Bourbon is white hot right now and can be found as flavoring in everything from bacon to candy. Pizza Today is located right in the heart of bourbon country, so we gave this smoky bourbon barbecue sauce a go — and it was finger lickin’ good!

Smoky Bourbon Barbecue Sauce

1 white onion, minced
10 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups bourbon
1 teaspoon finely-ground black pepper
1 tablespoon salt
4 cups ketchup
2 tablespoons honey (or molasses)
2/3 cup tomato paste
2/3 cup cider vinegar
4 tablespoons liquid smoke flavoring
1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 cup packed light brown sugar
½ cup hot pepper sauce, or to taste (We used a medium heat sauce; it is offset by the honey)

In a large pan over medium heat, simmer your onion, garlic and bourbon until onion is translucent.

In the same pan, whisk in ketchup, tomato paste, honey, vinegar, liquid smoke, Worchestershire sauce, light brown sugar, pepper, salt and pepper sauce. Bring to a boil.

Simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from stove. Cool and store in a sealed container.

We marinated pulled chicken in the BBQ sauce for about half an hour. Our pizza toppings also included thinly sliced red onion, cilantro and fresh jalapeño. To up the smoky flavor, try adding thick-cut bacon.

How To: Smoky Bourbon Barbecue Sauce