J&K Beef Jerky - Whiskey BBQ

J&K Beef Jerky is a brand owned by J&K Distributors based out of Huntington Beach, CA. J&K Distributors is an actual distributing company that stocks convenience stores throughout Southern California. J&K has been around since 1980.

Like most distributing companies, J&K offers several brands of jerky for its store clients, but also offers its own house brand. According to the company, they've offered this jerky over the past 20 years.

This Whiskey BBQ beef jerky is claimed to be, "...the true flagship of our company", going on to say that it was created with their own, "sweet and tangy barbecue sauce with Cayenne pepper and real Kentucky Bourbon".

Ingredients

Beef, BBQ sauce, brown sugar, BBQ seasoning, whiskey bourbon, vinegar, honey, liquid smoke, corn syrup solids, cayenne pepper, sodium nitrite

Review

The first flavors that hit my palate is a sticky sweet BBQ sauce, weighted on sugar, but with a light spiciness. The chewing brings on more of the same, but with a light natural meat flavor coming on in the end.

For being marketed as "Whiskey BBQ" this strikes up a clearly identifiable barbecue sauce, more like the Kansas Style with a thick sweet, tomatoey profile, yet a lightly seasoned spice. There's even a touch of smoke noticeable. The Whiskey part is noticeable too, but you're not going to taste any alcohol. There's a faint fermented character to this along with a light whiskey burn going down the throat. If anything, the whiskey livens up the barbecue sauce and gives it more punch.

Otherwise, the primary taste profile is a thick sweet, tomatoey barbecue sauce with a light spiciness, a touch of ferment and a bit of whiskey burn going down the throat. There's a light natural meat at the very end.

These slices of meat are quite soft and very sticky from the heavy BBQ sauce marinade. Underneath that layer of sauce is still a chewy meat texture that takes on a steak-like feel once chewed down soft. This jerky tends to be stringy, however. Your fingers will pick up a lot of "goop" and you'll need to suck them clean before grabbing the steering wheel or touching the remote control.

Verdict

This Whiskey BBQ variety from J&K Beef Jerky dishes out a very lively barbecue sauce based on a thick sweet, tomatoey profile, a spicy combination of seasonings, and livened up with a dose of bourbon. You're not going to taste any alcohol in this, but you will notice a fermented character in the sauce, and you will feel a light whiskey burn going down. It's still a chewy jerky overall, but layered with enough sticky sauce that you'll need to suck your fingers clean before touching anything. While there's some stringiness in the chewing, this jerky takes on a steak-like texture that recreates a decadent barbecue-beef experience. This is probably J&K Jerky's best flavor.

Note: if you buy this, make sure to get the larger size package to get the bigger, softer slices.


Rating: Best (5/5)