The Patriot Brands Jerky - Sweet 'n Sassy

The Patriot Brands Beef Jerky is a new brand that launched in February of 2018 by James Napier of Cuba, MO. The company also markets a line of hot sauces under the same brand.

Napier seems well-known and well-liked by many as a patriot with his beard dyed red, white, and blue. The name "Patriot Brands" stems from his overwhelming support of the United States and the people who have fought for it. He's associated with "The Patriot Church", a congregation also based out of Cuba, MO.

This "Sweet 'n Sassy" flavor described by the company as a barbecue flavored jerky, going on to say that, "A great Almost Hickory flavored BBQ bringing a sweeeeet taste in every bite, with just a tad of Sass... Not Hot, but mild enough it's got a little Taste of heat"

Ingredients

Beef, sugar, salt, dextrose, spices, tomato powder, onion and garlic powder, corn starch, natural hickory smoke flavor, citric acid, spice extractives, sodium nitrite
Review

The first taste that hits the tongue is a cured meat flavor, along with a light salt, and hints of tomato. There's a faint sweet too. The chewing brings on more of the meat flavor, with maybe touches of onion and garlic seasoning. There's a very weak level of heat that comes in at the end.

For being named, "Sweet 'n Sassy", and further described as a barbecue flavored jerky, I don't really identify. It's not really sweet, though there's a faint bit of sweet that I can pick up. But I think most audiences would not find any sweet in this. As a barbecue flavored jerky, I don't identify at all. I find no real barbecue flavor. I don't really pick up any hickory smoke flavor either. I do, however, agree with the company's description of having, "a little taste of heat", because it's very weak, very faint, in the back of the mouth.

Otherwise, the primary taste profile is a moderately salted, cured meat flavor, with just a light amount of onion and garlic seasoning.

These are thick slices of beef, soft, tender, and slightly moist. It starts out meaty, somewhat rubbery, but eventually chews down into something steak-like. I do see some pieces with light fatty streaks, and I did encounter some unchewable tissues, but overall good.

Verdict

This Sweet 'n Sassy beef jerky from The Patriot Brands is not really sweet by any means, but it does seem to generate a little bit of sass with a faint bit of spiciness. It's still, however, mild to our taste buds, but it's more like the kind of heat you get after sprinkling some black pepper on your eggs, which isn't really all that much. Otherwise, the profile is just a cured meat flavor with a light garlic and onion seasoning, and little else. However, the thick, tender, semi-moist slices are a joy to chew, offering up a meaty, and almost steak-like texture. But flavorwise, this seems plain and unremarkable.

Rating: Average (3/5)