“A recipe Adam Scott said came to him in a dream in the early 1900s has been selected by a Food & Wine magazine panel as runner-up in a national barbecue sauce contest.Described by one expert as a “”thin vinegary sauce with heat, like a hot pepper sauce,” Scott’s Barbecue Sauce finished as a runner-up among the vinegar based sauces. It was one of 31 sauces tested, most of which were tomato based.

A. Martel Scott, Jr., who heads the family-owned and operated business said he was honored to even be considered for the contest. “Food & Wine is highly critical and respected, so when they called I felt very honored. It’s very highly regarded” The sauces were tested by four food authors/critics assembled by the magazine.

Touted on the bottle’s label as “the best ye ever tasted,” Scott’s sauce is for those who like things spicy and hot, Scott said. “I’ve never had people say it’s too hot, it’s too vinegary, I don’t like it. I think most people who try it think it’s a novel thing that’s good,” he added.

The roots of Scott’s Barbecue Sauce go back to 1917 when Scott’s grandfather Adam first got into the barbecue business in Goldsboro. The recipe for the sauce developed over a three-year period and remains a secret which is passed down through the Scott family. Adam, a local minister, said the exact ingredients in the sauce were revealed to him in a dream. A. Martel Scott, Sr. took over the business in 1942 and expanded the operation. The restaurant on N. William Street was opened in 1950″.