Friday, December 27, 2013

Bad Buds Bull Jerky - Honey Bourbon

bad buds bull jerky
The newest flavor from Bad Buds Bull Jerky is this Honey Bourbon Beef Jerky.

Bad Buds Jerky is a brand run by Buddy Stone out of Hogansville, GA. Bad Buds has been in business since 2005. In addition to jerky, the brand also markets its own line of hot sauces.

This new Honey Bourbon variety is described by the company as, "Brown sugar and bourbon give this unique jerky a sweeter flavor."

Ingredients

Beef, soy, spices.

Taste

The first thing I taste from the surface of these pieces is a light sweetness followed by a light saltiness. I can pickup a

The chewing brings in a saucy flavor, very much a soy sauce-like flavor, with perhaps some worcestershire mixed in. There is a light spiciness in the chewing, and some onion and garlic notes.

For being dubbed, "Honey Bourbon", it's hard to say if this holds up. It definitely has the sweetness of honey, but finding the bourbon is spotty. On the thicker strips, I do taste something that has that potent fire and fume of bourbon, but with the more thin, drier strips, I'm not sure I'm tasting the worcestershire, onion, or garlic instead.

But by comparison, I've had other brands of jerky claiming to be made with bourbon, whiskey, or tequila, and it was always nearly impossible to find that spirit flavor. I think this Honey Bourbon from Bad Buds Bull Jerky offers some swashes of flavor that you might associate with the Kentucky style fire water.

Otherwise, the flavors that seem to define this jerky is largely the saucey marinade of soy sauce and worcestershire. The onion and garlic seasoning also plays a significant role, while the sweetness of honey and the firey warmth of bourbon helps color the overall flavor.

As for the light heat I mentioned earlier, it's still light enough that this registers as "Mild" on my personal heat scale (level 1 out of 5).

Meat Consistency

These are slices of whole meat, sliced into strips of three to six inches, and sliced thick.

This is a dry jerky with a slightly moist surface feel. These strips are very flexible, maybe just a touch of rubbery feel. Biting off pieces takes little bit of work while chewing is moderately tough.

The chewing texture starts out feeling chewy, almost rubbery, requiring some effort to get through, but starts to break apart and soon softens up into a meaty feel. By the time its chewed down to a soft mass, it feel very steak like, perhaps cooked medium-well.

I don't see any bits or streaks of fat on these strips, but I do taste some fatty flavor. I didn't get any stringiness or unchewable wads of tissue that I found in the company's other flavors.

As far as handling goes, my fingertips pick up fine films of oil and sticky, but not enough to worry about when typing on a keyboard, and they also pick up scant bits of pepper and spice.

bad buds bulls jerky

bad buds bull jerky

Snack Value

Bad Buds Bull Jerky sells this Honey Bourbon from its website at a price of $4.50 for a 2.0oz package. It's free shipping if you buy $50.00 of jerky or more. So, if you bought 12 packages, it works out to a total of $54.00. That's the same as $2.25 per ounce.

For general jerky snacking purposes, at the $2.25 per ounce price, it's a great value. That's priced about the same or slightly higher than the major jerky brands sold in stores, yet tastes a lot better and offers much better meat consistency and chewing.

As a Honey Bourbon beef jerky, at the same $2.25 per ounce price, it's a good value. I'm getting the sweetness of honey, and touches of the bourbon fire. Compared to other alcohol-based jerky brands, I think you actually do taste the bourbon in this.

Rating

I'm giving this a good rating.

This Honey Bourbon beef jerky from Bad Buds Bull Jerky actually dishes out a lightly recognizable bourbon flavor, mostly as the fiery burn. Otherwise, the added honey sweetness creates a nice balance to the saucy combination of soy sauce and worcestershire along with the seasonings of onion and garlic.

The chewing texture is great, feeling just like eating chunks of real steak once you got them chewed down to a soft mass. I found this quite lean and meaty, unlike the other flavors I reviewed previously from Bad Buds.

You might compare this to Bad Buds Mild flavor, but find it a little more sweet with that extra touch of bourbon.

Rating: Good (4/5)

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