WASHINGTON — McDonald’s, which recently rolled out two new versions of its iconic Big Mac — the Mac Jr. and the Grand Mac — will give away 10,000 bottles of the sauce that made the Big Mac famous at selected locations on Thursday.
The giveaway, on a first-come-first-served basis, a first for the fast-food chain.
The McDonald’s locations are being kept under wraps until Jan. 25. The D.C. location where a limited number of sauce bottles will be handed out will be posted at mcdonaldsdmv.com.
In order to get the free bottle, customers must say the special code phrase “There’s a Big Mac for that.”
McDonald’s introduced the Big Mac in 1968, but the special sauce name comes from a 1975 advertising campaign that rattled off the list of Big Mac ingredients (“Two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun”).
McDonald’s still calls the sauce recipe secret, though it is a variation on Thousand Island dressing, including mayonnaise, pickle relish, mustard, vinegar and spices.
McDonald’s does say the sauce must be refrigerated, so customers should plan accordingly when trying to get a bottle.
They also will make a special bottle number 10,001, which will be auctioned off on Friday to benefit the Ronald McDonald House Charities.
