sauce Master basket for $65. For a short time, Doc Crombie’s is offering a 20% discount on all of its products to readers of The Manual. Just use the promo code: TheManual at checkout.
Top photo: Kevin Hogan and Pat Hogan of Doc Crombie’s.
