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Eight Flags Sauce Company is based in the city of Fernandina Beach on
beautiful Amelia Island in northeast Florida. Thanks to the easy access from
the Atlantic Ocean, the island has been under the rule of eight different
flags over the last 400 years. This has brought a rich cultural flavor to
the area.
Our company was formed in February of 2005, but the sauce was created out of necessity several years earlier. I have always been a serious barbeque fan, so I was thrilled to buy a Cookshack brand electric smoker at a NBBQA show in nearby Jacksonville, Florida. I quickly got busy experimenting with
different meats, and I was lucky to have easy access to a lot of "Guinea
Pigs" to test my results.
My co-workers at the local Smurfit-Stone paper mill always said the
barbeque I brought to work was great...but that it would be even better
with a great BBQ sauce. My early efforts were attempts to create
something similar to the mustard-based sauce that Fernandina legend
Mr. Lewis Williams had produced at his famous Island Barbeque on
South Ninth Street. my father had been another influence with his use
of a particular sauce that originated in Savannah, Georgia, so after
much tweaking and careful preparations, I finally had the right combination;
a perfect blend of ingredients and spices. The guys at the mill said "thats it!"
At first, Island Gold was sold to just my friends and co-workers, but
since everybody raved about the unique flavor, I decicied to ask a friend
at a roadside fruit stand if he would display a couple of bottles. What had
started out as a hobby quickly turned into a business, my rapidly-growing
fan base required me to produce more and more Island Gold for my
customers, family and friends.
Finally, I contracted with a local bottler to keep up with demand. Their
seventeen year history ensures the utmost quality product, which I began
to market to gourmet and specialty food stores. When Island Gold (formerly
known as Pirate's Gold) was awarded the coveted "Golden Chile" 1st place
award in the mustard base category at the 10th Anniversay Fiery Food
challenge on September 9, 2005, in Fort Worth, Texas I knew all the hard
work had been worth the effort.
The award has inspired me to cook up other varieties of BBQ sauce, and I
am proud to announce that we'll be introducing Jolly Roger Red, a bold yet
sweet tomato-based sauce, in February of 2006. I'm also working on
Blackbeard's Revenge, a fiery version of the original mustard-based sauce,
which I hope to be able to introduce sometime this year. I hope you'll look
forward to these new products as much as we do.
I hope my story will convince you to try the Award-Winning Island Gold:
I'm sure you'll love it as much as my co-workers at the paper mill did!
David Russell |
